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On the three center caps I use a prybar with point on the adjoining caps to pry them out. On the end ones I use the main bolts and put them in a bind in the caps and wiggle them back and forth while pulling them out




On stock style iron blocks,lightly pry with a smooth pinch bar,one to the front of the cap and one from the back of the cap and walk the cap out of the block.Usually just use the main bolts to work the front and rear end caps out.The stock caps can be be broken if they are tight and shocked with a heavy type slide hammer and can be damaged at the machined mating surfaces.We have a unique tool we built years ago for the cap removal.It is notched to fit between the pan rails and threaded with a bolt the so that it can be extended to push the bottem end of the block.It has a fixture for a dial indicator so that the amont of spread can be accurately measured.On must be very careful not to exceed .005 spread,anything further and the critical demension of the block will not relax to original demnsion.
On new style aftermarket blocks that have a threaded hole in the cap for removal,we use a aluminium bridge set up off the oil pan rails and a full threaded bolt to carefully remove the caps.
Any process used should be carefully done as not damage the cap or gouge or peel any metal from the machined surface of the block or cap.