So I am putting my hybrid back together. Have the head torqued on, intake and exhaust on, and i couldnt get the dizzy installed. So i pull the front dive bolt under the nose of the cam, remove 1 washer so it doesnt hit the gears and reinstall in with a 3/8" ratchet and it snapped off. I think it bottomed out. So, I assume many of you have had the same thing happen. What will happen if i say **** it and just stick it together anyways? Major oil leak there, or will the head not seal at all? I am going to measure how much bolt is in my hand vs how thick this head is to the surface it sits on and compare them, maybe some is sticking up.

I really would have liked to install a grade 8/10.9 stud and nut there. I hate putting bolts into aluminum.

Give me some advice, am i ****ed and gotta rip everything apart and waste another 100 bucks on gaskets and oil, or should it hold and be messy?

 

So its 3.975" from the head deck to the valve cover edge. Its 2.090" from the deck to the pad the bolt sits against. That means that 1.885" of bolt is exposed between that face and the block deck. I have about 1.35" of bolt in my hand. So there should be something to grab with vice grips and remove. I just really dont want to rip it all apart. This truck being down is keeping me from working. Lost my job already. Some advice from other people ****ing up would help.

 

EZ out and drill bit?

 

so you broke the bolt off in the timing cover? if so you can try and drill it out with the head still on and see if you can get an easy out in there or like you said pull the head back off and try some vise grips. the gasket should be fine since there was no heat from the engine. it most likely would leak oil from the t-chain throwing oil everywhere. but if you do drill it out have a shop vac going so it can suck up the shavings so they dont get down into the pan. worst case i have another t- cover, but that would only leave me with two spares.lol. in all reality its up to you on what direction you want to go.

 

Today I am too furious to do anything more on that piece of ****. Im in the mood to burn it to the ground. Every single thing I have touched today has broke. This bolt which was nearly the last, my dirtbike kept breaking down and I got to push it up hill home. Broke a rake in the yard. Broke some tools. Computer is on the fritz. Just super pissed. I will just have to take the head off tomorrow and see if there is anything sticking up. If not, I'll get another front cover and install my water and oil pumps. Or if somebody wants to come give me 2 grand for it today its theres.

 

That's your best bet remove the timing cover and get a easy out or drill re tap . That can be done without removing the head .. Gotta loosen the oil pan down so you don't smash up the head gasket portion that goes over the timing cover ..

Just drop the pan a little so the timing cover has room to move out and be put back in

 

That will just make more work and mess for me. Like yoter said, it hasnt gotten hot or wet yet so maybe the gasket is still good. I didnt expect it to hold too well with old head bolts anyways.

 

I did the same thing after the Tchain on my 83. I had to loosen the head and then pull the tchain cover off. bolt came right out with vice grips. I was told by a local shot that bolt only needs snugged down, dont go crazy on it.

 

Yea it's sole purpose is to snug the gasket around the timing chain area so you don't have massive leaks
The easiest way to replace that is how I mentioned above .if you have already added fluids to the new headgasket job or do not want to remove the head ..ive done two that way hardest part is just getting the crank pully off the rest pretty much falls out ..only cost a oil pan gasket if desired and timing cover gasket .bout 12 bucks ..

 

I had to loosen the head because there was just enough of the broken bolt sticking into the head I couldnt pull the cover off.

 

I decided to take the head off last night. My measurements were correct, there was about 1/2" o exposed bolt left. Came right out. Today ill get a new head gasket and a new bolt. If I can, I'm changing it to a stud. Even if that means cutting the head off a bolt to make it a stud. Then it can stay in the front cover forever. Going to swap the intake manifold to all studs as well. A couple holes feel like the threads are getting weak. Sometimes I really don't like aluminum lol.

 

And I thought my motor was dirty!

But in all seriousness, oven cleaner works amazing at cleaning the grease off! Especially when you can buy a can from the $1 store.. Just don't let it sit on the aluminum too long, or spray it on something that's shiny..

 

I used to have no PCV line on the front valve cover port. So it misted EVERYWHERE lol. I have a catch can now. It'll all pressure wash off. I've got lots of brake clean and other stuf if it doesn't just blow off. It'll all look purdy again soon. Gotta start painting the stuff in the bay like wiper motor and igniter. Got a huge show in 4 weeks.

 

When I first bought my truck from an old man . The motor was so caked in goo on the front that I swear after I degreased it the engine ran cooler .and I no longer had to edge my driveway because of the Chernobyl waste water of the block killed everything

 

I'm not runnin anything on the front breather, but I'm not getting that dirty.. I am leaking from the valve cover gasket though..

To be honest, I was kinda shocked o see something from your truck that dirty. Everything else is so nice looking!

 

Yeah. I may have had some other oil leaks with previous setups. I never bother keeping the engine looking good. It'll look good for show season though by Sunday.

 

I have had valve cover leak issues for years too. It's usually the cover bolt rubber washers, the half moons at the ends of the head, or the PCV boot. The cover gasket itself seals really well. I made sure to RTV the half moons down and use a fresh PCV boot. Should be leak free.

To fix the bolt I got a new grade 8.8 8x1.25mm x 60mm bolt today. Filed the head of the bolt down a bit and ran 1 washer below. Clears the dizzy gear and didn't bottom out. Still want to swap it for a stud later though when I switch to head studs. I am also going to swap all the intake manifold bolts to studs. Then I can use valve cover nuts on them. Nice wide seat and acorn shape. Should look really clean.

By the way, the motor runs great now