Head gasket advice
Discussion
You could try extractors, but unsure if they will work in this case even with heat. There are mobile engineers that will be able to get them out in situ by and if done well, won't even damage the thread. It's the route I would consider as if you break off an extractor, they are nightmarishly hard to drill!
Jody
Jody
Hi all
Its a difficult one to be sure - got to get enough force to bear to shift it but be delicate enough as to not to do any damage. Not used a helicoil before - how would it fare in such a high torque application??
I'm hoping that now the stress on the bolt is relieved it'll shift fairly easily as said the bolts were extremely tight - had to use a T bar on the socket with an extension on the end - must have been 500mm overall to get enough force to shift them - they should be torqued to 70 lb/ft but I think that they were well tighter than that
I've used the weld a nut on method before and it usually works well , you can get good purchase on the bolt and the heat helps but in this case the bolt has broken a good few mm below the block surface and as the block is Ali I'm not sure I want to go that route
Its a difficult one to be sure - got to get enough force to bear to shift it but be delicate enough as to not to do any damage. Not used a helicoil before - how would it fare in such a high torque application??
I'm hoping that now the stress on the bolt is relieved it'll shift fairly easily as said the bolts were extremely tight - had to use a T bar on the socket with an extension on the end - must have been 500mm overall to get enough force to shift them - they should be torqued to 70 lb/ft but I think that they were well tighter than that
I've used the weld a nut on method before and it usually works well , you can get good purchase on the bolt and the heat helps but in this case the bolt has broken a good few mm below the block surface and as the block is Ali I'm not sure I want to go that route
Edited by Rockettvr on Sunday 8th May 09:15
Edited by Rockettvr on Sunday 8th May 09:17
Rockettvr said:
Morning peeps
Have sourced and ordered parts so I thought id carry on with the strip down
Top tip Martin re: Tilting engine to get access to bolts
All went well until I got to the head bolts themselves which were extremely tight
Cracked each one a little working my way around until one bugger cracked off literally
Had enough by then so filled the recess of the bolt in the head with wd 40 to soak overnight - will attack it again today with some screw extractors wd40 and if need be a bit of heat
Don't attempt to use a stud extractor in this case, it will only end in tears.Have sourced and ordered parts so I thought id carry on with the strip down
Top tip Martin re: Tilting engine to get access to bolts
All went well until I got to the head bolts themselves which were extremely tight
Cracked each one a little working my way around until one bugger cracked off literally
Had enough by then so filled the recess of the bolt in the head with wd 40 to soak overnight - will attack it again today with some screw extractors wd40 and if need be a bit of heat
Centre punch the stud as near to dead centre as you can, then drill it carefully with a 3mm drill and then with increasing drill sizes (without going into the threads) until you're left with just a shell.
Then using a small needle file, verically file a groove in the shell (on the thickest part if the hole is not central) until you break into the thread, you should the be able to tap the remains inwards with a small punch and free it.
Edited by oakdale on Sunday 8th May 10:00
Rockettvr said:
. Not used a helicoil before - how would it fare in such a high torque application??
when I had a head gasket go a few years back, I discovered what had caused it. When slackening the nuts on the ARP studs which were fitted at the time, one took far less effort to release. When I got it all apart, I could see that the thread had been stripped, presumably when the studs were installed several years earlier, and it had taken quite a long time to cause the gasket to blow. I got an engineer in to drill it out and helicoil it for me, and no problems tightening it since, either when I put the head back on, or when Dom rebuilt my engine recently.Edited by Rockettvr on Sunday 8th May 09:15
Edited by Rockettvr on Sunday 8th May 09:17
Rockettvr said:
I've just had to google left handed drill bits as I didn't know that such a thing existed.
I thought they might be on the same shelf as sky hooks and long weights.....
Don't be silly. Everyone knows they're between the left handed screwdrivers and the tubs of elbow grease.;)I thought they might be on the same shelf as sky hooks and long weights.....
You need left-handed drill bits to drill holes in chocolate fireguards don't you?
But seriously that looks like a right pig to remove. When I've welded onto bolts they have been proud of the block (and not in the head area).
If you're drilling it out as suggested then the challenge is to keep the drill square to the block face so you go dead parallel to the threads. I like the ide of the left hand bit - well it can only help.
If you haven't binned the old gasket then put it back onto the head face retained by a couple of head bolts - that will help to protect the face from inadvertent drill slippage.
But seriously that looks like a right pig to remove. When I've welded onto bolts they have been proud of the block (and not in the head area).
If you're drilling it out as suggested then the challenge is to keep the drill square to the block face so you go dead parallel to the threads. I like the ide of the left hand bit - well it can only help.
If you haven't binned the old gasket then put it back onto the head face retained by a couple of head bolts - that will help to protect the face from inadvertent drill slippage.
Evening all
All the parts for the rebuild arrived last week so I spent a few hours yesterday reassembling
No major issues just a few hard to reach bolts and it went together quite easily
Checked all fluids plopped in the battery and - nothing
A quick check revealed id forgotten to connect the main earth strap to the engine
That sorted found a weep on a fuel pipe to the fpr ,a quick tighten a check round and attempt to start and it turned over once and the battery died
I must admit the battery has not been great for a while - its ok if the wedge is used regularly but if stood for a few weeks it loses charge. It was too late to get a replacement yesterday but I picked another up today.
With a fresh battery she fired up straight away - on four cylinders traced to the 2pr resistor pack - I must have dislodged the connector while working on the car - that got me up to 6 cylinders the others needing the injector connections pushing fully home
All seems ok now - idling nicely, no steam or smoke from the exhaust, no rattles or leaks, coolant level seems to be stable
Unfortunately I wasn't able to take her for a run out as the mot has expired while she was off the road
Thanks for all the advice and help fellas will see you soon provided she passes the mot
All the parts for the rebuild arrived last week so I spent a few hours yesterday reassembling
No major issues just a few hard to reach bolts and it went together quite easily
Checked all fluids plopped in the battery and - nothing
A quick check revealed id forgotten to connect the main earth strap to the engine
That sorted found a weep on a fuel pipe to the fpr ,a quick tighten a check round and attempt to start and it turned over once and the battery died
I must admit the battery has not been great for a while - its ok if the wedge is used regularly but if stood for a few weeks it loses charge. It was too late to get a replacement yesterday but I picked another up today.
With a fresh battery she fired up straight away - on four cylinders traced to the 2pr resistor pack - I must have dislodged the connector while working on the car - that got me up to 6 cylinders the others needing the injector connections pushing fully home
All seems ok now - idling nicely, no steam or smoke from the exhaust, no rattles or leaks, coolant level seems to be stable
Unfortunately I wasn't able to take her for a run out as the mot has expired while she was off the road
Thanks for all the advice and help fellas will see you soon provided she passes the mot
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