Can I get away with one bolt on the water neck on a small block Chevy? One bolt is broken and because of the vehicle it's in, it's a total pain in the behind to access it - normally it would be easy to get to, but in this one it's directly under the cowl top; even with the doghouse off it's hard to access it. Whoever changed it last didn't bother to clean the coolant out that always goes right in the bolt holes, so the one bolt locked up tight. If I had access to a wire feed welder I might be able to tack a bolt on the stud, but I don't have access to one, and there's not enough stud to try jamming two bolts on the end. I actually broke the bolt in February and it never did leak, the water pump started to weep instead, which is why I tore in here today. But it also was stuck down good enough that I had to pop it loose with a pry bar once I had it unbolted. This one is a paper gasket style, not the later rubber type, if that makes a difference. I could change the entire intake out, I have another and a set of gaskets, but that's a big pain in the ass too, and who knows what else will break because it's never been taken apart in 24 years. Plus I'm seeing more and more differences from one to the other which means swapping more stuff.
One bolt ain't gonna keep it from leaking,,might not be today but you know it's going to at the worst possible time. HRP
That's what I thought too, but like I said, it never did. As long as the silicone sets up and the one bolt is cranked down tight.. heck I have the bolt head, I could JB-weld it back in place I suppose.
There is always a way , you may need to remove a few parts for access and buy a 90 deg drill to drill it out or??? Post a couple of pics and you will get better advise
I can't even see it that great, let alone get a camera in there. But I have an intake and gaskets sitting here, what's a 90' drill going to cost me? That said, I am hesitant to start that swap because it was a pain just getting the donor intake off the other engine - and it was out and on a pallet. Mostly issues with getting on the bolts because of the various hardware and crap on the motor. Now pretend the front of the motor is inside 12" of a 55 gallon drum and no way to get that out of your way.
A low pressuer cap will keep you good, till youre in a bad section of town, at night, when its raining and your loudmouth friend has been drinking and your arm is in a cast and youre badly in need of sleep. I'd go for it.
You might make a bracket out of bar stock and attach it so it sticks out over the water outlet. Drill and tap for a bolt to push down on the water outlet where the broken bolt is missing. It would be ugly but it would probably stop a leak.
Another possibility removing body bolts and jacking the body up off of the frame a couple of inches. Like I say without seeing it we are all guessing.
You'll have a lot better chance of it holding if you use something like permatex rather than silicone. All in all, silicone is probably the worst gasket sealer ever made.
Bite the bullet and fix it now before you cook your engine or have a breakdown on the road. Things like that never get better over time.
Or go ahead and bite the bullet and say screw it, roll your sleeves up and do it right! HRP On the other hand,if money is no object ...pay someone else to do it. HRP
I've seen plenty of Chivvies that have a leaky thermostat housing with TWO bolts in them. You are living on borrowed time with one bolt. Unless the corrosion has grown so far to form a crust over the whole thing and lock it in there FOREVER. I bought a small pneumatic angle die grinder at Northern Tool that came with a drill chuck, and I think it was under $20. The whole assembly will still be about 6" long with a drill bit on it though.
Thanks for bringing that up hell you don't even need a 90deg drill You can buy a drill chuck for a 3/8 air ratchet. I've got one and it's a whole lot shorter than a 90deg dril
Why dont you remove the intake, then take it to someone to weld a nut to the bolt. Then you can remove it and use those new gaskets to put the whole thing back together. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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