KA ROCKER ARM ASSM. LOOSENING UP

[dcino]

MY VALVES SEEMED NOISEY SO I PULLED THE VALVE COVER TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. THE BOLTS AT THE FRONT OH THE ROCKER ARMS ASSM. WAS LOOSE AND HAD STRIPPED THE HOLD DOWN BOLTS. THIS IS RELATIVELY EASY TO REPAIR WITH HELICOILS HOWEVER I NOTICED ON A SPARE HEAD THAT WE HAD IN THE SHOP THAT IT ALREADY HAD HELICOILS INSTALLED IN IT. AFTER TALKING TO OTHER PEOPLE I'M GUESSING THAT THIS MAY NOT BE UNSUAL. ANYONE ELSE SEEN THIS PROBLEM OR KNOW HOW TO PREVENT THIS?

[12Ounce]

My guess ... and that's all it is, a "guess" ... is that many heads have been damaged by the hold-down bolts being overtorqued by well-meaning but under-skilled mechanics. ( I remember 27 ftlbs being the target ... it makes me uneasy to pull those small bolts that much, so I make sure not to exceed). There is also a tightening sequence to be followed.

[dcino]

Thanks for your input. The helicoils are now in and it apears that someone had previosly installed helicoils in 4 of the bosses and they had pulled out which made the installation a little more difficult. In addition the standard car quest insets were a little short so we had to cut and stack a second insert on top of the first to assure enough contact area to the hold down screw. Anyone else have any other input on this issue. Would the addition of lock tite be a problem in this area?