helicoil in heads

Tips for Helicoils in heads:

I remove the rocker arms and pushrods and lay shop towels/rags in the valley to catch any chips that may fall. Then carefully remove them when you are done.

Using a shop vac to suck any chips out of the holes and valley is a good idea.

I would not recommend using oil or grease because they tend to attract dust and dirt and hold on to it like a magnet.

I recommend to drill and tap the head dry and then take a can of parts cleaner with a straw and stick the straw down the hole almost to the bottom and give a good blast or three to wash any chips away that may be too deep for the shop vac to suck out (before removing the shop towels, of course).

Then I would change the oil to remove any chips that may have gotten past all of that other stuff.

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Things to think about with Helicoils.

Make sure that you set them deep enough so your bolt doesn't bottom out on the flat tang on the bottom when putting everything back together.

The flat tang at the bottom is used to drive the Helicoil into the hole and then stake it in when you back out the installation tool. You can sometimes hear it snap when you do.

If you use it on the straight through holes with out a bottom, cut the tang off and use some strong Loctite or equivalent thread locker to keep it from coming out. If you have to cut the tang before installing it, use a thin nut at the top of the installation tool to drive the Helicoil into the hole. Sometimes the end of the bolt has to go past the end of the Helicoil.

If the hole is threaded deeper than one Helicoil, use two to get enough thread depth and cut the tang of the top one as described above.

I know that you are already done, but this can be used for reference for others that need to use them in the future.

Just a few tips from a guy who's "Been there, done that".

Remember: You can't race your house, but you can always sleep in your car.