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Valve Cover Broken Cylinder Head Bolts Help

1K views 20 replies 5 participants last post by  c82cj 
#1 ·
I was attempting to remove my valve cover today for the aluminum upgrade and when removing the bolts found that one was broken and another was stuck and I accidentally broke it. These were the ones that slightly held on the plastic valve cover.

I have no clue how long they actually are and can't see the broken bolt inside the hole. As you can see in the pic one has been broken for a long time and probably the main source of my leaks since it is completely covered in oil. almost forgot this is a 1982 CJ-7 with a 258 if that helps

I watched a few videos on removing broken bolts and it seems relatively simple but I have never done this before and since it is the cylinder head I am wondering if it is best to cut my losses and take it to a shop to remove the rest of the bolts. Any advice and tips would be greatly appreciated. I was really hoping for a simple swap of covers but oh well.
 

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#2 ·
HI, when I enlarge the pictures I can see that the valve cover is broken where the bolts are.. BUT those are actually Head STUD's with perversion for the valve cover nuts.. I think... Can you get us a better picture of the hole thing from farther back.. so we can see better to help you..
good luck
tim
 
#3 ·
First of all, I do not remember 1982 model year 258 plastic valve covers having the bell washer and with the rubber seal to help hold down the cover. I don't think the motor in your CJ is 1982 but perhaps 1985 and later. They did not have those sealing bell washer until 1985. Take a picture of your engine serial number code and post. Its by the distributor and fuel pump, high up on the engine block.
As I said in another one of your thread postings, you will need to remove the cylinder head in order to get at the broken portion of the bolts. No way around it.
 
#6 ·
There you go, engine built on June 21, 1984. But my 84' never had that type of washer and I have owned it since new of July 1984.

What is the date code on the head? Maybe it was changed for a later year. Circled in the photo below will give a casting number of year made.
 

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#10 ·
Wow! That looks like a 20 minute job just turned into a 3 day ordeal.

The next thing that will probably happen is the exhaust bolts will break when you try and remove those. Start soaking them with penetrating oil
oil daily about a week before you attempt to remove those. A propane torch can be used to heat them and then you can soak them with oil. It sometimes helps to suck the oil into the rusted threads.

Do the studs hold anything (like the head) besides the valve cover? Is there any creative fix like a expanding concrete anchor that could be used to hold the new valve cover and his repair could wait until an engine rebuild or a head rebuilding? Could he have a stud machined to a tight fit for the hole and then Loctite it in place? It could later be removed with a torch by heating the Loctite to remove the stud when the head is removed in the future.

I almost always push for doing things the correct way, but this looks like a big can of worms for an older engine of unknown mileage. Unless the owner can do the work himself/herself, it is going to get very expensive quickly.
 
#12 ·
I found a mechanic who will just charge me labor if I provide the parts.

Can anyone send me a list of everything I will need for this?
Things I know:
Head Gasket
Head Bolts (what brand? I saw FeL-Pro and Crown make them but not sure if they are the best)
Antifreeze

I am sure there is more to the list. Thanks Everyone!
 
#15 ·
Depending how many miles are on the motor, you may want to have the valves in the head freshened up. Much of the cost is removing and replacing the head. You might want to do a compression test before you spend too much money on the motor.

I hope the mechanic you found is good at removing broken bolts. These types of problems have a way of going from hours and turning into days.

Keep up updated.

Good luck.
 
#17 ·
Another question. I ordered all of the bolts and seals and now I am thinking I should go ahead and install the Aluminum Valve Cover (bottom tap holes) and use the cork gasket that way the mechanic can reinstall with the Fel-Pro. I was going to do this after but once the bolts are on I should not remove them. Is this correct thinking?
 
#18 ·
**UPDATE** This keeps getting worse. I just got a call from the mechanic that my cylinder head is cracked. He said the engine looks fine other than that. Next step will be going to machine shop.

Any tips for what I should do with the head? I am pretty sure I want to stick with the 4.2 because I like staying as stock as possible/logical. Thanks guys
 
#19 ·
**UPDATE** This keeps getting worse. I just got a call from the mechanic that my cylinder head is cracked. He said the engine looks fine other than that. Next step will be going to machine shop.

Any tips for what I should do with the head? I am pretty sure I want to stick with the 4.2 because I like staying as stock as possible/logical. Thanks guys
OMG!!! Hope I didn't jinx you!!! :rolleyes:
You never know when Murphy will intervene.
 
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