Loose rocker arm stud

[buddydogracer]

Just when I decided to keep the Ty and go ahead and fix the purple wire/starter issue and the over boosting problem, the GM dealer is now teling me that I have rocker arm stud that someone previously attempted to fix (or rather did not attempt to fix) incorrectly. One of the stud on the driver side head is loose and pulling out but someone just tighten it down more to the end of the stud. Now, it's loose again and can not be tighten anymore. They are quoting me $1300 for removal of the head, replacing the stud and reassembly! Although the shop foreman told me that he remembers a tool or procedure that he saw in a magazine that doesn't require the removal of the head. Simply replacing it with a screw in stud. His shop can not perform this task. Does anyone know of any shops in the Indianapolis area that can perform this work (what is it called?)? This is my daily driver that's been out of commission for 4 days!

 

[93ty475]

which side is it on? driver or passenger? i think stock studs are pressed in, not threaded...you could likely do vortecs for 1300.00 or maybe less...search out vortec conversion in the search page, before you do anything...either that or look for a set of L35's and think about replacing your heads if possible...L35's are better than stock, performance wise, and are a direct bolt-on and much less expensive than vortecs....you may not want to tap threads in the head while its still mounted...might get steel shavings where they don't need to be and would probably be an awkward position to work on anyway...also, (i've never heard of this, but) someone might be able to tack weld the stud in place as a temporary fix, and i do mean "temporary", while you set up for replacing the heads...probably not the best idea though...i would never try this myself, but it sounds to me like you need this truck for transportation...good luck

 

[jwaller]

I have seen ppl drill and tap a pressed in stud into a screw in while it's on the motor. but you have to be very very very careful abuot not getting any chips into the motor while doin this. it takes a very skilled mechanic to to this as the hole must be precisely drilled at the right location and angle.

 

[E-Rue]

hmmmmm sounds like your in a pickle. i wonder if you can JB weld the bottom, and hammer it back in place, as a fix till you can decide what you want to do.

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[myclone]

I have seen ppl drill and tap a pressed in stud into a screw in while it's on the motor. but you have to be very very very careful abuot not getting any chips into the motor while doin this. it takes a very skilled mechanic to to this as the hole must be precisely drilled at the right location and angle.

What he said and I personally wouldnt trust a dealers service dept to be able to successfuly pull that operation off without goofing something up.
If its the drivers side head then a competent (repeat, competent) shop should be able to R&R the head in ~6hrs. If its the pass side head then it'll take longer as there is more "stuff" to R&R as well as the turbo related stuff that must be put back on/adjusted correctly. That part I wouldnt trust to just anyone either.

The only other thing I know of is what old school builders did back in the day. They would drill a hole through the side of the rocker arm boss as well as the stud itself and insert a roll pin. This kept the stock pressed in studs from pulling out when they went with heavier valve springs. Jegs or summit still sell the pin kit to do that operation as Ive seen it when looking through one of their catalogs. You'll still need to find someone to do it though and I dont know if it can be done with the head(s) on the motor as Ive never done it personally.

IMO it prolly wouldnt be too awefully bad if the stud is up front but if its close to the firewall/AC box then it will either be very costly in labor to fix without pulling the head or the head will need to be pulled off completey. In that case see the first paragraph on pulling the head.