Stripped timing cover

[moparspares]

Bolted on timing cover and water pump. Went to torque it down to 30 ft Lbs and stripped the top bolt hole. WTF these things are piss weak. I did read about this somewhere 12 months ago but forgot until after I stripped the thread. Fark Fark!

 

[70dustah]

Easy fix, just drill and helicoil it

 

[RustyRatRod]

Did you strip a bolt hole in the block or in the water pump? 30 LB FT is way tight for one of the bolts that screws into the timing cover. It's only aluminum. Now those in the block are a different story. Heli coil will fix either though.

 

[TrailBeast]

Can you tell for sure if it's the bolt or the hole that stripped?
Water pump/timing cover bolts sometimes have deteriorated threads.

Just a thought.

 

[BrianT]

The top center hole on my old timing cover was stripped and the previous owner just put a longer bolt on it and a nut behind it. It worked, but it really would have been easy to stick a heli coil in it.

 

[fishy68]

If you stripped the top left or top right hole you stripped the block, not the timing cover. Only the top middle hole goes into the timing cover. I stripped the top left hole in the block once and had to pull the t cover back off and heli-coil it. A lot of the time the reason threads strip out is because the bolt isn't long enough to engage enough threads. Always make sure the bolts are long enough, but not so long they bottom out either

 

[Daves69]

......... Always make sure the bolts are long enough, but not so long they bottom out either

Thread engagement = 1-1/2 X bolt diameter (works for me).

 

[moparspares]

It is stripped in the timing cover not the block. I checked torque spec in both Magnum Engine book and How to build big inch mopar small blocks and it is 30 ft lbs for both. I know now you cant torque them up to that but thats the spec. The bottom line is the aftermarket timing covers are of inferior quality.