<VV> Stuck valve cover bolt.

[Bruce Carlton]

I assume that you have already tried to drill out the broken valve cover bolt. If you have not, I have found the best way for me to drill out one of these bolts is to first center punch the broken end of the bolt as close to center as possible and then start with a small drill like about a 1/16 or 3/32 drill and after that slowly increase the size of the drill up to the drill size for a helicoil for the replacement bolt which would be a 1/4 -20 helicoil or there are other brands of inserts that require a larger threaded hole than a helicoil.
To remove the push rod tubes, you need to remove the rocker arm studs as they hold down the push rod guides that cover the ends of the pushrod tubes. They are easily removed by first removing the rocker arms ( keep the ball pivots and the rocker arm nuts with their specific rocker arms as trhey are worn in as matched pairs at this point and may not pivot properly if mixed up.
Lubricate the new o rings on the push rod tubes before reinstalling the pushrod tubes. Torques for the reinstallation of the rocker arm studs are available in the back of the shop manual as well as instructions for proper adjustment of the rocker arms.When installling the push rod guides under the rocker arm studs make sure they are the correct side out facing you. there is a stamped letter U in the center of the guide that should be facing out toward you.
Bruce



  
 

    On Friday, February 9, 2018, 10:07:52 AM EST, Ignacio Valdes via VirtualVairs <virtualvairs at corvair.org> wrote:  
 
 Thanks for all the responses.

Answers to questions: The bolt was longer than original which is probably
why it seized. It is a normal bolt not automotive grade. I first tried to
weld a nut on but the nut would just break off. Yes I tried a left handed
drill but it did not work. Then I tried a bolt extractor which did not
work. Looks like I am going to have to remove the head and take it to a
machine shop.

In the cars history the motor has been gone through not by me. It has acorn
nuts on the head bolts and Viton rings. Does a service manual help for this
such as for torque values on re-assembly? If so, which one?

A secondary objective to the broken valve cover bolt is that the motor
overheated because of a thrown belt. The motor runs ok but now leaks oil a
little. The push rod tubes have Viton but seem to be the source. I would
like to change the Viton rings to try and cure the leak.

Matt, confirm can I just spin the whole rocker stud to get them off? See
above objectives.

On Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 8:30 PM, Ignacio Valdes <ivaldes at hal-pc.org> wrote:

> Picture of broken valve cover bolt photograph.
>
> On Thu, Feb 8, 2018 at 8:29 PM, Ignacio Valdes <ivaldes at hal-pc.org> wrote:
>
>> Hi, The head broke off on this valve cover bolt. I've tried multiple ways
>> of getting it out drilling, weld a nut on,easy outs, without success.
>> Professional local shops in Houston Texas I tried are passing on this
>> because too old, still on the car, don't want to mess with it, etc.  Any
>> advice is appreciated.
>>
>> Also, what is the preferred tool for holding the rocker stud from
>> spinning when you take the rocker arm nut off?
>>
>> -- IV
>>
>
>
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