Mitch Johnson

H

Yes however, 3 of the 5 just spun and I was left with no choice but put longer one's in their places.

Of the 13, 6 have been replaced with longer ones.

jcorenman

Bill, a noobie question: What's the advatange of a Time-Sert over a Helicoil? They look like two favors of the same thing. My WP bolts were all fine but the big bolt on the alternator bracket "gave" a bit (maybe 10-deg) just before reaching torque. I hate that feeling. It's a 10mm bolt, I couldn't find a spec and used the generic 30 ft-lb number. I think it is OK for now but needs an insert next I get in there.

Mitch, what I've done to drill a straight hole is take a small (4-8") piece of alum bar-stock maybe 3/4 to 1" thick and drill it near one end on a drill-press with the same drill that you are going to use for the insert. Then hold it firmly against the gasket surface and use that as a drill-guide.

Cheers, Jim

Bill Ball

Time-Serts are SOLID threaded inserts as opposed to the wire Heli-Coil inserts. They both work, but Time-Serts will take more torque. Not really relevant here with the low torque, but it just makes them generally better. I've used them in motorcycle cases where the studs pulled out. It came in very handy that they have a thick-walled insert called Big-Sert, as well. Not only can it take more torque, but if you mooch the drilling and tapping of the Time-Sert, you can move on to a Big-Sert and save the day, something you can't do with Heli-Coils.

jcorenman

Thanks, much appreciated!

Cheers, Jim

heinrich

My preference (and one I have always used) is to tap ...

SeanR

Just say screw it, it's only 1 of 12 on the pump.

Ya could be like Andrew and not know what a woodruf key is.

Landseer

I had to repair two on an 84. They broke at the surface of the block and required drill-out extraction. Real PITA. Broke-off a small drill bit in one of them, then had to drill around that piece with the tiniest of drill bits. Plus the broken one was askew itself inside the broken bolt. Six or so hours with my legs under the motor, head jammed between the radiator and block, with a stanley mechanic's pick, tiny chisel and little ball peen hammer. The beauty of your situation, it appears, is that the bolts are out. Man, you've got great options.

Prepping for the helicoil was the easy part of the job. I'd never done one before, either. Basically you clean-up the bolt hole with precisely the right drill bit, tap it with the provided tap, and run-in about 1 and 3/4 lengths of heli spring with the provided tool. Squaring-up was not hard, kind of self-centered. I practiced on a few outside the car using a chunk of scrap aluminum. Flushed with WD 40 through the straw.

I left the radiator in. That was not the best move in retrospect. Wish I had an angle drill. Only my ancient craftsman drill had the right shape / profile / length to fit in-between the radiator and the block and be triggerable while under control. Barely.

I would definitely remove the water pump ( you can make yourself a new gasket if that's a concern ).

Most all the other solutions mentioned would work, too. Sorry I don't have the answers to your depth/interference question with the t-stat housing area. Be patient, you'll get it working! Be sure you know which of the bolt holes actually takes the timing cover bolt, of course. And check to make sure you have clearance with the timing cover if you start adding washers or decide on the stud option.

Mitch Johnson

After sleeping on it and looking at the options I have decided that I will defer a more elegant and permanent fix until I pull the engine, which may be this winter. This will also allow me to better ensure that no shavings from the drilling and tapping get internal.

While the time-sert looks like the best solution, IMO it is just too tight with the engine in (even pulling the radiator) to be precise enough in the alignment of the drill etc.

Once I pull the t-stat housing and can feel the back side of that area, I may use the Permatex epoxy repair kit for that single offending bolt. I am less worried about leakage than the added stress in that area from the viscous fan.

Bill, thanks for the time-sert tip, I wasn't aware of their existence.

As usual, great stuff guys very much appreciated.

Bill Ball

Mitch:

Sleeping on it worked for you. That's a good approach.

Chris mentioned his experience with broken bolts, a more common problem. I broke one on my first TB job and created a minor catastrophe by drilling it off-center (radiator still in providing no good line of sight), and snapping off a tungsten carbide tap in the hole. It took me 5 days of sleeping on it before I arrived at the right solution. I had the tap out in 10 minutes using a diamond tipped Demel bit and managed to get the remaining shell of the off-center drilled bolt out in a few more, finding enough original threads to stick a bolt in. I created the remaining threads by sticking some JB Weld in the hole, let it partially set and the threaded in the bolt with some oil on it, That was 8 years and a couple of dozen TBs ago. Fortunately, I've never had another bolt issue.