CoronaL

iTrader: (6)

I could just hit myself in the forehead with a hammer. Finally got drivers side head on, put in mac header from the top after what seemed like a marathon attempt to get it in. got 4 of the header bolts in fine, went to put in the front bolt on cyl #1 and it was a bit hard. Thought(wrong) that it was just rubbing the gasket, but no; it was cross threaded . So I stripped out the whole freaking thread. I got head all torqued down. The motor is studded with ARP studs. I have GM graphite gaskets. The mac headers were a bitch to get in that side, I had to take off motor mounts on the drivers side.
All other bolts are fine, but with my luck I know it will leak and sound like A$$. I know I should take off head, have it fixed etc... But for whatever reason it takes me about 10x longer to do anything in a freaking car that it takes anyone else on the damm forum and I spent almost all day putting the one head one and getting header in, only to be ***'d by this whole deal.

I feel like selling car, losing my *** and just being done with it all.

Maybe I'll just buy another set of heads, pull these(patriot 5.3 stII) have them fixed and resell. Dammit. I feel like if something would go right for once I would be surprised.

drdarkman

not to sure if this is possible and all man, but try a thread repair kit. And use it on the head. Its a possibility on that

618HAWK

iTrader: (361)

Well with it being the fwd bolt on #1 I would thik you would have enough room to loosen and drop the header to repair it. Ie tapping it out one size bigger or a heli-coil.

-Joseph-

iTrader: (12)

I'd also try the heli-coil kit, believe its M8x1.25, but I'd have to check when I get back to work.

oange ss

iTrader: (50)

yes..

99SS-T

iTrader: (5)

I had the same thing happen to me. I just kept on going. Put it all teh way in and called it a day. It acts like loc-tite lol. GL man


John

My 1st Love

Heli-coil that. Should fix it just fine. You should try and relax and enjoy working on your car, or pay someone else to do the work. I learned that I had to learn to enjoy working on my camaro's or I would just hate them. Never rush it will cost you in the end. Every time I have rushed to finish something I was unhappy with the outcome, wondering if I missed anything, or I break ****.

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

Dumb question, how far in was the bolt when you knew it was stripped? If you have enough original thread left (didn't thread it all the way in) you may be able to chase the original thread with a tap and then try your bolt again carefully. Leave the header in place, but make sure you have a nice clear and straight shot at the threads. If this doesn't work, a heli-coil will fix it so don't sweat it.

CoronaL

iTrader: (6)

vettenuts: the threads are gone, trust me . It was pretty far in by the time I figured it out. I thought the gasket was just off a bit, making it a bit harder to thread, but oh no! it was cross threaded.

My next question is!
Do I need to take head off? I've never had to heli-coil anything before so not quite sure of the procedure.
If I have to take the head back off, should I get another set of head gaskets, since the head is torqued down now via the arp studs/nuts etc... Will that ruin the headgasket to take the head back off if I need to do that?

I appreciate all the help! I know it was a boneheaded thing to do. Wasn't so much I was rushing it, just that did something stupid.

Tommy Tucker

Hi there Coronal.
I have just Heli-coiled my cam retainer bolt holes (M8x1.25). It takes a few minutes for each thread. It really is that simple. The kit is about $30. You will also need to purchase the correct drill bit (21/64, 8.3mm I think).
You can do it in situ. Drilling the hole out may be a bit tricky. Ideally you want a right angle drill or adapter.
Drill it gently and slowly and it will follow the old hole. Start with a 7.5mm then an 8mm and then finally with the 8.3mm. Clean out the swarf and follow the install instructions.
It will give you a thread that you have real confidence in. None of that sinking feeling when the bolt keeps turning!!
Just don't panic. I'm sure you can run the car until you pick up the kit.
I don't know if you can lift the heads and salvage the gaskets. Probably ok if you haven't run it.
Good luck.

The Alchemist

iTrader: (19)

I did the same thing on the same bolt. I can tell you for a fact that you won't be able to tap and helicoil it with the head on.

So the question is if it's worth pulling the head in order to fix it. If it doesn't leak, I'd leave it alone.

magius231

iTrader: (8)

if its that much of a pain, pull the bolt out, put some washer spacers in there, put it back in the crossthreaded path you started, then tighten it up and pray. Ideally the helicoil or running a tap through it would be the way to go though.

ninobrn99

iTrader: (8)

I say just thread it in and be done with it. fix it when you take the heads off the car again. Thats just me though. Ive got a new set of heads coming in too. Im gonna thread all the bolts in before the heads even go on to make sure the threads are good.
Seen this happen too many times in the past!

CoronaL

iTrader: (6)

i guess my next question is!!!!
what are the chances the header gasket will or will not leak?

Is there any sort of gasket sealent I could use on there to bandaid it?

I really don't want to have to pull the head off, but if I have to, I have to!

However, if you guys think it might be fine to run some sort of sealent around the flange and gasket and torque the other bolts up, I'd be all up for that as it will save me a bunch of time and maybe headache.

But if all I'll do is make a bigger mess, then maybe I should just fix it right and now!

ugh!
I make Murphy look lucky!

magius231

iTrader: (8)

you wont make more of a mess of anything, but I've heard of sealant causing leaking issues before. Just put it in there, put enough spacers that you have it tight while still grabbing enough thread in the head, tighten it up and see what happens. Worst case you need to pull it and redo the hole. I wouldn't thread it in any more though...

redtail2426

iTrader: (10)

how do all these mishaps happen?Whenever i work on these cars i always thread bolt in at least 3/4 of the way by hand to be sure its started correctly,then i use a torque wrench to finish it off?it just seems this kinda stuff happens a lot.

CoronaL

iTrader: (6)

it happens to me b/c I'm a dumbass!
Actually to clarify! I'm not a dumbass, I just do boneheaded things! Seems to be in polar opposition to the amount of education I've gotten, the more mechanical things I mess up. Having done post-Master's work now, I'm surprised I can actually hold a screw driver w/out impaling myself.

As an aside. Again I have to applaud Patriots support. I mailed Gunnar about my mishap--again to clarify all my fault--- asking about repair options and helicoil etc... Had an answer quick as could be!

I think what I've decided to do is just build a LS2 stroker and put a turbo in it!!!!
lol j/k of course, but with all the time and stress this heads/cam swap has been, I might as well go whole hog lol!

Oh well! It's only a lot more time and a bit more $$$$. At least the kids are safe inside and the wife was actually feeling sorry for me. I'm fortunate to have the toys I have and my family, so it could be ALOT worse. In the grand scheme, even though after I did it, and to a point now, I feel dumbstruck; I'm still a lucky person overall.

thanks for the help guys and the words of encouragement or stories of similar ***'ups to give me some grounding!

OWENMUSTANG

iTrader: (2)

L.O.L! my girl friend said i was stupid for screwing with it in the 1st place...
now that my car has been undriveable since may.. i'm starting to agree with her....

Ping King

iTrader: (20)

i actually did that...or thought i did it....then just ended up being able to clean it up with a tap and the bolt torqued down OK...

BJM

iTrader: (1)

Loc-Tite also makes form-a-thread. I helicoil will be stronger than the original. Form-a-thrread will be strong enough. The threads are only as hot as the head, not the temperature of the header itself. In the worst case you drill the stuff out and heli-coil it then.

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