[mpj76]

I've only taken heads of a 5.0 motor once a long time ago. I had to take the rockers off. Other than all the other stuff on top of the motor, the only thing holding the heads down were the head bolts. I would recommend replacing them while you're at it. When I was putting mine back in, one broke in half when I began torqing it down. Don't try to clean your pistons. It's bad. Keep in mind that the heads will be kind of stuck to the block. Iron heads are pretty heavy/undweildy when trying to move them around at arms length. Also, the cooling passages stick out of the block a little so you can't slide the head off. You must lift up. Most important of all...clean all the old gasket material off. After you think it's completely clean, use a razor blade to get the last bit of residue off the heads and block. Gasket remover mixed with old gasket material creates a really smooth waxy feel thats sometimes hard to distinguish from bare metal, especially in low light with greasy fingers. Use some kind of solvent for a final wipe down. Use proper torque and tightening sequence during reassembly or you'll be doing the job again. I think my heads had 10 head bolts each. I may be off...but isn't the 289 block the same as the 302 block? I think the heads are interchangeable as well then. Is it your 91 LX that you're working on? That should be 302 if its the original motor.