I recently found my next BIG headache and need some advice. The previous owner failed to mention that he broke the top bolt off that holds the heater/coolant tube to the timing cover? I borrowed a picture off another post here to show you guys.




SOOOOO...with engine in the truck, I removed the manifold and then pulled some mad Jedi trick and was able to drill a near perfect pilot hole into the top bolt in the cover. I sprayed in some WD40, let her sit then I worked an EZ Out into place like clockwork. Then I thought I had some movement out of the bolt and SNAP, there went the EZ Out which broke flush with this broke-off bolt.

So I guess now I have 2 options:

1. Drill the hole out with a large bit and retap the cover or

2. Remove everything and replace the cover...

I would much rather weld this b!tch into place or something....any other options here?? JB Weld? Something easy?

 

you can also try drilling a small hole in it and using a EZ out or stud extractor...

Is there a neck on the bolt you can grab with vise grips?

Be soaking the thing in WD40 or PB blaster though...

 

Thanks for responding but under the picture above is more info of what I tried already. Any other ideas?

 

It would probably be easier to just replace the timming cover.

 

^^^ditto

contact TED from ENGNBLDR.com and see how much a cover is.....

i believe it's a 9ft/lb bolt so you may be able to save it and helicoil it too...i know Ted had offered that as a recommendation for a water pump bolt hole.....

for the amount of effort it may be just simpler to get a new cover

 

I think if you remove the timing cover, you might be able to access what's left of the bolt easier.

Now that the EZ out is broke off, good luck drilling any more, although you might be able to catch the EZ out with the drill bit, and hopefully it will back out. If you can manage to get the EZ out removed, I would drill a little bit further into the bolt. If you have reverse cut drill bits, now's the time to use them!

Good luck. I don't miss encountering obstacles like this!

 

ok i missed the part of the ez out being broke there, i thought the bolt broke more......yep...i'd get a cover

 

ok on my outboard boat motor thr PO broke both bolts off the propeller bearing since the whole housing was aluminum i layed a couple 1/4" nuts over the broken bolts and welded them to it and then used the rachet to turn it out worked great.

 

use needle nose vice grips to hold it while you weld it or magnets work good too if its steel

 

I'd hit a pull-a-part up and get an AISIN before I'd get a Rock or whatever cheapo from Ted or Ebay or whoever will sell it to you...

There is a dude on here that got one from Ted, and I got one off Ebay that strongly resembles it and they're both VERY low quality...


Also, try Craigslist or GoLSN... It's not like they're unobtanium...

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've never removed a timing cover before and I have had bad luck trying to get stuff to not leak when I pull covers of any sort. Haha...Any threads with how to's on that?

I might try a regular drill bit and the EZ out one last time to see if I can get it loose. Then go for the left handed drill bit or larger EZ Out one last time...

I would have to take off quite a few components to get a welder in there on the washer then a nut I believe cuz the working space is small but its possible.

 

your paint skillz remind my of a younger superbleeder some of you YT old timers here might know what I'm talking about, lol

 

Trust me, I was wanting to paint a lot more than a frownee face when I snapped that EZ Out - Hahaha!

 

If that's a good ez-out in there, drilling will probably be useless. The good ones are super hard. You'd probably be ahead of the game to try and find a used one. Good Luck.

 

A new cover is what.. $30? Don't waste the effort..

 

definately something to consider

for the 86 in your sig I'm assuming?


http://www.engnbldr.com/Build-A-Kit_85-95.html

P/N COV900

$48 actually

 

Thanks guys. I researched a bit on 4x4wire on what I think it takes to change the timing cover only. Can anyone point me to slick directions or give me advice on how long something like this would take and the level of skill to accomplish it? I'm not a j@ck@ss when it comes to working on stuff, I just don't have a lot of experience.

 

The hardest part is resealing the oil pan.

 

Little late now, but I always use left hand drill bits on a broken bolt

highway

 

Welp, I just spent the last day and a half swapping out the old timing cover. First time I've torn into an engine. A lot of your posts on Yotatech helped me figure this pig out. I will post up some cell phone pics here soon. Im happy to have the truck together and running! Let me tell you what a biznatch that harmonic balancer bolt was! Grrrr.....and yes, I used the starter trick. The dude that rebuilt this engine must have used lock tight on that bad boy