Odd bolt?

[Bierisch]

Okay, so I was cruising through my engine bay looking at all of the dirt and dust.(Killing me where I live.) And I started looking at the valve covers and I noticed this odd bolt.

It's the one on the left here, compared to the others the head is a 1/2" I think and the rest are all 8mm.

Is this a quick fix someone did, or is this supposed to be this way? I looked at the passenger side front and it is just a stud, not a bolt.

 

[RonD]

It would be a "hey this fits" add on by last owner/mechanic

 

[Bierisch]

It would be a "hey this fits" add on by last owner/mechanic

Not the news I wanted to hear, but thanks.

 

[adsm08]

Hey, if it fits isn't not so bad. Especially if it isn't leaking.

 

[Bierisch]

But it makes me wonder, what else has been lost and replaced by something that fits.

 

[adsm08]

But it makes me wonder, what else has been lost and replaced by something that fits.

Yeah, but if it fits and it's doing the job who cares? If it works it works.

You are probably the guy who goes back in to the shop and makes them look your vehicle over again because you pass a bolt in the parking lot on the way to your car.

 

[wildbill23c]

Hell half the bolts in my valve covers were missing when I got by B2. 1 mismatched bolt can't be that bad. Oh add to that most of the threads for the valve cover bolts are stripped out so....

 

[Bierisch]

I would hope you got everything sorted before driving at all. lol

 

[Hagan]

Look at the bright side, someone put a bolt back in!

 

[Bierisch]

Yeah, but if it fits and it's doing the job who cares? If it works it works.

You are probably the guy who goes back in to the shop and makes them look your vehicle over again because you pass a bolt in the parking lot on the way to your car.

No, I am not, but it does bother me when I get something that has been patched together, you wouldn't buy a pool if it was held together with gaffer tape.

 

[vwa1]

I don't know for sure what size bolts the valve covers take, but I'm guessing 6mm, possibly 8. (Not the head where the socket fits on, but the actual threads.) The thing is, OEM's use the same thread bolt as everyone else but specify a different head size for certain applications. For example, I'm working on something and drop one of the 10mm headed 8x1.25 bolts and it doesn't hit the ground. After a quick search I still can't find the thing... So now my choice is to possibly spend a bunch of time trying to find the lost bolt, time that is quickly costing me and my shop money, or I could go to the bolt bin and grab another 8x1.25 bolt and thread it in there even though (gasp!) it takes a 12mm socket. I have seen 8mm bolts that take anywhere from 8mm to 17mm sockets.

TL;DR - It's all good.

 

[RonD]

Looking at the picture you could swap the bigger head bolt with the one next to it and add a dipstick support bracket, looks like it needs one

 

[Bierisch]

I don't know for sure what size bolts the valve covers take, but I'm guessing 6mm, possibly 8. (Not the head where the socket fits on, but the actual threads.) The thing is, OEM's use the same thread bolt as everyone else but specify a different head size for certain applications. For example, I'm working on something and drop one of the 10mm headed 8x1.25 bolts and it doesn't hit the ground. After a quick search I still can't find the thing... So now my choice is to possibly spend a bunch of time trying to find the lost bolt, time that is quickly costing me and my shop money, or I could go to the bolt bin and grab another 8x1.25 bolt and thread it in there even though (gasp!) it takes a 12mm socket. I have seen 8mm bolts that take anywhere from 8mm to 17mm sockets.

TL;DR - It's all good.

Yeah, I'd hate to lose a bolt like that too, but I am not a shop and I would've dug around for that bugger. lol

Looking at the picture you could swap the bigger head bolt with the one next to it and add a dipstick support bracket, looks like it needs one

That it does and that's a good idea! I never even thought about adding anything to it!

 

[adsm08]

No, I am not, but it does bother me when I get something that has been patched together, you wouldn't buy a pool if it was held together with gaffer tape.

I wouldn't buy a pool. I also assume that there are things that are less than factory (pronounced "wrong") when I buy a used vehicle.

On the other hand my truck is just as patch-work as a quilt, but I have no CEL on, she runs fine, and she is better than factory.

 

[Andy D]

When I sheared a few 8mm fender bolts on a bug I re tapped the holes with a 5/16 tap. The 5/16 has a 1/2 inch head. The 8mm has a 13mm head. 5/16 is 7.9 mm . The thread pitch is similar enough so that I could run an 8mm into a 5/16 . First time was a bit stiff, the second try was fine.