Boogered up LA valve cover bolt hole - Suggestions?

I have these J-heads that I'd like to clean up and get ready to put to use and there's this lovely valve cover bolt hole in it.

As you can see, it's pretty rough, but it is just a valve cover bolt, so the required torque is very low. I plan on using studs in the valve cover holes to help keep from working this one much in the future.

What do you think?

I don't know if this would work. I would probably oil up a stud or bolt and then put jb weld all over it and insert it and mash it down till it was stuck in as far as I wanted it to go. clean up any extra around the hole to minimize how much I would have to file off later once it hardened.

if the oil works as it should you could then pull the bolt out and have it already threaded for you.

I might even cut a small lip inside for something the jb weld could hold on to better.

but since you know feets, I might see if he could cut it nicely and press a plug in and cut new threads.

They make something like that called form a thread, but I'd look at a helicoil.

I'd clean it & JBweld in a stud

Looks a little big for a helicoil. Probably needs an insert. But I would not do that by hand. Should be done on a mill or at least bolted down on a good drill press. A drill will wander - need to clean up with an end mill in my opinion.

weld it up,drill it and tap it?

hi

end mill and helicoil


or stud that is larger on one end to thread into over size thread in head

drill and tap for a relatively large bolt (3/8, 7/16), cutoff wheel and smooth off excess bolt , and then drill and tap stock size. Did it once on a rearend yoke on a truck, and got away with it. No problem on a low tension valve cover bolt.

I've done this on a rocker shafts hold down bolt with no problems and I did it by hand.

I went this route this morning but went ahead and tapped the new bigger bolt first. 3/8" bolt is jb welded into the new threads, I think it'll hold pretty well for what it needs to do.

Thanks all.

Genius, I have never even thought of that. I will have to remember it.

Me too!

I got a set of J heads where one of the exhaust hole holes is similarly messed up, this will fix it

So your drilling the stud? What keeps that in place and not spinning?

Missed this did you?

This works for antique furniture with worn out holes for caster wheels too.

Over drill the hole, apply glue to a dowel of the same species, tap in, trim flat.

When the glue is try you can re-drill the correct size hole for the caster wheel.

It should stay in place because the drill bit is spinning the same direction the bolt was threaded in. Same rule applies when tapping the new hole .

i've also done the exact same process with a hardwood dowel rod in the maple neck on my bass guitar...40yrs of people pulling the neck off for various reasons..

Wood glue and tooth picks work for that and it's a lot easier.

i did that once or twice and it didn't last, ended up just doing it better to be done with it. a maple dowel and then redrill the hole and bolt the neck back on nice and tight.

X2!

This may be a lost art these days but I'd put a stud in there and braze it in place (brass rod). Cast iron is easy to braze and it will also repair that crack coming from the hole. Let it cool on it's own after brazing, don't cool it with water.

Clean cast iron is easy to braze, getting it clean is another story. But goos idea