In-truck Head Removal - need advice

[Rippin-J]

Howdy all. I'm learning the ropes when it comes to diagnosing and repairing motors. I have had some trouble with one of my cylinders (only putting out 20 psi), and after doing all of the standard tests, talking to MANY people (thanks NC Goofs!) and doing some extensive research, the best guess is that there is an issue with the valves.

I need help because I would like to remove the heads WITHOUT removing the entire motor from the truck. All of the manuals I have found and read give plenty of detail about disassembling the motor, but always with the motor fully removed. Thus, there are not any notes about things to do or not to do.

I guess my hope is to save some time and some $$ by not removing the whole thing and just having to redo the top-end vs the entire motor. If fixing the valve issue makes the motor run like a champ, I will be very, very happy.

- is this poor thinking on my part?
- has anyone performed this before?
- any suggestions, advice, or things to be extremely cautious of?
- anything else I should consider?

Otherwise, I am going to just go for it and hope for the best.

Thanks!!!