Replace both head gaskets or just the leaky one?

[chevyaddict]

At this point it is probably safe to say that the manifold is going to have to be re-tapped and have heli-coils installed in a lot of the threads. It will not cost much more to re-tap and heli-coil all of the threaded holes and that will end this problem forever.

So (I love starting paragraphs with And & So) get the bolts out anyway you can. I despise extractors and do not allow them in the shop.

To remove a frozen bold we weld another larger bolt to it. One with a nice big head to get a wrench on. The heat generated in the bolt while welding helps to break the threads loose.

Then we wiggle the wrench back and forth until the bolt finally breaks free. Often the welded on bolt breaks free. Just weld it back on and keep trying. This method is about 90% effective for us. The other 10% are not coming out for love, money or an act of any god of your choosing.

Good luck

But the problem is these are the bolts that are into the aluminum heads.... the actual intake bolts. I really don't want to use heat or drilling on these particular bolts for that very reason... if I weld something onto these bolts won't the heat warp either the manifold itself or the heads?

 

[chevyaddict]

Tried some more with these intake bolts... they ain't comin'. Damn torx bolts. So, if I simply drill out/down the center of them smaller and use a small extractor that will do the trick? I want to try to get these out without hitting the threads in the heads.

I know this is crazy but I'm half tempted to try to take the heads and intake manifold off together and take the whole get-up down to a machine shop. With two big strong men on each side I'm sure I could lift all three components up together.... Is that a ludicrous idea? :ugh

I also FINALLY got the damn a/c bracket off. That little heater hose that goes through the bracket... boy that is just a lovely design feature. :bash And, moreover the clamp on that bottom hose was IMPOSSIBLE to get to. I had to cut the hose to get everything apart. Where on earth does that "t" from the heater hose go that seems to run underneath the oil pan? I find that a bit odd.........

 

[G Winter]

The T may go to the oil cooler .
You can get by with maybe pulling one head and intake but not both heads.If the L98 is anything like any other 350 there are locating pins in the block on each end of the heads.
If you can get all the bolts out of one side of the head you could just drill the heads off the bolts on the other side. This should allow you to lift the manifold off to one side.

Glenn

 

[Schrade]

Stay on topic..

Bud Dougherty
Forums Administrator

 

[gmjunkie]

But the problem is these are the bolts that are into the aluminum heads.... the actual intake bolts. I really don't want to use heat or drilling on these particular bolts for that very reason... if I weld something onto these bolts won't the heat warp either the manifold itself or the heads?

It won't hurt anything, as long as you weld to the bolt!!
Sometimes the heat from welding it loosens the bolts and they come right out!!
I have to heat bolts all the time to get them out,I usually heat them before the bolt gets striped if I can!!

PS. You'll crack the intake trying to get them all off all at once!!hnoes

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Why these guys do not work and for me are a bad idea.

They are LH threaded & tapered, the idea is that you drill a hole in the center of the bolt, insert the extractor and by screwing it down into the bolt it grips the bolt and turns it counter clockwise, removing the bolt.

BS what actually happens is:
1) under the hood it is almost impossible to drill a hole down the center of a bolt, you stand a good chance of nicking some of the mating threads.
2) the bolt was frozen in place to start with, that is why the head broke/stripped to start with so it still does not want to be extracted even with its center drilled and the tool inserted & turned.
3) as the tapered extractor is screwed into the bolt it expands the now thin walled tube that the bolt became when it was drilled forcing the bolts threads even tighter into the matching threads making the bolt even harder to remove. The Spanish used a similar system for torture during the Inquisition.
4) expecting the extractor to preform as advertised more and more torque is applied to the extractor until it eventually breaks off in the bolt which means that the extractor must be extracted.

And that is why I never allow extractors in the shop.

If you are worried about making a mess out of the aluminum trying to weld a new bolt on to the broken one find a piece of steel scrap +/- 1/16¨thick and 4-6 inches larger than the bolt, size is not important. Drill a hole about 1/4¨ larger than the bolt in the center of this piece. Place this over the bolt and weld the new one through the hole. This piece of scrap metal will catch all of the flux and any clumsy handling of the welder. I always use this method when welding close to any lump of pretty metal that I do not want to mark or have to refinish.

If worst comes to worse drill the heads off of the stuck bolts to get the intake apart. You can deal with getting the remains of the bolts out on the work bench or take it to a machine shop where it becomes somebody else's problem.

 

[Mac]

If worst comes to worse drill the heads off of the stuck bolts to get the intake apart. You can deal with getting the remains of the bolts out on the work bench or take it to a machine shop where it becomes somebody else's problem.

Exactly. The Torx hole becomes a drill guide...

-Mac

 

[chevyaddict]

Exactly. The Torx hole becomes a drill guide...

-Mac

No... I'm not drilling DOWN into the hole (that is obvious it would be the drill guide). I want to sheer the head of the bolt OFF so I can then take the heads down to a machine shop and let them extract them out of there.

 

[Mac]

No... I'm not drilling DOWN into the hole (that is obvious it would be the drill guide). I want to sheer the head of the bolt OFF so I can then take the heads down to a machine shop and let them extract them out of there.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the position of the bolt. Does it secure the intake to the head? If so, what prevents you from using a large drill bit to take the head off of the bolt with the Torx hole as a guide?

-Mac

 

[chevyaddict]

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding the position of the bolt. Does it secure the intake to the head? If so, what prevents you from using a large drill bit to take the head off of the bolt with the Torx hole as a guide?

-Mac

Ah... I see. I'm misunderstanding you... you are saying use a large drill bit that will still fit down into the manifold hole potentially, and doing that will by default remove the head of the bolt as I drill..... I SEE I SEE! I can be a little slow on the uptake some times. That should work! I'll try it today!!! I guess I was so against the idea of drilling "down" that I didn't see the obvious. Thank you!!!

 

[bill5674]

can you get a long chisel or punch on them ?The shock of a hammer might help loosen them.If not it still might feel good to hit something with a hammer!

 

[G Winter]

The intake bolts are 3/8 I believe. Use a 5/16 drill.
when you get through the head of the bolt and hit
the threaded area the head will break off,if not by
itself just a little tap with a hammer and chisel will
take it off.

Glenn

 

[chevyaddict]

The intake bolts are 3/8 I believe. Use a 5/16 drill.
when you get through the head of the bolt and hit
the threaded area the head will break off,if not by
itself just a little tap with a hammer and chisel will
take it off.

Glenn

Excellent... gonna try this tomorrow. I'm very excited. The only thing I'll have left as far as bolt removal is the passenger side exhaust so hopefully none of those bolts are seized as I won't be able to drill them out. I'll let you all know how it goes!!!

 

[Mac]

Thank you!!!

Spanishvett and Glenn get the kudos on this one... but only AFTER you've succeeded!

-Mac

 

[chevyaddict]

Ok... so it has taken me all this time to get the gumption to restart this project. What a PAIN it has been. Stripped bolt after stripped bolt.... exhaust bolts all broke. Ugh. A N Y W A Y I just want to thank those of you that pushed me to replace both head gaskets even though I've been loathing that decision.... I just finally go the passenger head off (the non leaky one) and low and behold.... a nice crack in the head gasket so even though it wasn't leaking it would have started soon. I suspect this is the exact spot the driver's side is leaking. I'm almost there... just have to get the exhaust manifold unbolted from the exhaust pipe (err..... break the bolts since they are so rusty). The car has been sitting now apart for almost a year. I haven't a CLUE how all this stuff goes back together so I'll be asking you guys for help! I have parts strewn ALL OVER THE PLACE!!!!!!!!

I think I'm going to put new lifters in her too before I put her back together. She has 108K miles so might as well. I hope I never have to do this again until its time for an engine rebuild.

 

[chevyaddict]

The intake bolts are 3/8 I believe. Use a 5/16 drill.
when you get through the head of the bolt and hit
the threaded area the head will break off,if not by
itself just a little tap with a hammer and chisel will
take it off.

Glenn

BTW, the bolt extractor broke off so I had to grind off the top of the bolt head to get the intake manifold off. Now, even though I have access to the broken stud... even with vise grips I can't get it out so gonna let the machine shop wrestle with it.

 

[chevyaddict]

If you guys want to see pictures of the head gaskets, go here:

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...ance/119429-leaky-head-gaskets-check-out.html

 

[joshwilson3]

It's always a good idea to bag and mark all of your bolts to where they go. Take pictures. I believe you have to put the pushrods and valves back in the same slot they came out of?

At this rate. I'd go ahead and replace all the bolts for the intake and heads. And what other area had bolts breaking/stripping.

 

[SPANISHVETTS]

Happy New Year from the Grand Canyon

When do the parts come back from the machine shop?

I am headed East at the moment, need to be in Pensacola next week. I should be coming back the southern route the last week of the month.

If you could use some dumb muscle to lift motors and such I would enjoy meeting you guys and seeing all the Cheys.

I am hopping to meet Jane Ann, Rain and some of the Florida bunch while in that part of the world as well.

 

[chevyaddict]

When do the parts come back from the machine shop?

I am headed East at the moment, need to be in Pensacola next week. I should be coming back the southern route the last week of the month.

If you could use some dumb muscle to lift motors and such I would enjoy meeting you guys and seeing all the Cheys.

I am hopping to meet Jane Ann, Rain and some of the Florida bunch while in that part of the world as well.

Well, I hope to drop the items off tomorrow but they shouldn't have them that long. I plan to try to begin reassembly but am going to get really busy with work again so not sure how fast it will get reassembled. I'm not doing too much car work these days due to time constraints. My schedule is so hectic right now it would be hard to plan something. But email me at drdawnhill@gmail.com when you are cruising by!