Need advice. Rigs broke.

[TribeZ]

So for 3 months I have been fighting sheared off bolts to my engine block. 5.0 v8 . Passenger side motor mount plate. Those bolt heads also hold the trans cooling lines.

I tried speed outs multiple sets broken off trying. I am attacking it without pulling the motor.

I finally took it to different shops of different varieties to get quotes. No one can do it without pulling the motor, most recommend a new motor from a junk yard instead. $3200 was the lowest price I could find and the was lowest I could find, that’s keeping my motor.

I have put so many hours and have an insane amount of new parts on my rig over the last two years.

What do I do? I am not sure if getting a different rig will feel the same I have been working on this one for so many years. I have a dual exhaust I don’t want to lose.

Super bummed out over my dead exploder.

 

[CDW6212R]

Did you ask any of the shops if they thought of cutting out the bolts, or the mounts? I have three of these 302's, and it is tight in there around the side of the engine. I doubt it could be done easily, but either the engine has to come out to get at the mounts, or they could be cut out.

I'd ask a shop again, hopefully one you were comfortable with and could trust. You almost always have to remove some parts to get access to something that needs worked on. It may not be feasible, but you need to replace those mounts and the bad bolts. Have you already obtained new proper bolts? Usually a used stock bolt will last forever, so those are fine as replacements.

 

[boominXplorer]

It's definitely possible without pulling the engine but the engine does need to be lifted to remove the mount plate so you can drill it out. Drill it out, rethread and put it back together. Worst case you move up a size. Now if you got a hole drilled crooked and already ate into the block then it may be a pain to save.

 

[410Fortune]

The motor plate has to come out so you can work on it

Why not pull the 5.0? I can have a 5.0 out in one day
Then it can be more easily repaired

Trying to attack those
Bolts from underneath…. Well I think it’s easier to pull the 5.0 fix it and then put it back

Good time for some more new parts! Like oil pan and timing cover gaskets!

Three
Months fighting bolts =
Time to pull engine and do the repair = faster

 

[TribeZ]

The motor plate has to come out so you can work on it

Why not pull the 5.0? I can have a 5.0 out in one day
Then it can be more easily repaired

Trying to attack those
Bolts from underneath…. Well I think it’s easier to pull the 5.0 fix it and then put it back

Good time for some more new parts! Like oil pan and timing cover gaskets!

Three
Months fighting bolts =
Time to pull engine and do the repair = faster

I’m just worried the engine pull gets out of hand. And then yes I wouldn’t want to put it back together without doing some other work to it.

I found a rig with Torque monsters in it, he also said he rebuilt the valves springs / covers. But I haven’t seen it looking at it Monday.

But I don’t want to spend 3k on a second rug and then be swapping out half the parts I just put in mine. And my dual exhaust…

Seems like I just need to nut up and pull the motor.

 

[TribeZ]

Did you ask any of the shops if they thought of cutting out the bolts, or the mounts? I have three of these 302's, and it is tight in there around the side of the engine. I doubt it could be done easily, but either the engine has to come out to get at the mounts, or they could be cut out.

I'd ask a shop again, hopefully one you were comfortable with and could trust. You almost always have to remove some parts to get access to something that needs worked on. It may not be feasible, but you need to replace those mounts and the bad bolts. Have you already obtained new proper bolts? Usually a used stock bolt will last forever, so those are fine as replacements.

I do want to see if anyone else might do it for cheaper but I’ve tried about 6 places local so far. Mechanics / muffler shops / odd road fabrication. And no one seems to want to try it from below.

410 said I should just pull it and see fox more while I’m in there. Might be what I have to do.

 

[TribeZ]

It's definitely possible without pulling the engine but the engine does need to be lifted to remove the mount plate so you can drill it out. Drill it out, rethread and put it back together. Worst case you move up a size. Now if you got a hole drilled crooked and already ate into the block then it may be a pain to save.

The one thing I haven’t tried was just sending a self tap or similar and drive it in. The angle for sensing new threads into the old bolt is ****ed. And both bolts now have dimples in them from me trying a speed out first. I broke off the carbon and the titanium speed out bits.

 

[Turdle]

Maybe a reverse twist bit? Sometimes they grab and spin everything out

 

[TribeZ]

Maybe a reverse twist bit? Sometimes they grab and spin everything out

I like this. I’m gonna make room for it in the garage soon to start ripping apart. I am gonna try once more from the bottom before fully tearing down. Even my wife was telling me to keep ours and pull it apart

 

[Mbrooks420]

If you’ve got screw extractors broken off, there will be no drilling them without an expensive carbide bit. The extractor is way harder than typical drill rod. The one weakness is they’re brittle. I’ve had luck removing screw extractors with an air chisel and shattering them.

You don’t have to pull the motor, you can lift it a few inches while keeping a lot of the stuff connected.

 

[Turdle]

Also, start small. 2 sizes reverse twist bits. I'd start with 1/8 " or 3/16 and try to get a hole all the way thru first. Once your good path is cut, stop and use some penetrant oil on the thread gap if you can get it in there with a syringe, a hole thru the center should relive tension, while the heat from drilling works the oil into threads. Then go for a bigger hole if first doesn't drive it out.

 

[97Sandbox]

I've broken so many bad bolts like this on my Mounty. If the bolt is really rusted in, the only thing that's worked for me is drilling the bolt out by gradually stepping up the bit size. If the hole starts to wander, use a 1/8 carbide burr in a Dremel to center it back up.

Look up the tap drill size for the thread of the original bolt and work your way up to that size, but don't go any larger. Odds are, once you get to that size, there will be so little bolt left that you can deform it from the outside in with a pick and/or punch then spin/pry it back out. Then run a tap through to clear any remaining thread/corrosion.

Took me about two months of working a couple hours each night to get all the exhaust bolts out of my heads/manifolds with the engine in the vehicle. I got them eventually though!

 

[410Fortune]

Good show you guys!

Keep at it let us know if you can make progress
Lots of room to work and lots of light is very important here

I would still pull the engine but I’m used to it and can have a 5.0 out and in quickly

 

[97Sandbox]

Something to add, if you're in a spot you can't reach with a normal bit in a drill (working around exhaust,trans lines, etc.), Milwaukee Shockwave bits all have a 1/4" shank that allows you to use a bit extension for more reach.

 

[Mesozoic]

After pulling the engine out in my '00 Mountaineer, I would recommend that route (it's not that bad at all), although there is a fair bit of disassembly required to extract the engine. Once on a stand, it would obviously be very easy to repair anything on the engine. Not sure what the extend of the damage to those studs are, whether it's just damaged studs or the threads into the block are damaged, but a heli-coil or Timesert would solve those problems easily.

 

[TribeZ]

Something to add, if you're in a spot you can't reach with a normal bit in a drill (working around exhaust,trans lines, etc.), Milwaukee Shockwave bits all have a 1/4" shank that allows you to use a bit extension for more reach.
View attachment 448828
View attachment 448829

I snapped off that whole pack xD stepping up from the smaller size. But I just got my hands on a better set to try. But yea getting a extention for the end of a drill is a task. Milwaukee also has Drill chuck to 1/4" adapter I use to hold the drill bits.

Chuck Attachment 1/4"

www.milwaukeetool.com

 

[TribeZ]

I've broken so many bad bolts like this on my Mounty. If the bolt is really rusted in, the only thing that's worked for me is drilling the bolt out by gradually stepping up the bit size. If the hole starts to wander, use a 1/8 carbide burr in a Dremel to center it back up.

Look up the tap drill size for the thread of the original bolt and work your way up to that size, but don't go any larger. Odds are, once you get to that size, there will be so little bolt left that you can deform it from the outside in with a pick and/or punch then spin/pry it back out. Then run a tap through to clear any remaining thread/corrosion.

Took me about two months of working a couple hours each night to get all the exhaust bolts out of my heads/manifolds with the engine in the vehicle. I got them eventually though!
View attachment 448827

This gives me the hope and motivation I needed lol.

 

[97Sandbox]

I snapped off that whole pack xD stepping up from the smaller size. But I just got my hands on a better set to try. But yea getting a extention for the end of a drill is a task. Milwaukee also has Drill chuck to 1/4" adapter I use to hold the drill bits.

Chuck Attachment 1/4"

www.milwaukeetool.com

Yes, you will treat the bits like commodities in a job like this. I forgot the item number, but there's a set that's two of each size between 1/16 and 1/4, good to keep on hand as the small bits break easily. I break at least a couple every time I go after a bolt this way.