Hey everyone. So i just recently put my engine back togeth (1986 small block 360) i want to check my oil pressure. BUT when i went to remove the allen key bolt from the hole on the top of the block on the passenger side of the engine right beside the distributer. i stripped it and cannot get it out!? is there any way that i could get it out or an alternative spot that i could put my oil pressure line? please say there is. my night went from awesome and productive to absolute horrible. thanks Jake

 

There is not another easy spot. If the engine has no bellhousing attached there are 3 spots on the back of the block you could fit into and hook a gauge to for a test. One on either side of the camshaft plug (lifter galley) one at 4 o'clock looking at back of block (oil passage from filter).

If you want to remove that stripped plug I would try carefully welding to it, drilling and tool removal would run the risk of chips falling down. It might be possible to prime at the same time to have oil pressure push out any shavings, would be messy but doable.

 

I cannot imagine why anyone would plug that with a tight plug

Agree with the above. Get 'enough stuff' out of the way that you can work. This might mean fabbing a plug to safe off the distributor hole. CLEAN the livin' you know what out of the surrounding area. Find a nut, try 3/8 fine thread or 7/17, and sit it down over the plug. Get someone WHO IS GOOD with a gas flux mig, NOT flux core, and weld to the plug, fill the hole on the nut.

Let it cool about 1/2 minute and unscrew it!!!!

 

Hey thanks so much for the replies. I didn't even think about tacking a bolt to it I think that's probably the best way. Yea drilling is pretty much a bad idea your right I will givebyea welding a shot when I get home thanks again much appreciated.

 

Let it cool dead cold, the weld will contract and the heat cycle will help fracture the thread corrosion.

 

Perfect will do hope this works

 

Interesting, I'll have to try that. I usually let the heat from welding cool as little as possible, I figured it's the same as using a torch to heat a stuck bolt.

 

Even with a stuck bolt, if it won't come when hot let it go cold then heat around it to use the different expansion rates to your advantage.