I have a question. When engine was rebuilt, machine shop stuck plugs in back of heads. I have been driving it like that for a few months now with no problem. I spoke with LE and he said that line is used to get air out of the heads to insure proper head collant. I went to put the line back on and found out the threads are stripped on the driver side head. Plugged it back up and no leaks once pressure build but did leak with line in. Is this a major issue that I need to fix or don't worry. Like I said car pulls great and does not over heat, ever. But what he said has me worried.

Any advised would be appreaciated. The machine shop said that it shouldn't be an issue beacuse that line acts as an air bleeder rather than a supply line.

 

Thats the thing that makes an lt1, a lt1. I have heard of people doing this, but I surely would not. And with good fans/radiator/stat/tune I dont have steam coming out of it I have coolant.

 

GM wouldn't spend money on the steam pipes if they were useless. If you get steam or air pockets they will just build up in the top of the heads without the steam pipes in there and can cause detonation or a blown head gasket.

 

Then I need to fix it. any ideas? I would rather not rip the head off if I don't have to just to fix the threads. Do you guys know if Lowes or home depot sells bolts like that with holes in them that are self tapping? Not enough clearance between the fire wall and the head to get a tap back there.

Should I rig my own lines?

 

Try a tap and die(sp?)?

 

Your engine temp sensor will not let you know if you have hot spots or not, which is what that rear tube prevents. A surprising amount of coolant comes out of it along with the air that ends up in the top of the heads and causes hot spots. I'm sure there are plenty of threads here about it, and why it is not a good idea to remove.

Sucks to hear, but your best bet would be to remove the heads, tap them, and replace the tube or just fab something simple up. As long as it is at around the stock diameter lines you will be fine.

 

Thanks for the advice. I am going to try and fab something as my rebuild has less than 2K on it and I don't want to rip the heads off just yet.

 

I have AN fittings and breaded lines on mine, But I did it when the motor was out.

 

Put a helicoil in there or retap it. You should be able to fit a tap if you use a 3/8 wrench instead of the normal T handle. Then order the lines from shoebox's diagrams.

 

Just ran into a problem with that line in the back of my AFR heads and what I found was that the hole wasn't taped far enough in the head. I ground the banjo bolt down about
3/16" and all is fine. If your bolt is bottoming out it will not seal right and make sure your using new rubber seals between the bolt , banjo and the head.

 

You need that line for proper cooling. Maybe they got the front of the heads and rear mixed up... or just thought it was not needed, but tap it out like the other guys suggested, that's how you fix striped holes. teflon goo also makes noce on those as well.