My dad and i were flushing out the radiator and changing out the thermostat and accidentally snapped one of the bolts holding the thermostat housing together. now we have about 1/8 of the stud sticking out maybe a little bit more. do you all have any suggestions about what to do? my dad went to his house to get something to tap it out but figured i would ask you all as well. thanks

 

vice grips....

 

soak it with pb blaster or 10w40 befor you try and take it out.

 

MIG weld a washer to the stud, then weld a nut to the washer. The heat helps break the rust bond and you can back it off with a wrench.

 

man, that is way out of my capabilities but that is a GREAT idea. i ended up getting to towed to my mechanic at toyota and he will look at it in the morning. the tow truck just happened to be driving by and i flagged him down. it was the craziest thing. my mechanic is a great friend of the family that we have known for 16 years so he said he will look at it and see what he can do. thanks for all the replies and will keep you all updated.

frank

 

well, my mechanic ended up having to grind the stud off flush with the housing and he tapped the remainder of the bolt out. found a new bolt laying around and flushed the radiator for me so all is good now. he told me not to pay him but i gave him 25 bucks anyways. he said the bolt came out very easy and we were lucky. i just thought i would keep you all updated. thanks for all of the replies.

 

it's great to have a good friend who's willing to help you; the dealer would have soaked you for that!

 

yeah, this guy is a friend of the family and the ONLY one i let work on my vehicles besides myself and my dad. he knows everything there is to know about Toyotas it seems.

 

For future reference: I got myself a set of Snap-On bolt extractors that came with left handed drill bits. They have more than paid for themselves. You simply drill a hole in the center of the bolt with the drill bit, then tap the extractor in the hole and back it out. If you're lucky, the drill bit will grab the bolt and pull it out while you're drilling. You just have to be careful not to break the drill bit or extractor off in the bolt.

It's also best to grind the broken bolt flat (depending on how it broke) and center punch it before drilling it.

 

i will look into that. my dad is a snap on freak so i am sure he will buy it. thanks man!!

 

Yep that's the only thing that worked for me when I broke an exhaust stud off. I first tried welding nuts onto the remaining stud but the stud would just break off further back each time.

Before you use the bolt extractors drill the hole as big as you can without hurting the threads. It helps if you start with a smaller drill bit as close to the center as possible, that's why the center punch is needed.

 

Here is a link to the one I bought. Be sure it is the left handed set. They work much better then the right handed ones. Also be sure to use cutting oil when drilling. It will help prevent breaking the drill bit and also keep them sharp longer.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

 

Now that's a nice set! Mine came with my Craftsman tap and die set. Yep, always use cutting or drilling oil and go with slow RPMs with frequent stops for more dips in oil.

 

I finally broke down and bought the Snap-On set becase I broke so many cheaper ones. Not that these CAN'T break but they aren't as easy to break.

 

easy-outs work great...been using them for years on jet exhausts. remember to oil the bit while drilling and rememberRILL SPEED DOESN'T HELP WHEN DRILLING STEEL, LET THE BIT DO THE WORK

 

thanks for all the info guys. i will be sure to look into the snap on kit!!

 

Yeah, great tips. I've a set a dull drill bits, already, dern it!

 

So I just went through the same experience. I don't really wanna talk about it because I am an idiot. Anyway, the top stud in the thermostat housing sheared on me. A little liquid wrench and vice grips worked perfectly for me. So, anyone have any suggestions on finding a replacement stud?

 

thats the way i alwaYS DO IT.

vice grips would work too.

personally, i wouldnt pay for anything if i know im capable of it myself, even if i dont know what im doing...

 

Dealer has the replacements for a reasonable price. Go ahead & get the nuts, too.