I was going to switch the thermostat out just for the heck of it and it just broke off.

The part of the bolt that came out was completely rusted, wtf do i do now?

 

mmmm, drill it out! re tap it, or use a nut and bolt close to the size of the hole...

 

what do i do with the nut and the bolt? I'm kinda scared to drill there, isnt it aluminum (the pipe that the t-stat is on)?

If the drill goes to the side, i'd end up drilling through the pipe on the side....?

 

First try to drill out the bolt and use one that is small enough to fit and the nut is to hold it down since there won't be any threads. If you **** it up just get another water pump housing. Then you could do the pump and the stat.

 

heard of a tool called an"easy OUT"..Craftsman(Sears) has it..(not questioning your ability..)..if you don't feel comfortable doin a drill out and re-tap..or anything of that nature,I would be grabbin a person(mechanic) who has run across this before..it could be a little on the difficult side(not to mention expensive)..sorry..if you do it yourself..please know what you are doing..

 

so just drill right trough to the other side, and use a longer bolt and a nut to hold it from the other side?

 

Is there any of the broken part sticking out? Or did it break off flush?

If there is even like a 1/2" "stub" of the bolt, you could take a grinding/dremel tool and 'flatten' two of the sides of the remaining bolt, like this----------> ( )

Lube it up real good, then take some vise-grips and clamp the down hard on the (now flattened sides) and then just break it free and unscrew it.

 

Or just get a WP housing for like, $10 from a friend/local member.

 

Is there any bit of the bolt exposed on either side? You can cut a small slit into ti with a dremel and screw it out.

 

where the bolt originally goes, does it go all the way through, or would i have to drill through the whole thing to make a exit hole? The bolt itself broke of from the tread of the bolt, so i guess there is a maybe 1/2 inch left in the hole, i'm not sure how long the bolt is.

So what do you guys say i should do? I pressed the hose and water shot out through the gasket, so i guess its broken off with just a little piece of the bolt left in there, so i think if i open the other bolt up, it should come off?

What should i do guys?

 

Spray the crap out of the "broken" piece still inside, go to the parts store, and get reverse drill bit. Take a center punch, make your mark with it, then take your reverse drill bit, apply moderate pressure, and it will come out.

PEACE THE DOG

 

thanks for the advice but where do i get a center punch skinny enough to get through the little thermostat hole to punch a hole in there? If i can do that, i'll go and get the reverese drill bit and drill the ****** out, my plans are to have this bitch running by tomorrow evening. I just cleaned the **** out of the inside of the intercooler with gas so i'm kind of exited to get it back up and running.

Not to mention i spanked the hell out of my buddies 5.0 mustang, completely rebulit, and thats with my clutch slipping like a mother ******. LMAO!!!!

Thanks for the help so far guys, you are the best!

 

because mombo is wrong
you use the punch, and *Drill* a small hole
then use the reverse bit.

 

thanks for the post slpin. I should have been obviously more specific about the reverse bit. Thanks for alerting me of this oversight. I was under the impression, that our friend was aware of that. Thanks again. slpin is correct. And maybe I am seeing things, but why would you be trying to get the punch through the thermostat hole? Take the SOB out, and plug the opening with a clean rag.

PEACE THE DOG

 

I just did the same thing 2 weeks ago, I extracted one but when attempting to take out the other the housing just cracked, I contacted rotary ressurection cause he selling a bunch of parts, he charged 10 dollars for another water pump housing

 

I've broken thermostat bolts on two cars. On my 7 I had a friend help me drill the thing out... good thing the housing comes off easily. On my Supra it didn't break off flush so I used a vice grip to loosen it.

This is why I've gotten into the habit of replacing many of the bolts that I remove these days...

 

thanks for all the help my friends. i will attemp this hopefully today, and if i do end up screwing something up, well, atleast its only $10 for a new one.

Thanks a lot everybody!

 

HELP! Panicing right now, so i opened it up and about 2 mm of the bolt is sticking up. I tried to drill a small hole in the screw....and i drilled about half ways down and my drill bit broke and got stuck in the bolt. The drill bit is not sticking out so i cant grap it with a pair of pliers either.

wtf, this sucks ***, what should i do? I dont think i can drill a drill bit out with another drill bit.....but do yall think about 2 mm is enough to get the whole thing out with the vise-grip pliers?

 

i'm going to run to Lowes and get vise grips. I only have about 2 mm of the bolt sticking out, so i really hope this mother fletcher comes out.

Damnit, i have school tomorrow.

 

Peyman, relax bro. If you have 2mm sticking up, you got plenty to get out with the vice grips. Very important to remember, lots of spray to help get the rust "free". Some people will disagree with me, but the simple tapping on the bolt with a small ball peen hammer not only helps the spray penetrate the rust, but also the vibration aids in the removal of the bolt. Good luck, take your time, and it will walk right out of there.

PEACE THE DOG

 

hey Mambodog, i sprayed a lot of wd-40 on it, and i tapped it like you said.

I got me a pair of vice-grips, put in on as tight as i could, but there is not enough to grab, the pliers kept slipping off. Well, a few attemps later, the whole thing was pretty much stripped.

So i paniced a little more, and started to drill again....well, everytime the drill bit touches the broken drill bit, my drill bit stops.....

The only thing i can think of right now is to remove the housing and drilling from the opposite side, but would that be too much work, and what will come off if i want to remove the tube and drill from the other side?

I don't know what to do, this really sucks. I can't belive something this redicilous is putting my car to sleep for another 2 weeks.

 

did u clamp the vise grips on the bolt without dremeling 2 sides flat like eriksseven said? if not , then ur vice grips is definitely going to slip... even if u have a good grip on it, the grip will come off coz ur going to turn the bolt counter-clockwise... especially when u sprayed a lot of WD-40. i suggest u follow what eriksseven said about flattening 2 sides, then u'll have more grip for the vise grips... this will work even if the bolt is stripped.

 

Peyman, you have the other bolts out already right? And the thermostat and cover are not still attached, correct? If this is the case, and you don't have the time to work on it anymore, clean it up as best as you can, put rtv all around like you were making a gasket, put a bit extra in the hole with the broken bolt, tighten the other two bolts down, and get another housing. It should hold temporarily. There are other options, but it sounds like your pressed for time. Let me know.

PEACE THE DOG

 

i did what eriksseven said, put it stripped and its all flattened out now.

The thermostat had 2 bolts, the one closer to the fan is broken and i did get the one closer to the firewall out. I have until wednesday evening, when i have to return my mothers car. Yes, i have already removed it and acutally, as a matter of fact, there was no t-stat in there to my surprise (PLEASE, see my other post) so i'm glad i checked.

I really want to do it the right way, so what are my other options.

I really appreciate the help man. Thank you.