Well Im Screwed

[BOOSTDEF]

Ok,

I was taking the head off to get some work done to it and heres the story....

Exhaust, turbo, dump pipe, cooler piping and vacuum and wires off in half an hour.

Inlet manifold out in an hour...

rocker covr and cam sprocket 5 mins..

i get to the 3rd last head bolt to find that its rounded from the previous owner............. You have no idea how far i threw the tools that were in my hand(lucky they were sidchrome)....

Well what do i do??? This car has so many suss ИИИИ in places you dont see... I swear, NEVER BUY A 2ND HAND CAR FROM A DEALER.... They got me with chemiseal, and now they got me with this....(first time the rocker cover has been off)..

Anyhow, what can i do.... Im sure someone else has had this problem as the bolts are VERY tight... (90Nm of torque)..

I havent attempted it yet but it is definately severly rounded. God knows how they could round it putting it back on.

So i was thinking, could a tac weld an old socket to it??? would mild steel welding rods do this????

Other than that, i have no idea what i can do... Anyone have any suggestions..

Sorry about the frustrated post, was going so sweet until now :(

[svo347]

can you whack a impact socket over it?
otherwise its a weld on jobbie mate.

[BOOSTDEF]

Impact socket?? thanks for suggestion.

will an arc welder with mild steel rods do it??? i dont wanna stuff it up..

otherwise im engine shopping :(:(

dont worry you will get it off. i had the same problem. get a good 14mm single hex (ie impact socket) from a quality tool shop. dont get the chrome coated ones either. the black ones are very good. probably be around $10-$15 for one socket but its worth it.

if its very badly stripped you can get a single hex 13mm and you will have to file the sides of the bolt to make it fit. make sure you put alot of pressure on top of the bolt to so the socket doesnt slip off.

also unless you are are very good welder chances are all you will do is keep breaking the welds when you try to undo it.

[donno]

If it isn't done up too tight and you're not too game welding it as above, you could cut a groove in it with a hacksaw, and get a good slot head screwdriver with a hole in the handle to put a bar though for torque. That or get a large easy out plus shifter.

[mik]

make sure the bolt is clean or the weld will break, if that didnt work you might possibly grind the head off the bolt CAREFULLY (last resort) but filling all the nooks and crannys with wet rag too stop metal filings getting were they shouldnt will be a pain. mild steel rods will work fine, if you dont wanna weld a socket get another old bolt weld them head to head put 2 locknuts on the bolt you have just welded and unscrew it with your socket or spanner.

[old_mate]

i have done the welding of an old socket a few times now using a arc welder

works perfectly each time.

[BOOSTDEF]

aahhh thanks guys.... my hearts beating normally now after the replies.... The reason i love forums :P:P

i reckon ill try the impact with one of those black sockets(cant break it any more lol)...

Then try the welder...

And surely, if i get to this stage, i will cut the top of it and then deal with it...

Thanks guys....

PS... For anyone who just cant stop chasing power, just think.... A 13 SECOND QTR IS GOOD ENOUGH... "hangs head with greed"...

[stiddy]

Originally Posted by donno

you could cut a groove in it with a hacksaw, and get a good slot head screwdriver with a hole in the handle to put a bar though for torque.

Have done almost exactly that before, but had an attachment to get a socket wrench onto the back of the screw driver handle, and a dirty great big breaker bar.. and viola lol.
If you do it this way, carefull you dont break the screwdriver handle.

Impact sockets also work wonders... get one thats just a touch smaller that the bolt and whack it on with a hammer, you'll have all sorts of fun getting the bolt out of the socket once its out, but it will get it out.

[NEG]

Iv had the same problem, only it was my own fault : it was so tight i almost complely rounded it off with a socket (dont buy cheap tools :P) good quality impact socket and a very long breaker bar did the trick ;)

[neb]

i agree get an impact socket it should do the trick

[XR Martin]

It be worried about using an arc welder on a head, because depending on where you put the work lead, you could end up ИИИИing a whole lot of components.
Just be sure to put the lead as far away as you can, with it still in direct contact with where your welding. Because if you connect it to the chassis, the arc has to travel throughout the car to that point, and that could be through quite a few parts that you dont want 150amps going through.

A Mig welding is probably a better idea.

[BOOSTDEF]

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

It be worried about using an arc welder on a head, because depending on where you put the work lead, you could end up ИИИИing a whole lot of components.
Just be sure to put the lead as far away as you can, with it still in direct contact with where your welding. Because if you connect it to the chassis, the arc has to travel throughout the car to that point, and that could be through quite a few parts that you dont want 150amps going through.

A Mig welding is probably a better idea.

I was actually gonna hold the socket up with the clamp while i position it on the bolt...

But that option is after the impact socket.. Thanks.

[Rmyers]

We had the same problem with my car, first one of the rocker pedestal bolts were rounded, so we had to grind it off, only to find that one of the head bolts were rounded aswell. Before we took a grinder to it, we tried an impact socket. Had the goodz put all his weight onto the socket while i turned it with a two meter long pole on the end of the breaker bar. She came off nicely

[Barry_v]

just grind the head off with an angle grinder.

[Psycho Chicken]

Yup, if you're any good with a grinder just grind the head off.

If you're like me just grind the head off then go get some new metal welded in and machined flat.

[Rollin]

rather than risk buggering a perfectly good socket, get a cheap POS one from supercheap and hammer it on instead - if you bash it on good and proper it will deform the socket but grab the head of the bolt nicely, and you can then undo it.

if you decide to weld it putting the earth lead on the socket is a good idea....

[sphell]

If it's fully rounded then an impact socket won't help. I wouldn't bother welding either. I've been there before and the only way is to grind it off...it's easy. Just fill the holes in the head with rags so u don't get metal filings in them, and aim the grinder down between the valve springs. Just do it a bit at a time and eventually it will pop off as it won't be able to hold anymore. Then you can just undo it with your hand.

[BOOSTDEF]

Impact socket didnt work... shes a round one now :(:(

i think ill give the welder a go, as i cant make it any worse lol

I dont think i will give the griner a go haha.. I will do anything before that.

Surely you would wreck the head?? I mean scraping the head wouldnt be healthy would it??

Lucky shes still a stock motor thats for sure :P:P:P.

[Damo]

if you grind the head a bit new metal can be welded in and decked clean. Crack out the welder.

[BOOSTDEF]

got it with the old arc.... 3 sockets later however(lets not talk about my welding ability)

All this effort to finnally get the Gfs approval to get a new head :P:P

After opening up the rocker cover for the first time and seeing what condition its all in, i think im just gonna go get an AU head or something.

The bottom end looks a lot better than i thought... But it looks like im gonna get another head anyways lol

all the rocker gear was loose, things falling out everywhere... Coolant ports corroded.. Just dont think shes gonna handle 12psi and full engine/fuel management haha

Looks like im head hunting...

Thanks heaps for the help fellas.

[Papa Smurf]

You should try what our mechs at work do, GRIND the top of the bolt off?

[mr_efxr]

Had this same situation on a mates EF, we tried everything mentioned above and the only thing that work was 'Clean the bolt and weld another high tensile bolt to it'.