Got The WORST luck ever!

[85begalttype]

dont work till 5pm today,so nice warm spring day, decided to replace my old thermostat with a fresh new one into my hotair. Went to the store got the stuff, started to loosen the bolts for the housing, one loosened good, the other was a little tight so i sprayed some penetrating lubricant. Waited a while then started to loosen it, then SNAP, the bolt broke. I thought maybe if i tighten one side real good, it wont leak, but i was wrong, it leaks just by squeezing the upper hose by hand.

So now i have to go to work in an hour with no car, and an hour walk to the nearest auto store to get any sort of extracting tool. Not even sure what to do now. Gotta take my alternator off. Maybe even get a tap and die set now if the bolt dont come out with a simple extracting tool. Seems like the simplest jobs always go wrong and end up costing more time and money then it should.

 

[turbo39151]

That sucks

Hope you get it fixed

 

[Pronto]

Life lesson, always have a back up vehicle to drive.:smile:
Good luck getting the rest of the bolt out. I've had luck with easy outs in the past.

 

[rodman99999]

If you can manage without melting any wires/connectors/etc.: Heat the metal around the rest of the bolt with a torch, right before you try to extract it. Use an anti-seize compound on those bolts when you reassemble, and use grade 8's.

 

[BlackMetal]

I'm sure we've all felt that way before. Basically never go into a job when you don't have time to spare, don't start a job if you need to drive the car the same or next day, always plan for the worst.

 

[turbonut85]

Be careful when you try to get that bolt out. That intake is only aluminum so it could crack real easy!! I'm sure you already know that.:redface:* When you get the bolt thing taken care of, use a paper gasket and some gasket spray...NOT the RTV crap or it will leak onto your intake...ask me how I know.

 

[charlief1]

So NOT use an extractor unless you drill all the way through the bolt. If it snaps off you're screwed. By drilling all the way through you can drive the broken end out if you have to. I don't use them unless it's in cast iron. I used to own a machine shop and learned how to drill very straight with a hand drill so I just start with the smallest bit I trust, center it, drill through and then go up 1 size again and again until you get almost all of it out. Then retap.