Got a customer's car here with an 8bA That was recently had some work done at h and h flatheads For a bad crank. They did the work and it turned out great. But after a couple 100 miles there was a ticking sound and it turns out number 3 exhaust had backed off. The Interference on the threads is almost non Existent. I adjusted it to the spec He calls for but don't want it to back off again.Should I Just stake the threads or add some type of lock tite. I've looked at other threads and there's no definitive answer. Or even anything recent within the last few years? I've emailed Mike at h and h, but he takes a while to get back to. What say you Flathead, people?
Loc-tite has a product thar works by "wicking" and is for already assembled threads. I have had no experience with it, but it would seem obvious that if you're gonna try a thread locker, it would be the one.
But would it work on oily threads? Seems to me that you’d have to disassemble to clean it before sealer. And if you’re gonna do that, you might as well just deform the threads a bit on the top of the lifter, and then no sealer needed.
I watched the video about the loctite and it doesn't specify clean Or oily. I can pull the threads up more than needed and stake it a couple times to cause an interference fit and then adjust it down I think. And also use the lock tite
I always like to try the least destructive message first. It's amazing the amount of progress that has been made in chemistry the last few years. One advantage of a flathead is that the cooling system doesn't need to be drained to pull the intake, which makes things a lot easier (and less messy).
No, it's not a hard job but I just don't want to do it again. I can see that a couple others have been staked.
I adjusted the lifter and rolled it over one revolution And it just pushes the adjustment screwed down as the threads are gone. If I could adjust it then somehow hold the valve and spring up then roll The lifter up And put a tack weld on it I think I would be good. Or I would have to pull the head and valve assembly to change the lifter.crap...
It has been my experience that fixing it right, even if a bit more expensive up front, is almost always cheaper than doing a "band-aid "(also known as "half-assed") patch job, especially when it fails later & YOU get a reputation for doing THAT kind of work(& have to "eat" the cost of repair for YOUR patch job!) Your choice, just my opinion...
You're correct about doing it right and half assed. As of right now I'm going to try and adjust it and put a tack weld on the lifter to prevent it from moving and the customer is okay with that. Should it happen again?He knows that the head and valve must be pulled in the lifter replaced
I adjusted the lifter and put a couple tack Weld on it. It's nice and quiet and smooth. I checked all the rest and they seem nice and tight and to proper spec.
Are we allowed to know what brand works best. I can’t imagine there are too many options as to manufacturers. Seems a lot of vendors offer Johnson style lifters.
I had one on my 8BA come loose last fall finally got around to repairing it Used brake wash repeatedly (with drain plug removed) Blew out with compressed air, then used heat to eliminate any flammable vapors. Tig welded the loose one, then used loctite thread locker 266 and primer on all the other lifters.
I tried loctite, center punch on the threads etc multiple times. Gave up and put a couple zaps with the MIG welder and all was good. Been that way for many years now. Good to know I'm not the only one! Dave
I figured someone had done it before.all the rest were nice and tight.wonder what happened to the threads on the one.
I ended up welding it and it worked out. Mike from H and h never got back to me. Seems like the normal bad communication that everybody says. Need to find somebody else that specializes in flatheads That's closer by.
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