Ross, thanks for the reply. I didn't see it before my last post. Anyway, I did get some thread sealer and am cleaning everything up tonight. I will definitely take heed to all of the advice. NAPA didn't have the gaskets locally either, but I did check.

thanks,
Kevin

 

Get some hardened SAE washers for your head bolts, that will give you about an eighth of an inch more thread. As I recall, the ones for 302's are about right, but just go to NAPA and match some up to your bolts.

You might even ask them if they sell a head bolt set, as I recall they are still available. Grade 8 are good bolts but there's more to the correct bolts than strength. Depending where you bought your Gr 8's, they could be pretty crummy bolts these days -- lots of asian junk around.

 

Thanks for the advice about the washers, seems so obvious, duh. A lot better than buying new bolts. The problem isn't with the thread, I actually have more thread than the originals. I think the problem is that the bolts are a little too long. Hopefully that washer will do the trick. As far as the bolts, I had a lot of trouble finding them. It seems everyone, including NAPA, is out. Some say they have been backordered since Aug/Sept. Something to do with incorrect threads on the last big batch or something along those lines. There is another thread that just started tonight by someone having the same problem.

Kevin

 

Duplicate post

 

The manual does say to use a water resistant sealer to prevent leaks around the head bolts.

 

I would think that the bolts will be strong enough as the originals were only grade 5. The main issue would be if they are shouldered or not.