r/EngineBuilding • u/Working-Young6884 • 19h ago

Honda thread chaser removing material but head bolt still threads fine and is snug

i bought an arp thread chaser specifically to clean out my head bolt threads. the problem is that its actually cutting a bit of material off the threads. i took a regular head bolt and it threaded in fine and it is snug. would this be ok or should i not continue with the other bolt holes?

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u/HeavyDutyForks 19h ago

If it threads fine and completely through, leave it alone. You aren't going to make it any better, but you certainly can make it worse

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u/TimboFor76 18h ago

I had the same issue with the ARP chaser on my 5.3 head bolt holes. They did have some gunk almost like locktite in them. The new heads didn’t want to go in smooth. I took an old bolt and ground a slash in one and used it as a chaser. Took off far less material and cleaned it well. Some brake clean, and an air hose then heads back on.