When I was doing my LT install I read on here that new GM bolts were the best way to go. Apparently that's not the case! These bolts are way too long for my headers (Hooker LTs) so I switched them out for the shorter ones the headers came with and they fit much tighter to the heads. However judging by this thread title it's not hard to guess what happened..

Only one of the inserts got stripped; the first one (closest to the airbox) on the drivers side. What I'm basically wondering is how big of a deal this is.. would it be crazy to leave it without a bolt there or should I try and fix it. The other 5 bolts are snug and the header doesn't budge either way. This is the 3rd time I've had to take these headers on/off, I'm not doing it again; so if the fix involves taking the headers off (so I can strip more inserts in the process) it's not happening. Thanks in advance


And no this is not an excuse to get new heads

 

What is the thickness of your header flange? I have a ½” header flange (custom) and my front most header bolt backed out and fell out, not to long after my exhaust started leaking. All other bolt where tight.

You can try and leave it out but I think it will start to leak fairly soon. Try calling a reputable auto shop and see if there is any way they can do a helicoil while it’s still in the car? Or a machine shop?

 

I used the factory 120k mile bolts n gaskets with the lock washers that came with the headers, worked perfectly so far with about 50k miles of use and no problems. I would take those bolts out and do as I did and try to get a longer bolt threaded into the front with maybe a lock washer to take up any extra space if needed. Good luck...

 

When I did my LT install I had 2 bolts broken off on drivers side. Closest to the airbox and against the firewall. It did not leak at all. good luck

 

Not sure on the thickness, they're standard Hooker headers. What I'll try and do is stick the longer stock bolt with some lock washers in and see if it'll take. Hopefully it will. It's never a good feeling when you pull a bolt out of the head with aluminum wrapped around it..

 

Do this first, Remove a bolt that still has good threads with the header still on the head. Put a factory bolt in and hand tighten it till all the way down. Barely snug it with a wrench. Find a washer ( preferably a lock washer ) to fill in the gap as close to the right thickness as possible but still atleast as thick as the gap you have between teh bolt head and the header flange. This way you have as many threads as possible in the head but still have a washer thick enough to fill the gap and assure that the header is tight against the gasket as possible to prevent them from blowing because of leaks... Make sense???