I was helping my buddy remove the heads from his truck this last weekend. We ran into a problem where two of the collector bolts on the passenger side header flange were rusted so badly that we rounded off the bolt heads. This left us no choice but to cut them off with a Sawzall.
I finally collected all the parts to assemble my small-block Chevy 350 but when I torqued the head bolts, one of the holes stripped. I’ve heard there’s a way to fix this with a thread insert kit, but I’ve never done it before. Do I have to take the engine to a machine shop to
Learn the basic differences between cylinder head bolts and cylinder head studs and how to decide which is better for your vehicle by watching this Summit Racing Quick Flicks video. The Summit Racing crew will also give you tips for properly installing your cylinder head fasteners. Check it out:
Your metal automotive fasteners can fail one of six ways. And, according to our friends ARP—an industry leader in fastener technology—each type of metallurgical failure has a unique, identifiable characteristic. And by carefully inspecting failed fastener, and correctly diagnosing the reason for their failure, you can take steps to ensure it won’t happen again. ARP
When it comes to properly tightening automotive fasteners, there are several methods you can use. The most accurate way is to use a stretch gauge to measure the overall stretch of a fastener. This ensures the bolt has been stretched to achieve the proper amount of clamping force without being over-tightened. The problem is most
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