Engine Head Bolts

[Teletom]

Hey everyone, finally putting my 77' 1800 together with a couple questions.

I bought new head bolts of course and will be putting the head on tonight, I will torque it down to spec this weekend. One thing though, the engine was rebuilt well before I got it and it looks like they broke a head bold so the increased the hole size in the block but didnt helocoil it? I have the stud that was in it and just want to make sure there not too much risk in me putting it back in?

Also should I use copper spray on the head gasket? Anything I should take special car in doing while putting it all back together? How do I get the dang water pump pulley off to put on the new water pump, any tips on easily loosening those bolts would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

[scrapironchef]

Can't help with your other questions but use your old fan belt and a pair of visegrips to hold the water pump pulley while you wrench out the bolts.

[samakijoe]

I don't have any ideas about the head bolts but I have a couple ideas about getting the bolts off the water pump pulley.

If you still have the belt installed you could place a "turn buckle" (or something else to pull the belt tighter) across (just below) the pump pulley and tighten so that the pulley could not turn.

If the belt is removed you could use say 1/4 strong nylon line. Tape the end of the line to the inner surface of the pulley then wind it a few times in a clock wise direction, secure the other end to something strong. Turn the bolt(s) (remember the rule "lefty loosy, righty tighty") on the pulley. It will eventually stop turning and you should be able to get the bolts off. Be sure to use some "anti seize" when reinstalling. I use "anti seize" on everything I assemble on the car.

If any of the above works, please me know I just thought them up tonight while drinking my first Toddy of the evening .......

IMHO:
I would not use vise grips on the pulley. If you nick the pulley with the vise grips the rough edge will possible make short work of the nice shiny new belt you just installed...

Well of course you are installing a new one, right?

[samakijoe]

OK , So now my toddy has come up with some thoughts on the head bolt issue. The head bolts are put under a lot of stress when the engine goes through cold to hot and back to cold again cycles. You really don't want to mess around with a poorly anchored head bolts. There are a number of products out there that allows you to renew the threads in the block. Go to Google and search for " renew engine block threads", or some such words you will get some ideas as to how it is done.

Good luck....

[ORFORD2004]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRpG1BIVRcc

[scrapironchef]

IMHO:
I would not use vise grips on the pulley. If you nick the pulley with the vise grips the rough edge will possible make short work of the nice shiny new belt you just installed...

Well of course you are installing a new one, right?

You don't use the vise grips on the pulley, you use it to pinch the old belt around the pulley and hold it.

Larry

[RRoller123]

A chain wrench with an old timing belt or other rubber protection wrapped around the pulley will make short work of getting those bolts off. Like said earlier, don't use the chain wrench directly on the pulley, it will ding it up pretty badly and cause trouble.

[klweimer]

Lots of good suggestions on the water pump pulley, so I'll leave that alone. As for the oversize stud, I guess I'd leave it alone if it seems good and solid. I would not use any copper spray or other gasket sealer on the head gasket unless specifically directed by the gasket install instructions. If you didn't get any specific instructions with the gasket, go with what the service manual says. If you don't have a service manual, PM me and I'll see if I have the head gasket section in scanned form somewhere.
Kirk