The back bolt on my 22-re exhaust manifold is stripped and now my rig sounds like a sick puppy,what options do I have to fix this-no I don't want to take the head to a machine shop.Can I put a larger bolt in if I retap the threads bigger? I already tried putting in a bolt that I had in the tool box that sort of fit but I guess it has come lose after only a week.Any suggestions?

 

you could drill out the hole and make it a little bigger put some jb weld in the hole and slide the new stud in and you should be fine

 

I stripped a head bolt while installing headers on my 3VZE. After some research, it seemed that helicoil was the way to go. Since the hole was really far back under alot of plumbing, I opted for another solution.

I bought a longer BOLT from the hardware store and trimmed it so that it was about 3 or 4 threads longer than the stock bolt. I assumed that toyota would thread a deeper hole than the stock head bolt since they always overbuild their engines. I was right and it bolted on really tight. I think it's even more secure than the bolts that came with my headers! I realize that you already tried using a different bolt, but it must match the pitch and threads of the old bolt!!!

That method worked for me and hopefully it may work for you. IMO, I would avoid the JB weld idea, since the head bolt would be permanent. If you ever strip it, it would be a PITA to cut & drill back out. If all else fails, helicoiling might be your best alternative.

 

M10 x 1.25 is the bolt type you are looking for. Get one that is 60mm long (stock studs are 50mm). It would be an excellent idea to run a tap thru the hole to chase out the threads. Put some lock-tite (removable kind) to help hold it in place. The hole is threaded deeper than the stock stud, I know because I just chased my threads when I put my new header on.

 

I agree with Pirate. I've done this a lot with all types of applications. Your best bet is always to chase the threads with the correct thread size first. The longer bolt will grab where the shorter one never did. Be sure not to over torque the new one.

If that doesn't work, then go to plan B. You don't want to drill and retap unless you have to. As far as helicoils go, I have had a lot of bad luck with them so I consider them a last ditch effort. There are some other, better qualitiy, thread repair solutions that are much better. But you are still better off with plan A. Let us know how you make out.

 

Sure its a bolt?

My son's 85 has studs for the manifold to head. he fought a leak at the back of his manifold, and then found the manifold was warped almost 1/8"

Bought a new one (NAPA). To be installed "soon"

 

thx for all the fast responses guys! i will try a longer bolt and let you know how it works.

 

Yup, longer bolt worked for me as well... plus that JB method wouldn't work.. you're putting no torque on the bolt, so the bolt is only 'glued' in there without holding the manifold firm to the block.

 

Yeah, I stuck a slightly longer stud (not bolt) in mine and it worked perfectly. I was going to go the helicoil route, but I tried that first and it was perfect.

 

Went with a longer bolt that I actually had in the bin and it worked great,thanks.

 

OMG...I hope you were kidding!

It takes all of 1 hour to properly pull the manifold, drill out the hole (its soft aluminum) and buy a $10 helicoil kit (as previously posted). Toyota heads are notorious for stripping out on the exhaust mani side. I plan to helicoil all of mine as soon as I get my header ordered!!

 

yes i was kidding i was just getting the ball rolling

 

I've actually seen JB weld do some pretty amazing things. I don't think I would have tried that one though. If it works too good, you'll never get the thing out of there.

 

While I respect your guys' experiences, I must say I really disagree. I have been building Toyota motors for years (3SGTE - aluminum head) and have yet to have one never pull an exh mani stud. Its common practice. The tried and true solution is to helicoil (wire threading) or use a threadsert (solid cylinder). I have never even had to move up to a threadsert on a head, helicoils have been proven to hold manis in place on 1000+ hp 4 cylinders spinning at over 10,000 rpm. I've probably done 100 of them and haven't had one fail yet.

Additionally I would strongly recommend never using loctite in an exhaust stud situation. Exhaust components tend to corrode quickly which is the reason many of them strip out the soft aluminum threads. The proper method is to use anti-seize on the stud. If you use JBWeld and your system holds great for another 5 years, when you go to pull it out you'll likely just strip more of your head out. Might as well do it right the first time and use that extra material to help hold the mani in place

 

That is great that you have that experience, got one of those motors lying around? jk. If you go back and re-read what I posted. I said use loctite (the removeable kind) as an aid to improving the holding power, for the inner repair no contact with air/moisture so corrosion is not a problem. Not on the nut side which will corrode. I.e. MS222 low strength for up to 1/4" , M10 is larger than a 1/4 so it will have no problem breaking if it has to be removed. Everyone has experience, some of which is not limited to motor repair. 12 years of manufacturing 1/2 million $$ Industrial manufacturing machines. Everyone has an opinion as long as it reaches the same end results, it isn't a bad one.

The stock exhaust stud on a 22RE is a M10x1.25 x 50mm of which 20mm goes into the head. the head is taped to a depth of 40mm (as measured by calipers). By running a tap thru the hole and chasing the beginning threads, and using a longer stud (recomended)/bolt you are achieving the same 20mm of holding threads.

Now if the threads are completly gone then yes I agree with you. Heli-coil or a threadsert (I prefer to use them due to the solid body) is the only way to go. But why go thru the effort of pulling the head and drilling / thread repair if you don't have to (the threaded hole in question is not workable while the head is in the truck).
Antisieze is good to use if you plan on removing the nut on the stud again. I would put it on the nut side of the stud not the inner head side. Just remember any lubricant anitsieze/loctite(when wet) will lower the tightening torque spec. of the fastener, which can lead to over torquing and strip the threads again.

 

Yes, in fact I have a 2.2L stroked 3S with 1mm OS valves, springs, 272 cams, etc sitting in my garage right now :p But its not for sale sorry

I understand what you posted, and I just have a different opinion As long as your manufacturing expereince includes working on steel bolts in a high temp corrosive environment, then yes, you could apply it to exhaust studs. But if you give it some thought, what caused the stud to fail in the first place? Was it that it backed itself out? Or was it that it sealed itself in there? Why would you want to loctite something that is a problem to pull back out?

Now you've got me really confused. I just pulled a stud out of my 22RE exh mani 4 days ago and it was VERY workable. Much more so than my 3S motors tucked in the trunk of my MR2. I can easily fit a right angle drill in there and helicoil it. Are we not talking about the same studs?

 

I believe that both methods (Helicoil or Longer Bolt) are both viable solutions. But why go through the trouble to helicoil when you can buy a $ .50 bolt to repair the problem?

IMO, I would avoid Locktite in an aluminum head. There's a possiblility that it might cause problems getting the bolt out due to the brittle nature of the aluminum. Locktite would also introduce foriegn material into the thread hole. I think that the best way to secure the bolt and keep the hole free of debris would be to use Lock Washers. That's what came with the bolts for my header kit & it has held up great.

 

thanks for the info just had this happen to me. 60mm was way to long though r u sure that was the correct lenth?

 

I had the problem with exhaust manifold bolts and my mechanic solved it succesfully with helicoils.
Just my 0,02$

 

I don't know what the correct length should be, as I didn't measure it. In my experience, I bought a bolt from the hardware store that happened to be almost twice as long as I needed it to be. I cut it with a hacksaw (provided by the hardware store) and filed down the sharp edges. The bolt ended up being 3 or 4 threads longer than the one original stud.

If you still can't get it to work, Helicoil might be your best bet. Unfortunately, I don't have any first hand experience with Helicoil. I tried avoiding it because my engine (3VZE) has a lot of plumbing over the hole & is a PITA to get to.

Don't forget to use lock washers (to keep the bolt in place) + washers (to avoid scratching the head) + bolt grease (similar to door lock lubricant - to ease the bolt it). Good Luck!