Tell me how screwed I am...

[99EB5.0]

Tried changing thermostat...
Bottom bolt on housing turned no problem,
Top bolt, didn't take 1/8 of a turn and the head snapped off.
Needless to say, I didn't change my thermostat.

What's the chance the housing is threaded? Or is it just a matter of time before the seal breaks and I have coolant everywhere.

How I see it is,
A: I can take the housing off, assuming the housing isnt threaded and try to put some vise grips on the remainder of the bolt and hope it backs out.
B: drill it out, tap it, new bolt.
C: Replace the intake, as with my experience may be easier than tapping.

So, HELP!

 

[schiavonske1013]

I just had a nearly identical problem with my 96 5.0. Unfortunately the housing isn't threaded so unless some really strong gasket sealant was used last time it was changed it most likely will start to leak. What I did was spray it with liquid wrench multiples times throughout the day, gave it a final blast before bed, then the next day woke up and continued spraying, by the end of the day I was able to twist it out with vice grips. I did end up needing to use a thread chaser on the hole, but only the first couple of threads were damaged.

 

[windsors03cobra]

A little screwed but not bad, the parts are next to nothing if you drill and tap right and is not that hard of a drill and tap even as far as that goes IMO.
The effing comes in with the fact that you need to take the engine and a/c radiators out in order to get enough room to get at it right and do it in one shot.

Smooth the top of that bolt off and get a nice center punch, the more in the center the better and some nice sharp drill bits. You might try left handed drill bits, a 1/8" or so pilot and then maybe 1/4" and try an easy out ? if that dont work go tap size and with a left handed sometimes when all the outward pressure is relieved as the metal is remove the last remain bit of the bolts threads will back out leaving you with the threads intact.
Now thats a 5/16"-18 bolt, you might need to go to 3/8-16, hopefully the meat is there for it.

It will leak with 1 bolt and the housing will probably crack, its weak as piss.

 

[Turdle]

get the housing off, it should slide over the bolt stud.

Then you will have something to work with. try clamping a vice grip on , then tap this with a hammer in the direction of tightening. just a tad. heat it with a torch if you have one.

Then tap the direction of loosening, work the stud back and forth , slowly, and it will eventually work out.

Blueka recently had this issue. send a private message to him, as he was successful removing the bolt.

Sometimes welding a nut to the broken bolt will work. This not only gives you something to grab with a wrench, but it will thoroughly heat the bolt which will aid in removing it.

You are not screwed if you take your time. Getting mad will be the worst thing. If this happens step back for a while, you definitely do not want to break the bolt off any deeper inside the manifold.

 

[99EB5.0]

Well I feel a bit better about it. I don't have another day off until Monday, and until that seal breaks, I'm driving it. I sent Blueka a pm, thanks for the advice guys.

 

[99EB5.0]

Well, I'm not screwed.

A propane torch, vise grips and pb blaster, it came right out.

Aside from having to remove half a dozen things to get to it, it went much smoother than I anticipated. On my way to get a bolt, the one I got was too short and a hose and I can put it all back together.

Extremely satisfied

Thanks for all your help guys, this forum is a lifesaver.