Whenever I remove a nut or bolt with threads exposed to elements, I use a wire brush and clean the threads, then WD-40.. Even if you can't access one half of the threads, cleaning the other half make your life very easy.
my living nightmare. valve cover gasket replacement turns into engine out job (3 Viewers)
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BullElk
SILVER Star
Wow. Sorry for your awful day ruining frustrations. Not being near as experienced I would really be hating life if it were me. I would end up replacing gaskets and then just using a superior gasket sealant adhesive on the outside around that corner and area of cover…. and move on. You probably will never need to replace gaskets again anyway.
One more thing I do when replacing valve cover gasket is to apply a small film of toyota fipg on 3 sides (left, right and bottom sides) of the cylinder head surface.
I would certainly pull the engine mounts (*Inspect them while they are out). This should give you the room you need to fix it right. If nothing else they need to come out to pull it anyways.
awesomeissquid
SILVER Star
Another possible option that might work would be to use an extra long aircraft drill bit. I feel like you might be able to get a clear enough shot at it from around the brake master and everything else that is going on up there.
Negetive on that. The bolt is back very near, or behind the firewall. No access to it other than a right angle drill.
1000% this... I would at least try it. If it leaks then pull the engine. But if it doesn't, then do a little dance and go on you're way.
RC
Not sure without looking if there is enough room but could a pancake drill adapter work?
You’d also need to order the threaded bits for it.
www.yardstore.com
You’d also need to order the threaded bits for it.
Jiffy Pancake Adapter 14848BA Used
PN: 13526Jiffy Pancake Adaptor Used Model: Jiffy 14848BA Accepts 1/4"-28 threaded bits Shaft: 5/16" Thickness: 3/8" 2 1/4" center hole to center shaft Limited Supply
I hate busted bolts....
Removing engine only, is a good option if short on space. Which is, actually the way most shops around here do it. It was the unicorn I pulled engine only: Scored 2007 Unicorn. The holy grail of 100 series. - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/scored-2007-unicorn-the-holy-grail-of-100-series.1043138/
Pulling with transmission, one needs more room in front of vehicle than I have.
Small attachable 90 degree chuck should fit area, on that 90 drill you have. Use a reverse drill bit. Centering will be issue, as you such uneven surface on busted stud of bolt and no room for center punching. A pilot bushing may help center.
Consider working from the underside. It may require pull exhaust manifold and steering intermediate shaft. Look close, see if you've room!
Removing engine only, is a good option if short on space. Which is, actually the way most shops around here do it. It was the unicorn I pulled engine only: Scored 2007 Unicorn. The holy grail of 100 series. - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/scored-2007-unicorn-the-holy-grail-of-100-series.1043138/
Pulling with transmission, one needs more room in front of vehicle than I have.
Small attachable 90 degree chuck should fit area, on that 90 drill you have. Use a reverse drill bit. Centering will be issue, as you such uneven surface on busted stud of bolt and no room for center punching. A pilot bushing may help center.
Consider working from the underside. It may require pull exhaust manifold and steering intermediate shaft. Look close, see if you've room!
theoretically you could just remove the engine/trans combo enough to get to the rear of the engine past the obstacles, maybe 1-2 feet??
Good thinking.
I think BullElk got this right in post 22 - don't worry, be happy. I added the be happy. This doesn't really have to be fixed, at least not now. Put some good sealant on that corner. I went out and had a look and it looks to me like the two surfaces are well suited to a G clamp like the ones in the link below. I bet it would never leak. Let someone else worry about it when they pull the engine in the future.
Amazon product ASIN B0956XGXLR
Amazon product ASIN B0956XGXLR
This might be the best solution
- Thread starter
- #35
Small update: I am gong to try pulling out the motor mounts and dropping the engine down with no motor mounts in. if this gives me at least 1 - 1.5 more inches of clearance, i will be able to fit my right angle drill in there. I really don't want to pull the engine, but I don't do anything half-assed on my vehicles. I will fix this back to the way it should be. This isn't my daily driver, i have several other vehicles, so time is not an issue. I just need to have the truck back again by about late May to prepare for a big camping trip this summer.
I did not get enough time to do the full job this weekend. I pulled the radiator, fan shroud, and stuff around the front of the engine. I should be able to post another update maybe later this week once i get the engine hoist in place, and drop the motor mounts. It looks like the power steering and AC stuff has plenty of wiggle room to stay in place for the test. My other plan is to remove the exhaust hangers and keep all the exhaust connected.
Thank you to all those who provided suggestions. To answer a few comments:
1. The bottom of the bolt holes are exposed to the outside world, which must have allowed some corrostion to build up on the bottom of the bolt. They are in the splash zone from the front tires.
2. There is no way to drill it out from below without removing the driver side manifold, and even then it's a "maybe". but i might as well pull the engine at that point, because it's probably 6 -8 more hours of work to R&R the exhaust manifold.
I did not get enough time to do the full job this weekend. I pulled the radiator, fan shroud, and stuff around the front of the engine. I should be able to post another update maybe later this week once i get the engine hoist in place, and drop the motor mounts. It looks like the power steering and AC stuff has plenty of wiggle room to stay in place for the test. My other plan is to remove the exhaust hangers and keep all the exhaust connected.
Thank you to all those who provided suggestions. To answer a few comments:
1. The bottom of the bolt holes are exposed to the outside world, which must have allowed some corrostion to build up on the bottom of the bolt. They are in the splash zone from the front tires.
2. There is no way to drill it out from below without removing the driver side manifold, and even then it's a "maybe". but i might as well pull the engine at that point, because it's probably 6 -8 more hours of work to R&R the exhaust manifold.
I'm hoping for the best for you. I had to do something similar on an early VH45DE where a dealer had previously stripped the rear VC bolts. It was a bear to install a timesert. That engine didn't use VC gaskets. VC oil seals were RTV.
Another suggestion would be to remove the front wheels and drop the front end down on to some shorter stands- this will help with the reach into the back of the engine bay. It will be tough to get to the mounts to drop the engine down this way but might be worth a try first to get better body position on that back area. Dremel makes a 90 attachment which is a lower profile - might help to squeeze in that tight space-
www.dremel.com
DREMEL® Right Angle Attachment Attachments to Reach | Dremel
What can you do with it?|Get into those hard-to-reach areas by using the Right Angle attachment in combination with your Dremel Rotary-Tool while cutting, dril
www.dremel.com
- Thread starter
- #39
OK, time for an update. I was able to pull the motor mounts, brought out the engine hoist, and was able to drop the engine down about 1.5 inches. this did allow me to get my right-angle drill in there, and i was able to drill through the bolt at a pretty good angle. I made sure i was centered and I thought I was in the clear! I got my bolt extractor in there, got a good grip on the bolt, and wrenched and wrenched, and the bolt extractor broke off!
I was so incredibly frustrated at this point. I gave up for about a week deciding what to do. Because i have more than 1 broken bolt on the driver's side. Since I had the Radiator out, the motor mounts out, and a bunch of other stuff disconnected. I decided to pull the the motor. It wasn't easy, but I did get it out. With the motor on the ground, I was now able to get a really good attack on the broken bolts.
I re-drilled the broken bolt hole. no matter what I do, i can't get the remnants of the bolt out. I decided that I will just have to re-tap that hole. I moved onto the next bolt (the one right next to it) . I carefully center-punched, drilled and put a bolt extractor in. I am getting a seriously good bite on the remnants of the bolt. I still cannot get any movement on the broken bolt #2.
I have tried the following:
1. tightening and loosening back/forth
2. soaking in wd40 (has been soaking for weeks)
3. heating with acetylene torch ( heated until it was red hot)
4. yelling at it
I am completely at a loss. it's almost like these valve cover bolts are welded in. I can't believe this is happening, i have searched the internet and found no other stories of 2UZ owners with this problem. My truck is not overly rusty, very typical for an east-coast rig. I am guessing that the truck has had saltwater splashed up on the engin at some point. This I is what I get for living in Charleston.
I am not really even asking for advice at this point. There doesn't seem to be anything else i can do other than completely drill and re-tap.
I was so incredibly frustrated at this point. I gave up for about a week deciding what to do. Because i have more than 1 broken bolt on the driver's side. Since I had the Radiator out, the motor mounts out, and a bunch of other stuff disconnected. I decided to pull the the motor. It wasn't easy, but I did get it out. With the motor on the ground, I was now able to get a really good attack on the broken bolts.
I re-drilled the broken bolt hole. no matter what I do, i can't get the remnants of the bolt out. I decided that I will just have to re-tap that hole. I moved onto the next bolt (the one right next to it) . I carefully center-punched, drilled and put a bolt extractor in. I am getting a seriously good bite on the remnants of the bolt. I still cannot get any movement on the broken bolt #2.
I have tried the following:
1. tightening and loosening back/forth
2. soaking in wd40 (has been soaking for weeks)
3. heating with acetylene torch ( heated until it was red hot)
4. yelling at it
I am completely at a loss. it's almost like these valve cover bolts are welded in. I can't believe this is happening, i have searched the internet and found no other stories of 2UZ owners with this problem. My truck is not overly rusty, very typical for an east-coast rig. I am guessing that the truck has had saltwater splashed up on the engin at some point. This I is what I get for living in Charleston.
I am not really even asking for advice at this point. There doesn't seem to be anything else i can do other than completely drill and re-tap.
- Thread starter
- #40
more pics. I guess i am just posting this as a cautionary tale. Dont try. that's what I've learned from this. just let the oil leak from your valve covers, its a lot better than this bullsh1t
