I can't get anything on this bolt to tighten it. It is so loose that the car runs like **** and the leak is very VERY loud. I cant get a socket on it. I can get a wrench on it but there is no room to turn it. This is driving me crazy here, any suggestions?

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1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z
L98 - 350c.i. TPI, rebuilt 700R4 auto w/shift kit, Dual catalyst Monza PaceSetter Cat-Back, SLP 1 5/8 Coated Headers, 3.23 Posi rear, Hypertech Thermomaster chip with 160stat, MSD 6A, March Under-Drive pulleys, AFPR, K&N's, !Air Box w/ Ram Air, moddified MAF, !TB Coolant, Spohn Dual Cat SubFrame Connectors, Alarm, Keyless entry, remote starter, 92 Z28 AeroWing, Brand New Paint (6/21/01)

Future: ZZ4 TPI w/EGR, T56, 3.42 or 3.73, Spohn strut tower brace and LCA's, Accell Universal 24# injectors

1989 Chevrolet Celebrity Eurosport <--DEAD AS OF 9/20/01
2.8 MPFI, no mods
225,000 miles and still ticking!

More info and pics on my webpage:http://go.to/iroc-z

AOL IMer: GPA 0point0

 

if it's a stage 8, use an allen wrench.
if not, buy a stage 8 then use an allen wrench.
they make stubby wrenches, their about 5 inches
long. thay may work, good luck

 

where can I get a SINGLE stage 8 bolt? tightening with an allen-wrench would be awfully easy!!!

 

This may sound stupid, but did you try tightening it from underneath the car? That is what I had to do with my TES system. I could only turn the wrench less than a quarter turn, but it worked.

Matt

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irocet@hotmail.com

drive.to/Stang_Kilr

88 IROC-Z -- 350 L-98, 700R4, Flowmaster, Edelbrock Headers, Catco Cat, K&N, MAF Sceens Removed, Airfoil, March Pullies, Comp Cams Magnum 1.6 Roller Rockers, Bosch Platinum Plugs, Accel 8.8 mm Wires, MSD 6AL, Hypertech Cap & Coil, Hypertech Chip, Hotchkis Strut Tower Brace

 

IROCET... I'm not trying to tighten the collector bolt which u can see in the picture. The bolt I want to tighten is the one on the header that goes into the head. If I were trying to tighten the collector bolt, that would be done from underneath.

I looked at the bolt... it does have an allen wrench fitting in there so that it can be tightened with one. Does anybody know what size so that I can go get one? They are not Stage 8 locking bolts like D3Kennedy sugested, but I would ventrue to guess that they are all the same.

 

Yeah, I wasn't talking about the collector bolt. I went underneath the car to tighten the back bolt on my headers. You have to reach way up in there, past the starter and stuff, but I couldn't get to mine from the top so it was the only option I had. Like I said, it is slow going, but it worked.

Matt

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irocet@hotmail.com

drive.to/Stang_Kilr

88 IROC-Z -- 350 L-98, 700R4, Flowmaster, Edelbrock Headers, Catco Cat, K&N, MAF Sceens Removed, Airfoil, March Pullies, Comp Cams Magnum 1.6 Roller Rockers, Bosch Platinum Plugs, Accel 8.8 mm Wires, MSD 6AL, Hypertech Cap & Coil, Hypertech Chip, Hotchkis Strut Tower Brace

 

I tightened the bolt with a 4.5 size AllenWrench.

Turns out that the gasket is shot as a result of the bolt being loose. Now I'm really screwed.

How much does it cost to get a header gasket changed? Bear in mind that it is the passenger side of an L98, which means that the header is burried under a million things.

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1989 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z
L98 - 350c.i. TPI, rebuilt 700R4 auto w/shift kit, Dual catalyst Monza PaceSetter Cat-Back, SLP 1 5/8 Coated Headers, 3.23 Posi rear, Hypertech Thermomaster chip with 160stat, MSD 6A, March Under-Drive pulleys, AFPR, K&N's, !Air Box w/ Ram Air, moddified MAF, !TB Coolant, Spohn Dual Cat SubFrame Connectors, Alarm, Keyless entry, remote starter, 92 Z28 AeroWing, Brand New Paint (6/21/01)

Future: ZZ4 TPI w/EGR, T56, 3.42 or 3.73, Spohn strut tower brace and LCA's, Accell Universal 24# injectors

More info and pics on my webpage:http://go.to/iroc-z

AOL IMer: GPA 0point0

 

I cut a box end wrench off to fit it, and tightened the sh*t out of it.

 

I have some extra Stage 8 bolts if anybody needs some. They're only 3/4" long though, so probably not a good idea for aluminum heads

 

ARGH! I hated that bolt. It literally took me 3 hours with the car jacked up and turning 1/2 from down below and then completing the turn from the top. It helps to have a hollow pipe to put over the wrench to get some leverage. If I had to do it again i'd tear the damn heater box out and do it, anything is worth the trouble rather than bleeding your knuckles all over the firewall for that one.

 

odd.

ive never had a problem with that bolt and headers. with manifolds its a b!tch, but they're all a b!tch with manifolds... (mostly the stupid locking tabs.)

heres what you need to do:

order some EMBOSSED copper gaskets..

put the header on with them... drive for a week or a few days or whatever

retighten bolts...


forget about it.


if it does happen to leak months later, or on a roadtrip or somthing, the copper gasket wont burn or blow out, so you can tighten it at your leisure