j/k 
just like what others said, try new bolts and drive the hell out of it 
Daily Driver
Daily Driver Hey guys I know this doesnt relate to my LS1 but I just bought a 97 cavalier 2.4L Twin Cam for a dd... I only paid $150 but it runs and drives... it was leaking tons of oil from the head gasket area so i replaced it etc... now my problem lay with the head bolts. They will not tighten... any ideas?
Yea I was going to toss then but I'm in Hawaii on an island and there is no bolt set here... Not sure about torque though I guess I'll just have to wait for new bolts!!
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3 out of 10 bolts got tight... the bolt threads in but then once the bolt head hits the top of the valve cover it just spins and doesnt tighten... drove it out of the garage this afternoon to make space for my trans am and it lost almost all its oil so i added a quart just to get it on the street... im getting a new bolt kit soon should i just throw some loctite on? im not going to tear into the car again... i already got my moneys worth lol
3 out of 10 bolts got tight... the bolt threads in but then once the bolt head hits the top of the valve cover it just spins and doesnt tighten... drove it out of the garage this afternoon to make space for my trans am and it lost almost all its oil so i added a quart just to get it on the street... im getting a new bolt kit soon should i just throw some loctite on? im not going to tear into the car again... i already got my moneys worth lol
...ok I think this is making a little more sense now...
When you take your valve cover off (which I think is actually your camshaft housing cover) you can see your camshaft... so you are driving bolts through the camshaft housing and into the cylinder head and not into the engine block. Now if these bolt threads are stripped I would recommend contacting a local machine shop to see if it would be worth pulling the heads...
Good Luck - Keep us updated
When you take your valve cover off (which I think is actually your camshaft housing cover) you can see your camshaft... so you are driving bolts through the camshaft housing and into the cylinder head and not into the engine block. Now if these bolt threads are stripped I would recommend contacting a local machine shop to see if it would be worth pulling the heads...
Good Luck - Keep us updated
well heres the deal... i pulled the head and everything again yesterday and put in heli coils... newbie mistake that i made i forgot to check the timing putting everyhting back together and it would start...crank but no start... im about to head back out to the garage in a few to do the timing and hope for the best... would the timing make it not start if it is off bad enough? i know its more than a tooth or two
These can be very tricky motors for those who have never worked on them before....Now, wanna hear the bad news? These 2.4L engines NEVER go through head gaskets unless they have been overheated badly. My mom no joke has 305K miles on her original 2.4L engine in a 2000 Grand AM -never replaced head gasket.
There are two spots where you saw oil leaking from, either out of the water pump (ran off timing chain) but more than likely the valve cover gaskets which are like the cam cover gaskets which you have to pull the timing chain, front cover off to replace. Regardless, if you did all that work and now the timing is off you are going to have to pull the head again as I'm sure you damaged the valves....
There are two spots where you saw oil leaking from, either out of the water pump (ran off timing chain) but more than likely the valve cover gaskets which are like the cam cover gaskets which you have to pull the timing chain, front cover off to replace. Regardless, if you did all that work and now the timing is off you are going to have to pull the head again as I'm sure you damaged the valves....
ok i tore it down AGAIN and set the timing and it starts and runs... now another problem lol... at idle i believe it is the timing chain maybe has some slack in it cause an awful noise but like i said only at idle. When u just barely touch the pedal noise goes away... my solution that i have come up with for this is to drive the **** out of it till it blows up because i paid 150 for the car and not even another 50 in parts so its still not even a 200 dollar car.... as for the oil leak... the oil was coming from the valve cover gasket/the prior people who did the head gasket stripped the block... after the helicoils which there are only four out of ten holes helicoiled because i couldnt tap all the holes without pulling everything off the motor or pulling the motor...and black rtv there is only a minor leak that i can see coming from one of the bolts that didnt get tightened all the way....
F working on this car anymore!!! lol paid 150 for it and it even brought my insurance premium DOWN on all three cars ill just drive her till she blows
F working on this car anymore!!! lol paid 150 for it and it even brought my insurance premium DOWN on all three cars ill just drive her till she blows
ok i tore it down AGAIN and set the timing and it starts and runs... now another problem lol... at idle i believe it is the timing chain maybe has some slack in it cause an awful noise but like i said only at idle. When u just barely touch the pedal noise goes away... my solution that i have come up with for this is to drive the **** out of it till it blows up because i paid 150 for the car and not even another 50 in parts so its still not even a 200 dollar car.... as for the oil leak... the oil was coming from the valve cover gasket/the prior people who did the head gasket stripped the block... after the helicoils which there are only four out of ten holes helicoiled because i couldnt tap all the holes without pulling everything off the motor or pulling the motor...and black rtv there is only a minor leak that i can see coming from one of the bolts that didnt get tightened all the way....
F working on this car anymore!!! lol paid 150 for it and it even brought my insurance premium DOWN on all three cars ill just drive her till she blows
F working on this car anymore!!! lol paid 150 for it and it even brought my insurance premium DOWN on all three cars ill just drive her till she blows
