i guess i ruined a new set of bbm heads

[fryedaddy]

i bought a set of hs rockers and installed them on my running 428.i have a set of bbm heads on it.i wish the hs rocker arm kit came with rocker shaft bolts because i reused my stock rocker bolts and evidently they are too long because when i tightened them down they punched  holes in the intake runners of the heads, and now im having trouble with oil dripping into the heads on top of the valves in the runners.i took the intake off and found the pieces of alu that punched out.i was surprised they were only as thick as a dime.while tightening the rocker bolts i could not feel the resistance of bottoming out because of spring pressure.so now i have a new set of bbms with holes in the intake ports below the rocker bolts.can they be repaired? like i said,the metal that punched out is no thicker than a dime.i tried sealing the rocker bolts but so far their still leaking oil into the runners because its burning oil and smoking a little. any advice is welcome.

[Barry_R]

Use rocker studs instead of bolts,  Clean the threaded hole with brake cleaner.  Wrap the threads on the studs with teflon tape - yes tape.  Screw the stud into the hole in the head and reassemble from there.  It will work perfectly for a very long time.  I used to cut through the oil bump on iron heads all the time and this worked quite well.

[fekbmax]

X2 on using studs and sealing them. My CNC 6005's broke through.  Have had no issue at all with just sealing the studs.

[fryedaddy]

where can i get studs for fe rockers? and do the studs torque the same as bolts?

[cattleFEeder]

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/edl-6009/overview/

[fekbmax]

Doug at precision oil pumps.

http://stores.precisionoilpumps.com/ford-fe-390-428cj-427lr-rocker-stud-kit/

[CaptCobrajet]

You will continue to have trouble with the ports with the oilers, and possibly the others.  Unlike iron heads, you are dealing with inserts.  Sealing the stud usually won't keep oil from getting past, behind the inserts.  It will definitely squeeze through on the #3 and #6.  That oil will go everywhere in the manifold, making it seem that all are leaking. Two ways to fix it are (1) weld up the holes in the ports, and (2) install a solid insert with a bottom in it, and seal the threads on the insert where it screws into the aluminum.

[fryedaddy]

You will continue to have trouble with the ports with the oilers, and possibly the others.  Unlike iron heads, you are dealing with inserts.  Sealing the stud usually won't keep oil from getting past, behind the inserts.  It will definitely squeeze through on the #3 and #6.  That oil will go everywhere in the manifold, making it seem that all are leaking. Two ways to fix it are (1) weld up the holes in the ports, and (2) install a solid insert with a bottom in it, and seal the threads on the insert where it screws into the aluminum.

that is what im afraid of.i guessed it was leaking by the inserts after 3 tries at sealing the bolts.looks like im going to have to take the heads to the machine shop for repairs. DAMN

[fryedaddy]

i pulled my spark plugs.no,3 was oily but no,6 was clean and pretty much all the plugs were clean except no,3 and no. 4 was a little black so i pulled the rockers off 1-4 put a little sealer around the top outside of the inserts and taped up the threads with pipe tape.knock on wood but so far it is not smoking.i will have to drive a hundred miles or so to see if its still using oil.im hoping its not too bad so i can drive it some this summer. i will take it apart this winter and get them repaired.that would be a good time to go ahead and have some port work done on the heads and intake.right now the heads and intake are out of the box stock. im still going to get some studs and see if it will work till repairs are done. thank you guys for the help and good luck with your builds!

[fekbmax]

i would deff at-least try the studs, not going to hurt anything. is the hole the full size of the bolt or did it just push through a bit ? I put a good size ball of sealant on the end of my studs and let them dry over night then installed them and ran them down tight so its almost like a seal that the stud compresses down on. never had an issue but of course its not a street car.

[fryedaddy]

it punched out holes the same size as the studs,and like i said the punched out pieces are no thicker than a dime.i thought there would be more aluminium under the inserts than that,so anyone opening the ports up beware of the roof of the port.if you grind any medal off you will be getting close to the rocker bolt holes.i will def try the studs before i take it apart.i will need them anyway after the repair.there should be a warning on the instructions with the harland sharp rockers about using stock bolts.they sure can get you in trouble if your a dumb a like me.

[Falcon67]

The intake studs for 351C - AFD heads penetrate the intake ports by design so this "problem" is nothing new, just have to seal the threads and go on.

[mbrunson427]

Bought a set of BBM's at the local swap meet cheap because of this problem. The guy gave up on them. I bought copper bolts the same threading as the rocker arm bolts (ebay) and had a guy at work fill in the holes. Note, I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned the ports because the oil screws with getting them welded back in correctly. Took a little torch and burnt the oil out of the holes, and then cleaned some more.

I wasn't happy just sealing the threads. The heads were going into the '67 Mustang, and I didn't want a redo. Figured I'd just do it once.

Right hand side is what they looked like. Took a ton of effort, but I thought it was worth it for a deal on some BBM's.

[TomP]

The Cleveland doesn't have an intersecting oil passage. The FE iron heads do and i've ground through the oil bump porting them and used sealer on a stud to solve that. The aluminum head with the thread insert could use sealer on the outside of the insert and the stud both. Or as Blair suggests, the blind insert like is used to block the Thermactor passage on the ends of 5.0L heads. Those are called TimeSerts I think, available in 3/8NC internal thread with a couple different external threads. Not sure if the BBM is 7/16" or 1/2"

[scott foxwell]

Just for comparison, just about every BB Chevy head made has at least two ports where the rocker stud hole goes all the way through into the port by design. Most have all four.
I just use Permatex thread sealer. It's a non issue.