Since we're all a bunch of of weirdos who appreciate a good bit automotive porn, I thought that I'd post up some pics of a job that I did a while ago. It was for a customer/buddy of mine who (still) has a 2006 Chevy HHR/2.4 He was in for a CEL, which was related the the VTC actuator. Pulling it out found lots of metal around the inlet screen. That coupled with a timing chain rattle meant bad news. He looked for some replacement HHR's and I looked around for engines locally and didn't find any, surprisingly and so we collectively decided to tear it apart and attempt repairing. Once in there, the damage was far worse than expected. Metal was EVERYWHERE and one of the cast in posts for the slack side guide was pounded so bad, that the 6mm bolt hole was severely ovaled. Hmmmmm... now what? He told me that if I could fix it, that he'd be willing to take the risk and that if it lasted a year or two he'd be happy.
Here is what I saw when I first tore into it
So now what to do? The new slot (ovaled bolt hole) was pretty severe and took up most of the diameter of the casting. A little measuring showed that most of it would be cleaned up by enlarging to 1/2", but what could I do with a 1/2" hole?? I thought about driving something in but decided against that as the sides were a bit on the thin side, but maybe I could tap it? I went the to drill and tap guide and found that 1/2" was perfect for M14x1.25. But no one had that bolt or all thread. Buuuuuut... BMW used it for their wheel bolts. So I tapped the hole and ordered one up from the parts store and set out to drill the hole to 1/2". Lucky for me there was JUST enough straight thread in the bottom of the hole to start a bolt. So I took an M6 and drilled a hole down through it and bought some 1/8" dowel material. I started the bolt, then filled the ovaled section in with epoxy for support. Once it was cured, enlarged the hole with an annular cutter, then finished it with a 1/2" drill bit.
Here is what I saw when I first tore into it
So now what to do? The new slot (ovaled bolt hole) was pretty severe and took up most of the diameter of the casting. A little measuring showed that most of it would be cleaned up by enlarging to 1/2", but what could I do with a 1/2" hole?? I thought about driving something in but decided against that as the sides were a bit on the thin side, but maybe I could tap it? I went the to drill and tap guide and found that 1/2" was perfect for M14x1.25. But no one had that bolt or all thread. Buuuuuut... BMW used it for their wheel bolts. So I tapped the hole and ordered one up from the parts store and set out to drill the hole to 1/2". Lucky for me there was JUST enough straight thread in the bottom of the hole to start a bolt. So I took an M6 and drilled a hole down through it and bought some 1/8" dowel material. I started the bolt, then filled the ovaled section in with epoxy for support. Once it was cured, enlarged the hole with an annular cutter, then finished it with a 1/2" drill bit.
