Broken Header Bolts

[saint]

Well ive been posting on ls1tech and fbody.com about this issue. During my install of my qtp lt's, we found a broken bolt furthest back on the driver side. No head on the bolt, from the previous owner apparently. And then the bolt right before decided to snap during tightening. So i have 2 bolts stuck headless in my block. Im dropping the header and having ls1kids uncle take a look at it, he's been real cool so far and will hopefully be able to help me.

But in the event he cant, i will probably have to pull the head. Now after dumping a grand in to my clutch ((which still isnt installed)), im broke. lol

So does anyone know a shop/mechanic close by who could help me out? Maybe some1 who has had this problem and had it fixed... what do you all suggest? Im just trying to collect as many ideas as possible from all the fbody owners i can find. Thanks.

[j0n]

you're going to have to pull the head off...it should only cost you the price of gaskets and a weekend of non-stop work

[saint]

lol dude i dont wanna break anything else..

[JPiZZiJP]

When I had my exhaust manifold replaced, the bolt snapped off as well... they had to drill a new hole to make a new mount for a new bolt.

[Ian]

easy outs are your friend

[saint]

Yeah we're going to try an easy out, but the problem is fitting the drill in there. You've seen how tight the ls1 engine bay is im sure. Its pretty limited. But thats what we're going to try.

But I was talkin about possibly just making a new hole for a new bolt. Instead of spending astronomical amounts of money on pulling the head. What did that set you back JP?

[bad64chevelle]

pulling the head is free. I say dont rig it like that and get your hands dirty and pull the head then easy out it once its out. Its not that bad.

[bitchincamaro]

do it once and do it right. if not you could end up chasing other problems and the car will nickel and dime you to death. i understand its already eating up your money, but thats just a car doing car things. i took a small loan out to finish my car, getting some credit build up too.

[saint]

how hard is it to pull the head?

[j0n]

alot of bolts and alot of patience...you can do it with a decent socket set no problem. it's really alot more time consuming than it is difficult...pick up a chilton's manual and follow it to a T,,,it'll make things a million times easier

[Tru2Chevy]

Originally Posted by saint

how hard is it to pull the head?

I helped Bill (foff667) with the head and cam swap on his '98 Camaro, and the hardest part was undoing the bolts on the head. There is a somewhat complicated process to torque them back down, but as long as you pay attention it isn't actually difficult. He had printed out a 25ish page guide for the head and cam swap that included all details plus good pictures.

- Justin

[Tru2Chevy]

Originally Posted by j0n

alot of bolts and alot of patience...you can do it with a decent socket set no problem.

Good luck pulling the head off of an LS1 with just a standard socket set. You're gonna need an air gun or a pretty nice breaker bar to un bolt the head.

- Justin

[saint]

**** it, ill pay some1 to do it. im not a mechanic. i did the headers to save money n it looks like it may cost me more. so ill see what i can do without pullin the head. and worst case scneario. ill just hand it over to a professional and pay em.

[PA_GregSS]

Is any of the bolt exposed outside of the hole? The thing about bolts is that all of the tension is on the head. Once it snaps off, a lot of the time it's rather easy to screw the rest out of the hole. If there's any, even the littlest bit, exposed, try to turn it by pressing on it with a screwdriver or something. It could be a time consuming process getting all of the angles to actually turn the bolt but it could save you a lot of time in the end.

[saint]

yeah im dropping the header today to see if theres anything we cant see under the header flange. im praying some of its exposed. but im not sure bout the last one.

[foff667]

i would offer you my old heads butt they are perimeter bolt so theres more involved in swapping out just the heads...btw you'll need new head bolts if you go that route...www.ls1howto.com is a good place to start...not difficult just backbreaking.

[saint]

got the bolt out! **** it, im leavin the last one in. i bought the car like that, so ill live. if i ever do a heads cam swap ill take care of it then. but im just happy this one came out.

[89 Trans Am WS6]

Dont forget to put something in there or youll have some nasty exhaust leaks

[saint]

... u mean where i took the bolt out? lol ofcourse ill put a new bolt in there. but nothing will go in where hte last one is brolken inside the head.