ok so my mechanic was supposed to come fix my car today and the anus never showed so what he was going to fix was my thermostat he went to change it broke the tstat housing bolts and was going to drill new holes so he grinded the bolts down rather then welding a lever to the top and sure enough left it at that because he didnt have the right drill bits and now im stuck with a flat surfacwe were the bolts once were? any ideas on what to do here can i drill new holes and what drill bits should i use i tried some but they didnt seem to do anything and always break????

 

so nobody know what to do?? am i going to need new intake base i have the vortec tpi base and heads which im saving for a 350 and dont wanna put on 305 unless those darn screws wont come out

 

Drill them out w/. hardened steel bits,shoot alot of penetrating oil down the holes and into the threads. Start w/small bit and work your way up. eventually you should be able to peel the threads of the bolts out. Hopefully you can re-tap the holes? If you damage the manifold, you can insert helicoil thread repair kit in there. I have done this, take your time, go slow and use a magnet to pull your shavings out as you go,so you can see where you are at. Be sure to put anti-seize on the new bolts as not to have this problem again. It's alot easier if the manifold is off the car, but it can be done on the car. Remove whatever is necessary to drill straight. It's been a few years since I've had to do this and can not remember if I had to pull the throttle body off or not??? Good luck...

 

yeah i got everything removed out of the way even the plenum just the base is showing so tomorrow i will try this and also buy the hardened steel bits see if theyre good

 

I used a screw extractor to get what was left of a bolt out of an aluminum intake. Not a therm housing bolt, but one where the alt bracket goes to.

This kind of thing. http://www.jackstoolshed.com/index/p...alt+Drill+Bits

 

get a real extractor screw i had the same prob and after hours of drilling i bought the bit and it came right out and helicoiled that bitch right up

 

If it were me, I would still remove the intake first. And, do what was suggested.

 

Screw extractor may work after some drilling? Problem is steel bolts corroded to aluminum intake! If it's that corroded and or overtightened you can break off the extractor, I personally would just drill it til it peels out. If you do the screw ext. do like was said and buy a real one, not a cheapy...

 

yea but that bolt goes straight through so all the shavings are going to drop it to the coolants path if you do it use a shop vac or some thing to be safe

 

If you've got the plenum and runners off your already 90% there take off the base and work on it on the workbench, it'll be easier. Just remember to mark the distributor position.

 

quick tip on some killer drill bits the irwin cobalt is the best bits i have ever used a little pricey but worth it i bought a whole set after i used one for $50 for like 15 of them

 

Like I said use a magnet to get the shavings, cleaning up the coolant passage isn't a problem then...

 

this sounds like a good excuse to junk that 305 and upgrade. at least thats what i'd do

 

just pull it better safe then sorry ehh

 

I also say pull it. It'll go much smoother on a bench where you can position it to whatever angle you need than hunched over in an engine bay. Plus if you mess up it will need to come out anyway.

 

**** while you at it go to sk and buy an aftermarket manifold

 

yeah im all done now i got the car running and i just drilled new holes next to the old ones and also used a lil silicone and new bolts sounds like something no one should do huh? well i went thru 60 bucks worth of drills any more and i might as well buy a new intake so i said f-it and did it that way i also removed the smog pump while i was at it couldnt figure out what to do with the two hoses that blow air and vaccum it in so i put my air compressors connectors and fit right in i also got the chrome grill on it oh btw what will happen if any metal shavings get thru the intake? i had it covered but might have dropped a bit in when i took the cover off it slipped of my hands coolant is very slippery it was on the floor and i almost fell

 

depends how much they could clog toe radiator and heater core if i was you i would flush the radiator out a few times just to be safe