Help! Sheared valve cover bolt by firewall (1 Viewer)

[MDarius]

This is a follow up to my "Intake plenum is off..." thread earlier this week:

...To be honest I am an oil changin' alternator replacin' fool but when it gets much more complicated than that, I tend to break things.

Well, I did it. I was replacing the valve cover. I bought a $20 torque wrench from Harbor Freight, looked up the torque settings in the Haynes manual. Nothing for 1FZFE, but the other two engines listed said 78 ft/lbs, probably alright. I tested the torque wrench at 30 and 40 ft/lbs to make sure it clicked. Seemed to work. I set to work on the hardest bolt first, the one under the heater hoses on the drivers side by the firewall. Things were going pretty good...seems like it should have clicked by now...SNAP! I sheared the bolt in the head at the hardest stinkin' place to get it out of!!! I am so mad! I moped for several minutes, thought I must have screwed up, so I took the torque wrench to the bolt at the very front of the engine, easy to drill out if it shears. Started torqueing, no click. Reset the wrench to under 50lbs...two turns and SNAP! Sheared that one off too.

Any suggestions on how to get the bolt out of the head without pulling the head or the engine?

I seem calm, but I went about 15 rounds with the punching bag in the basement and yelled at the kids, so I'm in the mad-calm stage now.

 

[cruiserdan]

There is not a valve cover bolt on the planet that torques to 78 lb-ft.....

It's more like inch-pounds.


you will have to remove the valve cover and see if it broke off above the cylinder head. If so you may be able to get a vice-grip on it and back it out. If not you will have to drill it and try an easy-out.

D-

 

[Rich]

If you have to drill the bolts then buy a left hand twist drill bit. If you are lucky, the drilling will back out the broken bolts.

 

[cruiser88]

you may now need a new valve cover .its probebly bent

 

[MDarius]

Thanks. By the way, there is a chapter 2-B in the Haynes manual for the 1FZFE. 15 ft lbs is what is specified in there. No wonder the wrench never clicked, the bolt sheared before I got to the lowest attempted setting.

Any suggestions for how to drill the bolt out in it's current location, by the firewall? I could barely get a ratchet back there, let alone a drill.

 

[MDarius]

you may now need a new valve cover .its probebly bent

Good point. This is turning in to a really expensive PHH replacement.

 

[cruiser88]

is it sheared off level with the head

 

[cruiser88]

the bolt that is

 

[MDarius]

There is not a valve cover bolt on the planet that torques to 78 lb-ft.....

D-

Ya'd think people would know that, wouldn't you?

 

[MDarius]

is it sheared off level with the head

Yes.

 

[cruiser88]

If you have to drill the bolts then buy a left hand twist drill bit. If you are lucky, the drilling will back out the broken bolts.

your left with this.go to napa to get your left twist drill bit.good enough quality but will not brake the check book.take the bolt with you for referance ,just tell them what you need most napa guys are helpfull.find the oldest guy in the place .trust me do it yourself when dealing with cruisers you need to learn to do these things.

 

[e9999]

don't know exactly which bolt this is, but, caution is in order, I would think.
Easy outs are nasty affairs. When they work they are great. When they break, you wish you'd never heard of them.
As far as drilling, you better be really careful. Maybe practice on a fake bolt someplace first. You don't want to mess the threads.
Good luck!
and mucho penetrating good stuff, too...

 

[MDarius]

Here are pix...I don't think the valve cover was bent. There is a shot of how they line up. The others are of the bolt and location. The bolt is nearly flush, a couple jagged edges sitcking up, but nothing to grab on to.

 

[MDarius]

Uh...pix didn't upload, take 2:

 

[Rich]

That's going to be tight for drilling. You would need to use a very short drill bit. Will likely need to go to an industrial supplier such as mscdirect. You would also want to procure a small right angle drill. An of course you need to pull the heater hose and valve out to get as much free room to work as possible. Right angle drill adaptors exists, but would be more cumbersome to use than a right angle drill.

Given all that, I would first attempt to back out the broken bolt using a hammer and a sharp pointed center punch. Do take the trouble to clear out the heater hose to get some more space to work.

 

[MDarius]

Thanks. I will. At least I have pictures for reference now.

 

[Tools R Us]

Most of the time when the bolt breaks it relieves the tension on the threads, so it's just in finger tight. I have good luck removing them with a punch, the theory is to angle the punch to put force at an angle and offset on the bolt to turn it. On a small bolt you need a small punch, I use a mechanics pick, but an awl, ice pick etc. would work. If you hit it and it moves it's best if the next hit is done on the other side of the bolt. It will only move about 16th of a turn with each hammer tap, after a couple of turns you will be able to get pliers on it. Maybe a little closer to the edge than pictured.

 

[semlin]

bummer! i'm very glad that i learned the small bolts don't get torqued very much lesson in an easier spot than that!

if the punch doesn't work, use it to make a good cente mark for the drill bit. You want to be very well centred if you drill. Buy a couple of 1/32 and 1/16 cobalt drill bits. You want sharp when you are getting started, i would use the easy outs that look like a punch, not the screw kind. if you have to drill, make sure you catch all the metal shavings. put something in the head to catch them all.

i also suggest you get comfy using a wooden boared balanced on a fender and the front of the head to balance. you can protect the fender with a towel.

one other thing, you do realize you are a fair way to doing a head gasket replacement in which case you could get a machine shop to pull taht screw for you on the bench

good luck

 

[Beowulf]

... looked up the torque settings in the Haynes manual. Nothing for 1FZFE, but the other two engines listed said 78 ft/lbs, probably alright.

Not to rub salt in the wounds but you are strongly advised to have the FSM before you start a project like this. The Haynes manual is pure crap. You can buy the FSM or you can spend $10 and a few hours and download the electronic version.

You will need good torque values before you start assembly, especially if you follow Semlin's advice and do a PM on the HG.

-B-

 

[turbocruiser]

Not to rub salt in the wounds ... but here is some pure elemental phosphorous that I would like to rub in your wounds for you ...

-B-

There, fixed it for you!