AWW s@*t IM SCREWED!!

[kouki_monstor]

dude i just accidently stripped two bolts on my valve cover while changing the valve cover gasket. IM SCREWED!! WHAT DO I DO?!? HELP PLEASE!!!

[Rusted_PS13]

lock-tite?

[hybrid_flyer]

drill them out and use a rethread kit, or put a helicoil in

[turbo2nr]

vice grip that b*tch if you snap it get a bolt extractor kit. basically you drill with a fine drill into the center of bolt and take the right size bit and slowly unscrew and the bolt should come out..

[kouki_monstor]

where could i find a re-thread kit? and what does lock-tite do?

[Slappy]

i fix everything with my dremmel tool.

just go rent a dremmel and cut i slit in it and see if you can loosin it with a flat head screw driver.

[slipnfall]

Helicoil it... you'll never strip one out again. Search for helicoil or heli-coil, there are plenty of post describing how to do it. Basically you need a helicoil kit, from your local auto-part store, for the size thread that matches the valve cover bolts. You drill the hole/busted threads out to a larger size, re-tap the hole, and thread in a spirally-looking piece of metal(think cork-screw). Lock-tite it(it locks threads), so it doesn't come out. Wala, you have a hole with the original thread size.

Now buy yourself a 1/4" wrench, a 10mm socket, and never wrench on those bolts that hard again!

[kouki_monstor]

haha . 1/4 in and 10 mm socket, thats exactly what i used when i stripped the damn things!

so by re-thread kit, were u guys referring to the heli-coil? thanks for all the help!

[Red coupe]

Im only gonna say this once...any maybe once more after that if some one wasnt paying attention

TORQUE WRENCH!

He is right, search here and on google about how to replace it with a helicoil...

[rexhunta]

I thought a torque wrench was a Female Driver ?

[PantherRacer]

I thought a torque wrench was a Female Driver ?

you fail

[spider_slayer]

why have you made 2 of the exact same thread. someone told you what to do in the sr forum. if that answer didn't sufice then SEARCH N00B. or go to autozone and ask them what you need to do and they will probally help you.

[pancho y onions]

I KNOW!! USE A GRABIT RIBBET!

[slipnfall]

Ehh, for bolts like these(that it isn't functionally cricitcal that they get torqued to a specefic spec), I shy away from a torque wrench. I'v stripped threads off bolts, *before* I reached the spec torque. It's just something you get the feel for, the point right before a thread starts to strip, before it gets 'mushy'.

[crackler]

Im only gonna say this once...any maybe once more after that if some one wasnt paying attention

TORQUE WRENCH!

He is right, search here and on google about how to replace it with a helicoil...

That is how i stipped mine out. BTW 20Ft-LBS is WAAAAAAY to mutch (my loweset tq setting). Did I mention I am teh we todd did? Half of mine are stipped. I wouldn't worry about it unless it leaks oil. In fact I don't.

[Red coupe]

bro you gotta use the right specs and right torque wrentchthye are more like 14 ft pounds I think, though the timing cover bolts are more like 5 so I could be guessing high...IT doesnt count that your using one if your just cranking them on to what ever with it anyways...

BTW If he posted in the SR forum then he posted at least 3 places cause there is another one in 240 tech also please dont do that man...

[underground57]

You can get a helicoil kit online for like $25 iirc. Then all you need is the correct drill bit, a drill, and a steady hand. The kit should come with directions, but...

[edit: I forgot to mention when the bolt is stuck and won't come out, which is what happened to a friend of mine's car. With a smaller drill bit, we drilled a hole down the middle of the bolt. Then we used a reverse drill bit, which you should be able to get at any hardware store, and used it to back out the bolt. I'm not sure of the exact name of the bit, but if you explain the situation to the hardware store person, they can find it for you.]

- Mask the area you are working on so no metal shavings get into your engine.- Drill out the stripped hole.- Put the coil on the helicoil tool. align it straight over the hole and screw it in.- When you've got it all the way in, depending on the tool, you either twist it until it the part of the coil that holds it to the tool snaps, or you "unscrew it" and it snaps.- Repeat for as many holes necessary.- Check to make sure you've gotten all the little metal shavings out, then bolt that sucker back on. - TADA! All better. Should only take you an hour or so (and thats over estimating).

[Side note: since the head is aluminum, magnets don't work to pull out the shavings, you can try a vaccuum with a small attachment, or what I did because I didn't have a vaccuum around, which was roll up pieces of duct tape and 'stuck' all the little pieces out.]

If I missed something, post it, and I can add or edit. Good Luck.
Modified by underground57 at 8:28 PM 1/21/2006

[crackler]

bro you gotta use the right specs and right torque wrentchthye are more like 14 ft pounds I think, though the timing cover bolts are more like 5 so I could be guessing high...IT doesnt count that your using one if your just cranking them on to what ever with it anyways...

I know, I know.. it was a rookie mistake.

[TheOne]

i used a torque wrench on the camshaft bolts.......8lbs and the bolt broke., now am stuck tryin to fix that, gonna have to put a helicoil in it.

(thx for the instructions underground57, i'll try that out)

[1990flatblack240]

I would just weild an allen key or something to the stripped bolt and use that to unscrew it.

[Red coupe]

I know, I know.. it was a rookie mistake.

yeah man stuff happens. Stripped/stuck bolts are like my least favorite part of cars, and why I HATE working on old ones....

Anything that has been taken apart in the last year or so I dont mind but those untouched places are suck a pita

1/4 sockets/wrench are really what you should be using for stuff that small, with a 3/8th you just get so much leverage it feels like anything is to much, and with a breaker bar/torque wrench(that isnt set properly) forget it.

Every body F***s something up at one time or another.

[underground57]

I wouldn't suggest welding anything near your valve cover. It's aluminum and may warp or melt. Besides, I don't think it's going to give you as strong of a hold as you think.

[crackler]

yeah man stuff happens. Stripped/stuck bolts are like my least favorite part of cars, and why I HATE working on old ones....

Anything that has been taken apart in the last year or so I dont mind but those untouched places are suck a pita

1/4 sockets/wrench are really what you should be using for stuff that small, with a 3/8th you just get so much leverage it feels like anything is to much, and with a breaker bar/torque wrench(that isnt set properly) forget it.

Every body F***s something up at one time or another.

I usally just run them down snug and say F it. I use a speed wrench alot, and you have to muscle up on it to get alot of tourque out of it. And my Faviort tool of all is my 3+ foot snap on 1/2 drive breaker bar (Oh, and a lot of PB blaster.). it hasnt met a bolt yet that it wont remove or snap clean off. Eiter way I can take loose what ever it is I am woring on. If i can get enough room to use it. luckely I havent snapped any thing off in a while.

I need to go in a helicoil mine when I pull my chain guides.

Cross threading is a diffrent story.

[kouki_monstor]

why have you made 2 of the exact same thread. someone told you what to do in the sr forum. if that answer didn't sufice then SEARCH N00B. or go to autozone and ask them what you need to do and they will probally help you.

sorry to break your bubbles buddy but im not a noob. and no, i did not make another one of this thread in the sr section. why the hell would i do that? i have a ka... i only post it in every section of the forum that has to do with my car. usually when i post something asking for help in one section, it takes days for me to get a one-sentence reply. i was in need of an immediate answer, cuz time isnt really an option for me. that explains why i did what i did.

thanks to everyone who helped!!

[BobWithBoobs]

just make sure when drilling u use one size under the bolts shank diameter, and then just punch it out, thats what i did. and then rethread it

GL snaped\ over torqued bolts are a waste of my time :\