wow....i havent posted in awhile at the lt1 section! I've been on the worlds most drawn out, longest cam swap ever! But right now I am at a stopping point and dont know what else to do.

This cam swap has been the biggest PITA. First off grinding down the timing cover was lovely till I almost went through one spot so that was a tad bit stressful. I installed an electric water pump of course and that actually went well. Then as I was reassembling everything back together...murphys law came to haunt me AGAIN! I was torqing down the cam bolts when one snapped and busted off right in the darn cam...great. So I drill it out, tap it out, blah blah no big deal. I got the front of the motor basically put back on, I just need a lower alternator bracket and I'm set.

Now I'm on the headers and of course I do the passenger side first...the sucker slides right in through the top completely fine! Just like I thought it would, I'm just have a hard time lining up the holes so I can put the header bolts in. So I move on to the driver side header. Here's murphy again!! I go to take out the steering linkage and the top bolt comes out with a serious amount of effort. I had to bust out my breaker bar with one long *** extension on it. Now on to the bottom.....hey look, someone else that had the car before me stripped the hell out of the bolt!!

So this is where I'm stuck for now till I get to the valve springs. Anyone have any ideas what I could do to get that bottom bolt off??? I know I could drill it out but there has to be an easier way. I could also take an air chisel to it but then again, I dont want to mess anything up with the steering linkage. Thanks for all the help guys!

-Eddie

 

sacrificial socket and epoxy perhaps?

 

when i did my lt header swap i was able to just unbolt the top bolt and fold the assembly over instead of unbolting both bolts. i wouldnt even mess with that lower bolt if it looks that stripped.

 

crafstman makes these awesome bolt extractors theyre hex shaped and go over the striped bolt then ya crank on it a bit and it comes out deff one of the best tools ive purchased

but i also didnt have to take the botom bolt out should just be able to fold the linkage over as stated

 

Yeah, i know what you mean. I replaced a clutch on my twin turbo 3000gt.

transfer case fill plug was stripped, wouldnt come out.
both front hubs were shot.
both axel seals.
snapped TWO grade 8 bolts into my aluminum transmission, and cracked off one of the bolts holes off. That had to be welded.
broke two rear lugs
stripped a front caliper bolt
broke a bolt in the turbo manifold, didnt fix it
had to rebuild both front CV joints
car wouldnt start when i got done
caliper froze and melted the drive side rotor
destroyed and axel from the broken hub

after replacing all that, putting a body kit on, 1,000 tubo-back aluminum exhaust, and buying the paint to paint it, i totalled the day i was having it painted.

I know the feeling of having a car that someone tried to fix before you. It's a PITA. What headers did you use, and how hard was it to get the drive side on?

 

Hmmm, I'll have to try and fold down the linkage instead of taking it completely off. I gave the steering wheel a few turns and it wiggled off a little bit(top portion of steering linkage), so now I can at least see the bolt hole. I had a brain fart last night and if for some reason it wont fold down then I just drill it out with a rotary grinder and my carb. bit.

The headers are hooker super comp long tubes, I havent put in the driver side yet because the linkage isnt off/out of the way. But I'm thinking its going to go through the top just like the passenger side does. I'd hate to jack the car way up in the air so if I need a little more clearnece (doubtful) I'll jack the motor a little towards the passenger side.

Thank you for the suggestions and I'll keep everyone posted!

-Eddie

 

What I do when I have a bolt that wont come out with vice grips and I can't get an extractor on is this: take another bolt that you don't need and weld it to the end of that bolt that is stripped. Then just use a wrench and turn the bolt you welded on.

 

you can also grind two side of the bolt flat. Heat up AROUND the bolt with a blow torch (cafeul aluminum doesnt burn), and crimp soem vice grips onto it. You should be able to back the bolt out with extreme ease, especially since the heads are aluminum.

 

yes i could tig weld another bolt head on there but thats a little toooo much work for a stupid bolt . Unless it was something that I really needed then I'd weld a different bolt head. I think I'll do what Shawn suggested, ands yes I did get the top to fold down but I cant just leave the bottom bolt all stripped and busted up like that.

thank you eveyone! i'll keep you all posted!!

 

Be careful when you do that. Aluminum wont burn or turn red like steel will. You could easily melt a hole in the side if you arent careful. Just heat around it until you are able to twist the bolt out. Supposing your flesh wouldnt melt, you should be able to unscrew it with your fingers.

 

huh??

he is talking about the steering shaft bolt, not the manifold bolts in the head

 

My mistake, i just had just woken up. I only read once and didnt read that thoroughly. In any case, it will still work, just be careful.

 

It is so easy to weld a bolt to it. Just hold the threaded end up to the stripped head and weld away. I have had bolts that no matter how hard vice grips were clamped onto it, they would slip. It won't slip if welded.

Whatever you chose, good luck. Stripped bolts blow.

 

yes, thats what i ended up doing...and using a blow torch. thank you everyone for all your help!!!

-Eddie