Man, that sucks...glad the dipstick tube came out at least. It shouldnt' take as long as you're explaining to drill through though...are you using a left handed bit? Make sure the drill is going in the counter-clockwise direction....I've done that bone-head move before lol

 

lol...yeah, using the left handed bit which is on the other end of the extractor. I've hardly progressed though. OH well, i'll keep at it,

 

Hey atleast it is one of the holes you can get to and not the back of the engine...

 

Sounds like the drill bit is dull, and by now you've more than likely "work-hardened" it.

 

those bolts are hard as a rock. We went thru 2 brand new drill bits trying to drill mine out and eventually had to give up in the name of time since I had to drive home 300 miles. Luckily for you it's in a good position so you can get at it easily

 

Yeah, I believe you about the work-hardened part... one of my drill bits is eaten down to nothing... and i kept going with another more expensive one, progress was crazy slow... but for the last 2 hours now... there is no progress at all. I've tried going with bits that were never even used... and I simply am not getting anywhere at this point.

After an ENTIRE days of drilling and wasting material... I must ask those who have done it on these trucks... how long does it take to remove-replace the head?

 

Get a carbide bit, that should go through it no problem but just don't let it bind up. I've removed broken bolts from heads already off the engine, just Mig welded a nut on to the broken bolt and it came out no problem.

 

You wont believe how easy a head swap is....at least I was pretty surprised. Someone who has experience in doing it can do it in a couple hours. I'd say the hardest part is just knowing how to torque down the heads properly and making sure the bolt holes in the block are free of any coolant or debris

 

i know how you feel... when i did my headers on my 4.8 i broke 2 of the bolts off in the head 1 on both sides.. i said F it and just went got some new gaskets from GM and just went without those 2 bolts one was the front bolt and the other was the back.. and i never even had a leaking problem... so my point is that even if you dont get them all out the multi layered gaskets from GM seal up awesome even if you dont have all the bolts in....

PS.. put never seize on the new bolts........

 

Well... I must admit that the drill bits I used were titanium coated which is only one step below carbide bits. So I'm kind of skeptical about how well they'll work. I don't even know if i'll find a place around here that would sell left handed carbide bits. Not the most common thing.

On the other hand, I haven't changed a head myself but watched someone do it years ago. Didn't SEEM tough... but who knows what i could screw up. Other than an army of torque wrenches, I don't have the tools to replace a head...although they can be bought everywhere around here.

MAAN what a situation.