Broken valve cover bolt

[Landman2000]

Hey guys,

Replacing valve cover gaskets today and the very back drivers side bolt (hardest one to get to) broke. I noticed it was tight and sprayed it with PB Blaster. I thought it was turning but the head snapped off. I tried getting it with some vise grips clamped on tight but there is not much room to work. I would really like to avoid breaking it off flush.

Any input on the best way to get this out?

 

[Landman2000]

Just went and picked up a couple nuts. Going to try and weld one on and turn the bolt out. Fingers crossed.

 

[nissanh]

Heat the remaining piece of bolt that is stuck into the cylinder head.

 

[Landman2000]

Went ahead and purchased some of these. Did some research and they look to be pretty high-quality. Won’t have them until Wednesday though.

Hope they do the trick.

 

[badlander]

I had the same one break on mine. I was able to drill it out using right angle attachments, etc, but it was next to impossible because of lack of work room. A few months ago I replaced my master cylinder booster unit and when I had it out I was amazed at how much easier it would have been to drill out that broken bolt without the MC in the way, a straight shot in with a drill! You can get the master cylinder unit out in about a half an hour and if it ever happened to me again I would deffinetely go that route.
Good luck!

 

[rexington14]

Good luck man. I think one forum member actually ended up pulling the engine when this happened.

 

[TRDdrew]

induction heater and some vice grips. good luck

 

[2001LC]

Welding nut on stud, is the best way to go.

 

[TahoeZ]

Heating it, either with a torch or induction, is going to help a ton. If you can't get it to break loose, one option is to drill it out completely and replace with a through-bolt and nut. As mentioned above, if you remove the brake master there's a lot more room to work.

 

[excessive]

the only true way to access / drill out that bolt is to pull the engine.

 

[Landman2000]

I had the same one break on mine. I was able to drill it out using right angle attachments, etc, but it was next to impossible because of lack of work room. A few months ago I replaced my master cylinder booster unit and when I had it out I was amazed at how much easier it would have been to drill out that broken bolt without the MC in the way, a straight shot in with a drill! You can get the master cylinder unit out in about a half an hour and if it ever happened to me again I would deffinetely go that route.
Good luck!

Good to hear. I have some extractors coming tomorrow. They are my last resort before drilling. I’ve tried welding nuts on but they just kept twisting off along with a little of the bolt each time. I preheated the heck out of the area too..This puppy is seized. I do have a Milwaukee M12 right angle drill. If it comes to that I’ll drill the bolt out and retap with a 6mm tap. If that doesn't work I’ll through bolt it. I’ve heard you need a scanner to properly bleed the brake system if you remove the master cylinder. If thats not true. I’d definitely consider going that route.

 

[Landman2000]

Welding nut on stud, is the best way to go.

I tried several times. Each time the nut would twist off with a little more of the stud. Good weld and I heated the area real good too. I’m down to about a 1/2” stud now. This thing is seized. If the extractors I have coming tomorrow, don’t work. It looks like I’ll be drilling.

 

[bpalmer7440]

Good to hear. I have some extractors coming tomorrow. They are my last resort before drilling. I’ve tried welding nuts on but they just kept twisting off along with a little of the bolt each time. I preheated the heck out of the area too..This puppy is seized. I do have a Milwaukee M12 right angle drill. If it comes to that I’ll drill the bolt out and retap with a 6mm tap. If that doesn't work I’ll through bolt it. I’ve heard you need a scanner to properly bleed the brake system if you remove the master cylinder. If thats not true. I’d definitely consider going that route.

I had this happen on exhaust flange bolts (break off every time I welded on a nut and applied torque). This happened on both of the bolts *until* the bolts broke off slightly below the surface. The next bolt (actually a thick flat washer followed by a bolt), the broken bolts came out in one piece. These bolts were so hard from the heat cycles that I could not drill into them. It seemed like there was something about getting past the surface that allowed them to finally come out. After this I just ran a tap through them and installed new studs.

 

[scubadoober]

A good low profile metric stud puller is another option. Not the universal ones, but the size specific.

 

[Landman2000]

A good low profile metric stud puller is another option. Not the universal ones, but the size specific.

I have some of those coming tomorrow not real low profile, but they are high-quality and size specific.

I really don’t think it’s going to do anything but break off flush so I’ve come up with another option I think will work.

I have about a 3/8-1/2” of stud remaining that I was able to clean up with a 6 mm Die. I found these T nuts at Ace Hardware and threaded one over an old valve cover bolt along with a flange nut and welded them together. I gave it a trial run without a valve cover gasket and it seemed like it will work. The T nut fits perfectly into the valve cover hole and catches the remaining stud.

My only concern is the strength of the T nut threads.. The nut welded on top is just for the socket. My gut tells me it will be fine. If not, I just gotta pull it back off and start over.

What do you guys think?