So I bought a 1994 Honda del sol with a d15b VTEC engine (engine and tranny were replaced). It appeared to have a head gasket leak so I figured it would be an easy fix and a fun car. When I took the valve cover off the headbolts could just be pulled out with my fingers, and the threads were on the bolts (very disappointing). I've seen people put inserts in for the bolts to thread into, but is that strong enough to last a long time, and I plan on turbo charging it eventually, will this be an issue? Also, couldn't I just find headbolts slightly wider and the same length and tap the holes to that size? PS, I'm 17 and I haven't taken any auto clclasses or anything, everything I know is from my own research and working on my own cars, so I apologise if anything I said in this post is really stupid or obvious. Thanks for the feedback!

 

Likely that engine is totally wrecked. Replace the whole engine with a used one that has a guarantee.

 

I'm trying to do this on a budget.

 

What budget is that?

 

As cheap as possible lol. Like I said in my previous post, I'm only 17 so my budget is tight. The more this costs the longer it's going to take, and I'd like to get it running soon.

 

The only thing you can do at this point is use Time-Serts, or replace the block. Time-Serts are pretty expensive, last time I had a stripped head bolt on my Civic I called around all the machine shops in my area to see if I could pay to borrow a kit. Luckily I found someone who let me use it, and the Civic has been running great ever since. (Probably about 30K miles or so.)

You can buy a kit on for around $400-$500, or replace the block for cheaper than that. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but helicoils will not hold up. I also would not recommend boosting that engine ever, even with Time-Serts. Not that it can't be done, but I personally would be too nervous to do it.