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broken bolt in tranny case... YAY!!! TWO of them!

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 5:19 am
by 12340987
I WAS USING A TORQUE WRENCH TOO. FORGIVING FOR YELLING BUT I AM PISSED. I'VE SPENT WAY TOO MUCH TIME JUST TRYING TO CHANGE THIS FILTER.

It was a cheap torque wrench too big for the application, but I still don't htink it should have happened. To get stubborn bolts out I've pounded a notch in the head of the screw with a flathead before, screwed it out, and that works. But this time if it doesn't work I'll be screwed. Two of them in the casing, ugh, I'm feeling dizzy.

I'm thinking if i got a dremel and driilled into it, used jb weld or whatever (that stuff doesn't seem to work), and attached it to the the head I could take it out then, but I don't know...

suggestions please

Posted: Mon Sep 01, 2003 6:32 am
by vrg3
Ouch. That sucks. I'm sorry.

You might want to heat the area up with a torch before you try to remove the remnants of the broken bolts. That way they'll move out a little more easily.

Have you ever tried using screw extractors? They're drill bits with a left-handed biting tip that digs in more as it turns counterclockwise. I haven't actually used one myself before but I've heard good things about them. Craftsman supposedly makes pretty good ones.

I have drilled through broken bolts before; after you remove most of the bolt's body it's more willing to move. You just have to be careful not to let the drill mess up the internal threads in whatever the bolt's threaded into.

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 12:11 am
by entirelyturbo
With broken bolts, always remember that the head is what applies the force of the torque to the two objects being held together. When the head is broken off, the only thing holding the bolt in is the threads. There is no torque on the remnant of the bolt at all...

That said, it's helpful if the bolt broke uncleanly, that is, leaving a bump or ridge in the top of it. That can be used to grab ahold of with an ice pick or something and simply rotated out...

I will tell again of the time I broke a valve cover bolt off in my cylinder head... I was super-pissed, and drove the car around with DUCT-TAPE holding the edge of the cover where the bolt broke...

When I had someone at my work look at it, they simply put a little lock-picking type of tool into a ridge in the bolt and rotated it right out. I felt like an idiot, since it was so simple... :oops:

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 7:38 am
by ciper
Why are you changing the filter? You should have asked here first.

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 1:48 pm
by magicmike
Damn Ciper, first the ruby red rant and now this.......someones having a bad day :wink:

Posted: Tue Sep 02, 2003 5:22 pm
by ciper
Changed it 8)