Broken bolt repair help (water pump/timing chain cover)

[dlphelan]

2001 Mercury Mountaineer 5.0L AWD

Water pump seized and had to be replaced. When taking it out, one bolt was pretty well stuck but I was able to ease it out after hitting it with PB Blaster and letting it soak.

Changed out the pump and put everything back together. I put anti-seize on all the bolts, to make sure it wouldn't get stuck coming out the next time. The same bolt that gave me problems earlier started to turn a little tougher on the way back in.

This is the bolt that, if facing the water pump, is on the far right. It goes through the water pump/timing chain cover and into the block.

I pushed a little too hard thinking I just had to get past a little bit of resistance and the bolt snapped off mid-shaft.

It broke just below where the threads start and there is nothing protruding that I can get a grip on.

In a fit of panic/idiocy I just put everything back together absent that one bolt.

Ran it for an hour and no leaking, but the whole thing is making me nervous. It's my wife's car and I can't have the nasty cloud of a possible catastrophic failure/leak hanging over her when she drives it around.

Any thoughts or advice?

BAH, I'm bad at the internet... Same issue, same bolt, already addressed in another thread. For posterity's sake: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209508

 

[rb142]

There's not a lot of choices at this point. You could drive it until it starts leaking. To fix it you are going to have to take everything off of there, including the timing cover, until you can get onto the broken bolt. Hopefully you will have enough to grab well with vise grips or something. Work it out like the old one. Run a tap through there to clean up the threads before putting it back together again. Just be careful no to break off the tap -- that would be a really bad day.

 

[bill06447]

Do what I did when that happened to mine- tapped threads in the hole in the water pump, put a plug in it with copious amounts of RTV. 20,000 miles and still no leak

Bill

 

[Flash]

I'm not familiar with the engine so this is just generic advice.

Using a centre punch, tap a dent in the centre of the sheared bolt then drill a hole for a bolt remover to be inserted.
Once you've got it out you should clean the threads with a tap then run a bolt up it to see if there's going to be any problems.

If you've ruined the thread your options are to drill the hole out and retap to the next size or you could screw a stud in with thread lock.

The best way to make an RTV gasket is to run a bead of silicone around the sealing surface then carefully fit the part then do up the bolts gently until the silicone slightly squeezes out then let the silicone set hard then torque the bolts up.

I've done that with diff covers, water pumps cam covers etc with no problems at all.

 

[koda2000]

considering how much work it is to pull everything apart again, i'd try it with the broken bolt to see if it leaks. if possible clean the bolt hole with brake/parts cleaner and squeeze some RTV in the bolt hole. if it doesn't leak, just keep an eye on it for a while. if it does leak you're going to have to take it apart again and remove the broken bolt. many here have broken a w/p bolt and reported managing to run w/out it. personally, my ODC would probably make me take it apart again... but that's just me.

 

[dlphelan]

So I've opted to pull everything off and try and replace the bolt.

I'll need to get the timing cover off. I'm down to the point where I've gotten the waterpump off, but I'm sort of at a loss as to what to do next. I'm guess I'll need to take off the harmonicbalancer and crank shaft pulley, right?

Does anyone know if there's a how to for the timing chain cover out there? I've looked around at some threads but most of them assume a slightly more extensive knowledge of the engine than I possess. I'm not a "mechanical" guy, I'm just trying to save what I'm sure would be a significant shop fee to get the old bolt out.

 

[koda2000]

yes, you will need to remove the harmonic balancer and pulley. to get the timing cover off you'll need to drop the front of the oil pan. you can usually manage to successfully reseal the old gasket with some RTV. installing a new oil pan gasket is a major PITA. install a new oil seal in the timing cover while it's off.

 

[dlphelan]

Do I need to drain out the oil before I loose the top of the oil pan?

 

[koda2000]

Do I need to drain out the oil before I loose the top of the oil pan?

i would. i hate cleaning up spilled oil.

 

[boominXplorer]

You do not need to drop the oil pan, just remove the front bolts going into the timing cover. Harmonic balancer has to be removed.

 

[tgibbonsfordluv]

I'm not familiar with the engine so this is just generic advice.

Using a centre punch, tap a dent in the centre of the sheared bolt then drill a hole for a bolt remover to be inserted.
Once you've got it out you should clean the threads with a tap then run a bolt up it to see if there's going to be any problems.

If you've ruined the thread your options are to drill the hole out and retap to the next size or you could screw a stud in with thread lock.

The best way to make an RTV gasket is to run a bead of silicone around the sealing surface then carefully fit the part then do up the bolts gently until the silicone slightly squeezes out then let the silicone set hard then torque the bolts up.

I've done that with diff covers, water pumps cam covers etc with no problems at all.

You could try also using a left handed drill bit. I bought a set of them from Menards for like 8 bucks. They start drilling into the bolt and eventually catch and extract the bolt.

You will need to remove the radiator and ac assembly to get a drill in there though.

I actually had this happen in July. I removed the timing cover and enough of the bolts that broke were left exposed that I removed them with an extractor.

One of the holes was fighting me going back in though. I ran the bolt back out and just cleaned the hole out real good with a drill. They get a lot of corrosion inside and as the bolt going back in starts to knock the dust loose it builds up at the bottom of the hole blocking the bolt from going in all the way.

Give it a try, you might get lucky.

 

[tgibbonsfordluv]

You do not need to drop the oil pan, just remove the front bolts going into the timing cover. Harmonic balancer has to be removed.

This is true. You don't have to drain it either. Be VERY careful not to drop too much old gasket into the oil pan though. I covered the timing gears and the opening into the oil pan with a plastic shopping bag while I was scraping off the old gasket.

 

[Flash]

You could try also using a left handed drill bit.

That's a good idea, you have to drill a hole anyway.
The vibration and heat will loosen the bolt.

 

[dlphelan]

Thanks for all the help guys!

Just want to confirm that the harmonic balancer bolt turns counterclockwise to loosen like a standard threaded bolt? I'm having a heck of a time getting it loose. Tried an air ratchet at 140 psi and it wont budge. Hit it with pb blaster too.

I already drained my ol, but im about to go put some more in and try the brwaker bar starter trick. The bar would need to rest.on the drivers side concrete floor, assuming a dtandard threaded bolt, right?

 

[koda2000]

balancer bolt should be standard thread. righty-tighty, lefty-lossey. the auto industry pretty much gave up on the left-hand thread idea in the 60's, although some explorer clutch fan nuts are left hand thread.

 

[dlphelan]

So what do I need to disconnect so that I can use the starter to loosen the harmonic balancer bolt, without actually starting the engine and causing a catastrophe?

 

[dlphelan]

Starter trick worked. Now cleaning layers of grime off the harmonic balancer so I can find the bolt holes. What do people use to clean engine parts while they are still in the engine?

 

[koda2000]

i like Purple Power. use it with a parts brush and hose it off. it's biodegradable. Walmart has the best price. $10.69 for a large jug (2 gals?).

 

[dlphelan]

Purple Power, will do, thanks KODA.

Every step of this thing has just presented a new problem. Finally got the harmonic balancer bolt loose, then of course the puller bolts are not long enough (as per about a dozen threads on here).

Got longer bolts but now I can't get the harmonic balancer puller straight along the main screw in the middle. Also having a devil of a time getting the bolts threaded through the bolt holes. I just spent an hour fiddling with the bolts, got them all threaded, but now the main puller bolt is at a significant angle and I can't seem to correct it.

I've read that it is very important that it be dead straight (not evenclose at the moment, probably 20 degrees off axis).

Anybody have any tips for this step?

 

[koda2000]

Purple Power, will do, thanks KODA.

Every step of this thing has just presented a new problem. Finally got the harmonic balancer bolt loose, then of course the puller bolts are not long enough (as per about a dozen threads on here).

Got longer bolts but now I can't get the harmonic balancer puller straight along the main screw in the middle. Also having a devil of a time getting the bolts threaded through the bolt holes. I just spent an hour fiddling with the bolts, got them all threaded, but now the main puller bolt is at a significant angle and I can't seem to correct it.

I've read that it is very important that it be dead straight (not evenclose at the moment, probably 20 degrees off axis).

Anybody have any tips for this step?

the puller should have come with an attachment that allows the tip of the tool's center bolt to center itself on the end of the crank shaft (or screw into it). it is very important that the tool be straight in order to pull the balancer off. also, be very careful not to damage the end of the crank shaft. where did you get the puller tool from? you might not have the right tool for the job.