Might be some metal shavings in a cylinder, what to do?

[HWYCRZR]

Shine a light in that exhaust port. If you see the light at the end of the tunnel when looking through the stud hole, you will have your lamp.

 

[WissaMan]

I'm pretty sure I didn't grind through any part of the actual head casting. When I realized I was penetrating what was left of the stud, I quit grinding and removed what was left of the stud -- mainly just the threads at that point which I was able to pull out in pieces with needle-nose pliers and a hook tool. I never felt the bit suddenly drop as if I had went through a casting wall.

So if that stud hole doesn't open up into the exhaust port, then I have to assume my tape job wasn't a perfect seal and as I was grinding and blowing the swarf out with compressed air, some was getting past my tape. I will double check though as suggested just to be sure.

If some grindings or even a little fragment of the stud got into the coolant passage, not a big deal hopefully?

 

[Big_John]

So if that stud hole doesn't open up into the exhaust port, then I have to assume my tape job wasn't a perfect seal and as I was grinding and blowing the swarf out with compressed air, some was getting past my tape. I will double check though as suggested just to be sure.

It doesn't, but yes, double check. As long as the valve was closed there's nothing to worry about.

If some grindings or even a little fragment of the stud got into the coolant passage, not a big deal hopefully?

Not at all.

 

[WissaMan]

Did some work on this yesterday. Looking in the stud hole it was easy to see that I did not drill through the water jacket. I looked through the spark plug hole inside the cylinder with a flashlight and I could see some grindings laying on the piston top, not a lot, but there was some. I did compressed air through the plug hole with the shop vac over the exhaust port. When I looked inside the plug hole again, there was no evidence of grindings. Granted, I can't see 100% of the piston surface but I'm going to just assume I got most if not all.

Unfortunately (again) I ran into another issue. Some of the threads took some damage. I cleaned them up with a tap but when I was tightening the exhaust bolt , the stud pulled out before I got to the prescribed 30ft-lbs of torque

So I picked up a Helicoil kit. It'll be the first time I'm using one of those but I watched some vids and it seems pretty straightforward.

I did come up with 1 more question though: since the exhaust manifold studs open up into the coolant passage, what actually provides the seal to prevent leakage? Is it the stud threads? Is it the little "barrel" part of the stud seating into the head? Or is it the exhaust manifold gasket?

 

[Davea Lux]

Did some work on this yesterday. Looking in the stud hole it was easy to see that I did not drill through the water jacket. I looked through the spark plug hole inside the cylinder with a flashlight and I could see some grindings laying on the piston top, not a lot, but there was some. I did compressed air through the plug hole with the shop vac over the exhaust port. When I looked inside the plug hole again, there was no evidence of grindings. Granted, I can't see 100% of the piston surface but I'm going to just assume I got most if not all.

Unfortunately (again) I ran into another issue. Some of the threads took some damage. I cleaned them up with a tap but when I was tightening the exhaust bolt , the stud pulled out before I got to the prescribed 30ft-lbs of torque

So I picked up a Helicoil kit. It'll be the first time I'm using one of those but I watched some vids and it seems pretty straightforward.

I did come up with 1 more question though: since the exhaust manifold studs open up into the coolant passage, what actually provides the seal to prevent leakage? Is it the stud threads? Is it the little "barrel" part of the stud seating into the head? Or is it the exhaust manifold gasket?

The old school method of sealing manifold studs was to dip the end in Permatex before installing.

Dave

 

[70bigblockdodge]

Shop vac is your friend

 

[67Monaco]

Pull the head.

 

[Big_John]

Pull the head.

Gotta agree here... Somehow, someway, you've gotten the chips into the combustion chamber.

The engine is out of the car, so it's a breeze to do, so just do it to be on the safe side.

 

[WissaMan]

I think (fingers crossed) the compressed air and shop vac did the trick. The Helicoil install was a snap and worked great! It wasn't actually a Helicoil brand though, it was a compatible brand that I picked up at Autozone. Seemed to be fine though.