During my head installation, I heard a loud pop while screwing my head bolt down. I pulled the bolt out, it doesn't appear to have broken any threads, but I can't figure out what the problem might be. I am going to get some compressed air and try to blow out whatever I can from the head bolt holes, but I fear the worst. What should I do, and if any of you have ideas on what is happening, please let me know, and what course of action I need to take to fix the problem. Also, how much money is it going to cost to do the repairs that are needed?

 

What you heard was coolant get compressed while you were threading the head bolt down. Happened to me too.

 

<sigh>

I think it has been said here about 999 times that you have to clean out the bolt holes for the heads. If you do not, you break things that you cannot easily repair.

Ok make that 1000 times.

 

I had my heads off the block for about a month before i put them back on, so I had time to let a lot of the coolant dry up, but even after that amount of time, the lower bolts still had coolant in them.

I went to Best Buy and bought a can of Fellowes Compressed air. I put the little straw on the end of the nozzle and stuck it all the way down in the hole and sprayed it out. The coolant just shot right out of there.

I then took a rolled up paper towel and stuck it in all 10 of the big holes on each side, and the towel came out just barely damp. It didnt even encounter enough to soak it.

There really is no excuse to not get all the coolant out. Just use air-in-a-can.

 

The easiest way is to tape a straw to the end of a shop-vac and suck it all up. Works perfectly.