I blew my head gasket on my 1999 Volvo S70 about 6 months ago, I made the decision that I would fix it myself. I have it all apart with no problem but I have finally reached a problem. I can not get to the head gasket because the head refuses to come off. I have taken off all the screws holding it on and have looked all around for screws holding it on and there are none. One side of the head is higher off than the other, and even when hammering down the side that is up the other side refuses to pop off. I don't want to pry it off with a crow bar since that will ruin it, I worked on hammering it down for about an hour and a half last night, that includes pulling on side up while hammering down the other side. I was wondering why it is not coming up, is there something I haven't done, is there a trick to it? Thank you

 

Make absolutely sure you have no bolts attached.
Now, loosen the camshaft caps so the valves are all seated, then put some head bolts in loosely and crank engine on the starter. The cylinder compression will pop it right off.

Regards, Andrew.