Everything was going well and then...

[dj7]

Help!

While I was re-assembling my 1964 Evinrude 3 hp Lightwin, I may have over-tightened one of the cylinder head bolts ? one of the corners. I felt it suddenly give a bit. At this point I just left it alone. I was afraid to try and back it out.

So my concerns are, what may have happened. Did the bolt head twist off, did I strip threads on the bolt or in the head or case? Has anyone had this happen to them? What is the most likely occurrence.

Can I just ignore this for now and see if anything leaks out at that place or should I remove it before I tank test it? In the worse case, can it be repaired.

Also, I did not lubricate the new gasket. Should I have done that?

 

[Nova II 260]

Re: Everything was going well and then...

All engines have bolt torque specs for different size bolts based on the bolt size and the material they mate with. That said I think you probably stripped the threads in the block/case. You could try and repair it with a thread reapir kit. [url]

 

[Kevin W]

Re: Everything was going well and then...

90% chance you stripped the threads.
your best option is to Helicoil it.
there are kits avalable and most machine shops can do it very quickly.
basically what id involve is: drill out the old threads to the new helicoil size, tap new helicoil size threads and install the helicoil insert.

They are much stronger than the original thread.

 

[Rudy Brown]

Re: Everything was going well and then...

What Kevin W said. You can get a heli-coil kit at just about any auto parts store. I had to do a head bolt on my motor a month ago.