I have had to remove 2, 5, & 12 head bolts to remove the coil box for a complete coil box rebuild. I am concerned about the torque of the bolts when I reinstall. Do I have to remove all head bolts and install a new gasket or simply reinstall and re torque all? This is a newbie question but better asked then goof up. I bought it as is and did not put the Head on. Thanks All.
Cary,
Others might disagree but I polled those three bolts and reinstalled them when I rebuilt my coil box. Just used the ford cylinder head bolt wrench and tightened them back down. Check again after you run the motor and rue tighten if needed.
Good luck,
larry
Larry,
Thanks, That's kinda what I Hoped. I started this project 3 months ago and I would like to take it out.
Cary
Btw the new coil box "wood" that John Regan makes is super.
Also that should have been pulled and Retightened in previous post.... Don't want the spelling police out so early on a Monday.
Be sure to drain the coolant before removing the head bolts. If you don't you may get coolant in the oil.
Some guy who makes his money working on T's for other people might pull the head, check for straightness, etc., etc., and go back with a new head gasket. And why not? It's kinda like the doctor who runs every test under the sun. It covers his butt against malpractice and he gets to charge for running all the tests. It's a win/win. For the shadetree mechanic working on his own stuff, what have you got to lose? Tighten the bolts down and see if you have a problem. If you do, what's the fix? Remove the head and put on a new head gasket? I'd bet 99 times out of 100, you'd be OK to just retighten the bolts. It's certainly what I would do, but I'm not a doctor. I don't even stay at the Holiday Inn Express.
I have pulled the coil boxes on my 26's and just put the same bolts back in and torqued to 50 ft lbs. Once the head and gasket have been torqued down two or three times when the head is replaced, everything is set and removal of 3 bolts won't change things. James is right about draining coolant. you could loose some coolant, or worse yet some coolant could get into the threads and next time you go to remove the bolt it would be rusted into place.
Norm
I would put them back in and tighten down while the box is off.
I drained all coolant from the car 1st and used a small adaptor on a vacuum to suck out any debris in the holes.
Thanks to all.
Cary
A couple of step bolts would be handy
It would be a good idea to run a bottoming tap down those three holes while you have the cap screws out, then blow them out w/compressed air.
Don't forget to protect your eyes at that point.
"Eyes, only one pair to a customer"
David,
I am not sure just what a step bolt is. Even at 73 I can learn.
Cary
It's my understanding that a step bolt is like a carriage bolt except the head is flatter and larger. I think David might mean stud.
Norm
OT, Cary, did you happen to ever live in Illinois? I knew someone with the same name and about the same age.
A step bolt in this case is a regular stud that screws in to the head with a 3/8 or 5/16 threaded top so you could remove the coil box with out disturbing the head bolt. The coil box would be attached to the top of the bolt. You could make one by drilling and tapping the top of the head bolt, however this may weaken it slightly so a real step bolt is better. Hope this explains it Dave
Perhaps step bolt is not the correct term maby special stud combination bolt? I was told by an automotive machinist it was a step bolt but I may not have asked the question properly. Cheers Dave
Something like this.....
I think some Pontiac V8s used one or more bolts like this.
Thanks for bailing me out Mark that was what I was trying to describe. I went back to the machine shop today and reasked the question and they thought it might be called a tower bolt?,but they wern't sure
Hex Shoulder Stud is the correct term. They are still in use on modern vehicles.
I did a little more research on the bolt ident.
Hex Shoulder Stud is the reference by Ford with Part No N802901-S2 however it is metric. Other makers call them Double End Studs, Shoulder Studs, Stud Shouldered Hexagon Wrenching, Military reference Standard Stud Shouldered and Stepped Hex Wrenching and Double End Stud Hex Wrenching. The only ones I could find to day were metric, there must be some standards ones out there some where. I need about 2 dozen for my various engines.
Ford's standard was to use the head bolt.
David,
The N802901 with S2 (phosphate & oil) finish is ancient. All fasteners are now W prefixed. I don't think you'll have much chance of finding a similar part number in inch threads and locating a dozen of them would be a bigger problem.
If you really want something to retain torque on the head but allow you to remove your coil box, look to Model A. You might find one stud that is the right length where you can torque it down with a fine thread nut but still have enough thread remaining to secure the box with a second nut.
Personally, I have encountered no problems torqueing the head down and later adding the coil box on any of my cars so I tend to agree with Hal Davis' comment.