Stripped head bolts

2510 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by Jmreed81, May 20, 2013

jamesimm02

Discussion Starter · May 19, 2013

Just put new heads in my Disco II, 138,000 miles ran like stink for 1 month then the head gasket went POP and sounded like an old steam engine....so I shut her down and towed it home...
There was no overheating, no damage to the heads everything looked good, just a little carbon on the edge of the cylinder that came off with a 3M pad. BUT 3 of the new stretch bots were finger tight ??? not good!
I ordered the ARP stud kit, started to put it back together BUT.... those same three locations would not even hold the studs at 20lbs....turns out 2 of them had already been Helicored and the third was plain stripped out! This block was FRIED at some time in here checkered past...
SO.....Can I Helicore these again or can I order a stud slighty larger, there is room on the heads for a 1/32" larger bolt..in fact I had a set of ARP studs for the mains block that I had bought by mistake and they would go in there like butter...just a little drill and tap? Maybe? Or do they make a "NASA" adhesive that would hold Thor's Hammer

Only thing worse than being stuck in a Rover is calling your friend with a Ford to come and get you...:complain:

99 Disco II
Rear spring conversion
ACE
138,000
1966 Ford F-150
78 Chevy Last resort tow motor

Save

1 - 4 of 4 Posts

RoverGuy7

· #2 · May 19, 2013

Which three?

I know that the bolt holes on the lower /outer part of the block are very close to the coolant passages, and you probably would not be able to drill and tap effectively, without causing issues. I would suspect it is just as close on the top holes, but I have never verified that.

I would recommend a machine shop at this point, before you cause damage that cannot be repaired.

Save

helievacpilot

· #3 · May 19, 2013

jamesimm02 said:
Just put new heads in my Disco II, 138,000 miles ran like stink for 1 month then the head gasket went POP and sounded like an old steam engine....so I shut her down and towed it home...
There was no overheating, no damage to the heads everything looked good, just a little carbon on the edge of the cylinder that came off with a 3M pad. BUT 3 of the new stretch bots were finger tight ??? not good!
I ordered the ARP stud kit, started to put it back together BUT.... those same three locations would not even hold the studs at 20lbs....turns out 2 of them had already been Helicored and the third was plain stripped out! This block was FRIED at some time in here checkered past...
SO.....Can I Helicore these again or can I order a stud slighty larger, there is room on the heads for a 1/32" larger bolt..in fact I had a set of ARP studs for the mains block that I had bought by mistake and they would go in there like butter...just a little drill and tap? Maybe? Or do they make a "NASA" adhesive that would hold Thor's Hammer

Only thing worse than being stuck in a Rover is calling your friend with a Ford to come and get you...:complain:

99 Disco II
Rear spring conversion
ACE
138,000
1966 Ford F-150
78 Chevy Last resort tow motor

Do not, under any circumstances, use Scotch-Brite pads on the deck or the heads. Bad ju-ju on aluminum engines. Secondly, if this block has unkown previous damage, as you have stated, get it to a pro. It may be toast.

Save

Jmreed81

· #4 · May 20, 2013

I recently used a helicoil successfully on my engine rebuild, however if a helicoil strips it is the same as a bolt stripping. No NASA strength glue exists that will hold that stud at 80 ft/lbs. In addition to helicoils there is a product called T-serts that many prefer. However, I agree with helievacpilot on this one, take it to a machine shop.

Save

1 - 4 of 4 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.

Top Contributors this Month