TIII Head, Where Not To Weld

[2.216VTurbo]

As the 'head gasket swap' on the Rampage RT snowballed into steam hole and core plug welding/porting/polishing/Cometic with ARP studs/ FWD adjustable gears etc etc etc I got some advice to have that little plug welded up next to the #10 head bolt hole, the one that causes the weak spot in the stock head gasket. Seemed like a good plan as long as all the other welding was happening, I don't think my shop even charged me for the extra welding. Fast forward a few weeks later (about two weeks ago) got everything together and fired the motor for the first time in 19 months in time to drive the Rampage to the monthly SD/TD meeting. Loud lifter/rocker noise prevented me from drivng it that night and a good thing. The 80+ mile drive would have no doubt wiped out the EX cam and valvetrain. There was zero oil getting to the rocker shaft ( I double checked it after talking to a couple TIII guys, it was NOT in upside down , doubted myself on that one) The culprit, yep, that littel welded up plug shut the oil galley that feeds that shaft. Fortunatly there are two Allen plugs (one for IN and one for EX) on the drivers side of the head leading to the oil galley. So the fix was simply to drill out the offending weld, and screw the plug back in. Does anything on TD's ever go simply ? The Allen plug rounded off instead of coming out, gotta drill and easy out that now as well as find another plug (kind of an odd size I think, it's not NPT) Get it drilled but the Snap On easy out snapped off in there (yes, I'd been soaking the site with PB Blaster liberally) Larger drill bit, bigger easy out got that handled. Go to drill out the weld and the odd shape of the blockage grabbed the drill bit and snapped that off INSIDE THE OIL GALLEY! Larger drill bit, and a bit more careful this time, weld is drilled out, but so are 85% of the threads that hold the plug in Couple hours flushing out the chips (and removing the broken bit) and blowing out with compressed air, decide to fire up the motor with the plug out to let the oil pressure carry out any remaining chips. I bathe the cam/rockers in oil because thay still are not going to get any with the plug out, reassemble the cam/rockers (does that ever get any easier on the TIII??) retime the motor, fire it up and the oil does POUR out of that hole with no plug, finally, something actually goes as planned. Reinstall the plug, clean up the 1/2 quart that poured onto the trans, change the oil and drove the Rampage for the first time in almost two years. Grainger is set to 9-10 while everything is sorted (and the stinky gas is used up) drove about 35 miles all over town, never wanting to stray more than a few miles from the house just in case... Runs pretty good, cams are still not centerlined, just thrown in 'strait up' power falls off dramatically above 5K so I know one or both are too far advanced Next morning, a few extra drop of oil are under the motor on the driveway. The leak turns out to be a drop every 10-15 seconds from the oil plug when the motor is running (lost about 2/3 quart during the 35 miles of driving the night before). No big deal, I"ll just tear out the upper IC hose, theremostat housing misic stuff AGAIN and put a bit more sealant on the plug and tighten it an extra turn or two. ANYONE WANT TO GUESS WTF HAPPENS WHEN YOU TIGHTEN THAT F'N PLUG TOO MUCH?????? There is oil POURING out under that plug now, from the deck surface of the head. All I can figure is the head split open along the oil galley. Now I get to pull the head AGAIN and take it back to the shop for more welding.

IF there is a moral to this little TD story it may be to not F- with that little plug if it doesn't leak So far its added much frustration, extra weeks, and $$ to this project...

[NeonShowCar]

Wow - what a mess that little welded hole has turned into. Wish you luck getting it all fixed, and if you need a hand helping out - give me a call.

Good luck!

[Tony Hanna]

Sorry to hear that Alan! It sounds like you're having a run of luck like mine.

[86Shelby]

Holy crap! I thought about welding the hole as well, but I have the same luck as you do right now. I hope the next time the head is on everything will work the way it's supposed to.

[mcsvt]

You just can't catch a break trying to help that car live longer!

Good luck getting the head fixed again

[Lotashelbys]

Geez,all this cause some idiot(not to mention an names)told you to have it welded
Glad you got it to run finally. Im gonna make sure when I weld the rest of mine to tell the guy to only fill in like a 1/4" of it with weld.

BTW:those allen plugs are 1/8NPT but you need a 1/8 NPS tap to chase the threads in the head if you ever do them

[GLHNSLHT2]

I think the Moral of the story is not to put that POS head with rocker arms in your car

[2.216VTurbo]

I think the Moral of the story is not to put that POS head with rocker arms in your car

Easy now Jay, its gonna take me a while to build the 'other' 16V motor for the Rampage Plus when I sell this TIII as a 'complete conversion kit' that will the vacuum harness, the wiring harness and all the accessories, I want it to be as good as it can be and fetch good money

[2.216VTurbo]

Geez,all this cause some idiot(not to mention an names)told you to have it welded
Glad you got it to run finally. Im gonna make sure when I weld the rest of mine to tell the guy to only fill in like a 1/4" of it with weld.

BTW:those allen plugs are 1/8NPT but you need a 1/8 NPS tap to chase the threads in the head if you ever do them

I was thinking about the welding on that plug and the only way I can think to do it is if the welder were to pull the side Allen plug and insert a steel rod that the aluminum wouldn't stick to or other similar method. Otherwise the weld is going to fill that galley no matter how careful the welder is...

[Blue Iroc R/T]

Alan,
Thanks for posting this. My spare head is at the welders right now. It MAY have been welded over the weekend. I will contact him this afternoon and put a stop on welding the hole.
I will just do the Cliff Ramsdell fix by tapping the hole and locktiting a bolt in the hole then cut the head off and grind to just above flush. Then when I have the head decked, it will all be flush. I would drop a link to Cliff's page, but I don't have the addy here at work.
Good luck on yours, I hope the welder hasn't welded mine yet.

[Lotashelbys]

I was thinking about the welding on that plug and the only way I can think to do it is if the welder were to pull the side Allen plug and insert a steel rod that the aluminum wouldn't stick to or other similar method. Otherwise the weld is going to fill that galley no matter how careful the welder is...

I have had 3 welded with ZERO problems but the guy that does my alum welding is a god with a TIG

Anyone that uses a Cometic gasket I wouldnt even worry about that hole anyways.