Grey Motor Rocker bolt leaking water

[spacewolf]

Gidday all!

Thanks for accepting me onto this forum, much appreciated

My father is doing up an FC sedan. He's progressed fairly well: the bulk of the body is done but for a few patches of cancer, he has his interior sorted, wheels/hubcaps etc.

He's run into a bit of a pickle tho:
He recently had one of the rocker gear bolts seize in the head. He got someone local to drill it and tap it out. Other head work was done (valve grind etc).
When he re installed the head, he saw that some water was leaking out of the rocker gear bolt, almost like the drilling had pierced a water jacket.

My question to you gentlemen is: is this likely what the problem is, or is there something he hasn't done that needs to be done, to prevent this happening when re assembling a grey head?

Thanks in advance!

[fcwrangler]

Welcome aboard, you will find the forum very informative, as I have. The brains trust on here is amazing, when you have a question, someone is sure to have the right answer. In your case, I would say that is most likely the cause, when the head or the gasket are cracked,the water leaks from the side of the motor or into the sum. The only thing I can think of would be to try chemweld or similar and see if that will seal the hole, if not the only other option would be a replacement head.
Someone else may have another solution, but I'm fairly sure this would be the case.
Hope you get it sorted.
Jim

[hsv-001]

I would talk to the guy who drilled and removed the broken bolt . I don't think he would have cracked the head removing the stud . He more than likely drilled into the water jacket [should have been obvious when he did it ]. If there are no other signs of a cracked head then I would use a quality sealer on the rocker bolt ,or maybe replace it with a stud , screwed in with a sealer . This way the stud can remain in and a nut and washer can be removed instead . Many engines have head bolts that must be sealed on the thread when replaced. Good luck . Haydn

[spacewolf]

All good - he took it back to the machinist in question, who admitted he did it and fixed it no charge.

We're putting the motor in on Saturday, and hopefully starting it also!

[RET]

Nice to see a good news story there. Welcome aboard, Spacewolf.

Now, how about some pics of this car?

[ardiesse]

Spacewolf,

Go to your local Rare Spares or Holden parts division and get a tin of head stud sealeant, part number 3835215.  It's for red motors, because their head bolt holes are drilled through into the water jackets.  This material seals up the threads and prevents water leaks and rusted threads.

Dip the threaded part of the stud into the sealer, let the excess drip off, then install the stud into the hole.

Rob