Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

[Rod Holder]

I need to pull the cyl. head on my 1973 65hp Evinrude (partially stripped plug thread).I'm not a big fan of removing broken off bolts as I feel life is way too short to deal w/ crud like that. Any you guys have any tricks ??<br /><br />P.S. I think the head has not been removed before.........Thanks

 

[warlord69]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Change the water pump impeller,I bought one in a similar situation and I changed the impeller and then ran the motor in a tank with liquid dish soap in the water just to lubricate and rinse out any crud.

 

[ob]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

If bolt is in bind when removing try to work it gradually clockwise then counter clockwise tapping on head of bolt with small hammer to prevent further galling of threads.use of penetrating oil is helpful.sometimes there's just no hope. Good luck

 

[rolmops]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Hello.<br />I suffer of the same phobia.<br />I have seen it done by a professional in the following way.<br />He put the piston as far up as possible.Then he took grease and filled the top of the cylinder and the plug hole with grease.He rethreaded the plug hole for a heli coil and in the end he used vacuum (Small copper hose hooked to a shop vacuum cleaner)to suck the grease and metal parts out.<br />Having done this he flushed the cylinder top with regular fuel mixture,dried it off and screwed the helicoil in.<br />This is a good and safe way to do it especially if you have your engine in a salt water environment.

 

[Rod Holder]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Thanks guys.<br /><br />As I have just gone thru an expensive ignition fix, I think the grease pack method is looking looking rather savory about now. That's a great idea.<br /><br />Much appreciate the tips...........

 

[ob]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Sorry rod holder .wasn't paying attention to what I read .Thought you meant head bolt.However similar method can be used on spark plugs.Just can't tap on end as hard before breaking ceramic. Once galling begins upon removal if unscrewed too far it becomes difficult to prevent further galling.I personally if using above procedure would not use grease in cylinder, but leave it as dry as possible for easier vacuuming of drill shavings.

 

[rolmops]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Hello.<br />I just talked to my professional friend and he corrected me in one thing.<br />He told me that he has the piston half way to 3/4 up in the cylinder.Then when he is done,he turns the piston up the rest of the way and thereby pushes grease and metal out through the plug hole.<br />After that he cleans up as I described above.

 

[gw204]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

The SAFEST way is to pull the head!! I'm going through the same thing on my '85 Merc. 150. Sure those headbolts can be a real pain but by pulling the head you can get a look inside the engine to see any other possible problems. I found out that my headgaskets were in bad shape and I have severe scoring on my no. 2 cylinder walls. Without pulling the heads, I never would have found this. Compression test OK so I can't figure out the scoring thing. None the less, it's gotta be fixed before a catastrophic failure. <br /><br />As my father told me a long time ago...<br /><br />"There are two ways to do everything. Right and over!!!"<br /><br />Good luck.

 

[Rod Holder]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Hey OB,<br />You had it right. I get a rather odd facial twitch when I break off a bolt when removing something, which is why I was keen to the idea of not removing the head to fix the plug threads. I know that removing the head would be the best, but snapping a few bolts would be the greater of two evils (at least for this season)<br /><br />How about trying to remove while the block is still hot after running ???<br /><br />The more ideas the better...........Thanks

 

[Rod Holder]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

An update for those who are in my same situation.<br /><br />With all the great tips from you all, I ended up going to NAPA and got a 14mm spark plug re-thread kit (35 clams). It came w/ 4 threaded "sleeves" of diff. lengths, a ream/tap & locking compound.<br /><br />I did not fill the cylinder w/ grease, but I did slather the tap (wiping clean & re applying after a few turns or so).After tapping, I Q-Tipped as nuch grease as I could and then set the pistion at the beginning of compression stroke and sprayed some WD-40 into cyl & cranked engine over a few times to help blow out anything I did not get w/ the wiping.<br /><br />Worked great, just use a decent amount of pressure on the tap, keep it straight and clean the threads real good to make sure the sleeve locking compound works right.<br /><br />After this season, yes, I will pull the head and check things out (possible replace the head if/when I get a parts motor)<br /><br />I heard Samual Adams has a cure for<br />"bolt snap-a-phobia" I will give it a try. <br /><br />Once again, much thanks for the ideas.......

 

[ob]

Re: Head bolt snap-o-phobi***

Glad to hear your project worked out .