Was replacing valve cover...last hole to drill...had gotten an excellent feel for how far to drill...when of course, i go too far and coolant goes everywhere...
From reading on here my engine isnt trashed but i need very detailed and specific instruction to fix as i would not like to make this worse....
Help please!!!
perfect excuse to do the 4.0 head swap! ;D
Heh...not in the budget at the moment...feel like a total idiot now, i had a bad feeling about the last hole...just glad to know my engine is not fubar...
Simples fix would just be to tap it and screw the valve cover wit some silicone on the bolt.
Yep, that's what i did after i found amc78concord's thread about a bad install job. Everything looks good as of now, so hopefully it holds up.
Saw this too late.......I would've suggested lock tite and a stud, rather than a bolt so you can remove it later if need be with out coolant going everywhere. The bolt will work too, but just remember to drain your coolant if you need to change your VC gasket, lol.
Did the same thing a few weeks ago tapping my 350 block for an alternator mount. I fixed it not by tapping it, but by using a Grade 8 bolt 'backwards'. I used my grinder to take the hex head off of the bolt. I took time to make sure it was as perfectly round as possible. I found a drill bit that drilled the exact same size hole as the bolt diameter. NOTE - The bolt will NOT fit into the hole. It's the exact same size. I purchased a small chunk of dry ice from the grocery store ($2) and I wrapped the bolt up w/ the ice for 20 minutes. I then put a torch on the block and heated the hole up quite a bit. Quickly, I beat the frozen bolt into the hot hole w/ a small sledge. The block cooled and shrank, the bolt warmed and expanded. I now have a forever-there stud in the block. I couldn't get it out if I had to. I used the stud sticking out of the block instead of threading a bolt into the block. It sounds complicated but it really wasn't. You would then use a spacer and a nut to tighten down the valve cover in your case.
i will have to drain coolant at some point i believe, my radiator is garbage -- probably a good idea to just flush all coolant and start over then.
at this point everything looks good and secure -- no oil, no coolant so for now i am safe.
will definitely do a stud when i take it all apart again. thanks for all your help
Quote from: shaggimo on August 16, 2011, 08:22:30 AM
Saw this too late.......I would've suggested lock tite and a stud, rather than a bolt so you can remove it later if need be with out coolant going everywhere. The bolt will work too, but just remember to drain your coolant if you need to change your VC gasket, lol.
his is the way i would go