Sucks, Stripped engine bolt, on finishing my rebuild,any ideas?
12-24-07, 08:46 AM
#1
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Sucks, Stripped engine bolt, on finishing my rebuild,any ideas?
I bought a used 3mm streetport motor, with low miles that came out of a burnt car. Tore the engine apart cause the front cover needed to be replaced due to damage,and had some oil caked on the rear rotor. Well upon opening the motor, all the coolant passeages were filled with this gel substance. I think it was the stuff you put in radiators to stop a leak. So I cleaned all the parts and inspected all the groves where the water jackets are and everything looked good. Engine bolts weren't tight upon taking them out, maybe that's why it was leaking water, is what i thought? The apex seals had no side wear, housing where low milage. Everything was good. I put it back together last night, and one of the engine bolts near the spark plug hole is stripped. Sucks.... torqued all the bolts down on the rear cover,except one. So i guess that's why it was filled with that gel stuff, motor was leaking. So i need to replace the front plate now, which i have another one, it's just not ported. I was told i'll have to replace the rubber seals again, once you open the motor, the seals swell and they don't fit ? That Sucks.. Anybody have ideas on how to fix my problem, Hopefully with out having to take my motor apart.
12-24-07, 09:23 AM
#2
Nothing you can do but replace the front iron on this one. It's not like you can retap over and go one size bigger on these. On the new front iron, run a bottoming tap down each thread boss to make sure its clean.
The positive side to this is that once you are complete you will rest assured it was done right. Good luck
Later
The positive side to this is that once you are complete you will rest assured it was done right. Good luck
Later
12-24-07, 10:42 AM
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There are lots of other options than helicoil once the engine is apart again, such as a threaded sleeve, welding process to fill re drill and tap the hole and others.
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12-24-07, 12:15 PM
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I'm having a long time rotary mechanic building the motor with me at my house, and i'm watching and learning this is my first motor. He doesn't build motors at his job now, but he has in the past ,and does on the side every once in awhile. He did not use a thread chaser on the iron. I asked him if he ever had this problem before and he said no. He said what we might be able to do..Port my extra front iron to match, Lock the eccentric bolt with the key some how, take the motor off the stand, and undo the bolts, then get the front plate off,with out pulling off the housings,and leaving the rotors intact.
Never heard of a heli coil, i'll have to look that up, to see what your talking about.
Any ideas to help my mechanic out.
It's one bolt, can't i just weld the hole shut? It's near the spark plug hole, not sure if the motor needs the support the most in that area or not. The motor has a extra dowl pin init already for support.
Never heard of a heli coil, i'll have to look that up, to see what your talking about.
Any ideas to help my mechanic out.
It's one bolt, can't i just weld the hole shut? It's near the spark plug hole, not sure if the motor needs the support the most in that area or not. The motor has a extra dowl pin init already for support.
12-24-07, 12:26 PM
#11
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Oh and we tried the longer bolt with extra washer,and o rings and silicon. To loose. Didn't think about cutting the bolt, don't know if that would work or not. I call him and ask, and see what he thinks. i just hope there's a way to fix this with out tearing it apart. thanks for your replys.
12-24-07, 12:31 PM
#12
This is going to sound like a hack but at this point you have nothing to lose. Tap the hole on the rear iron and put a plug there, like a hex set screw. The other tension bolts should do a fine job of holding the engine together IF they are torqued properly (I go to 30ftlb in 3 stages) and the plug will keep coolant from leaking. One bolt is not enough to cause a failure in the short or medium term, IMO. So, run what you've got until you have a real reason to tear it back apart, and in the meantime have a replacement iron ported and waiting for the inevitable.
Doing it this way nothing has changed. You can always still tear the engine down, remove the plug from the rear iron, replace the front iron, and rebuild it. There's nothing to be lost by waiting to see if the engine works out before tearing it back down. IF you fix it now, you have to buy a front iron, report it, tear the engine down and reassemble. If you run it as-is, and worry about fixing it later, you still have to do the same amount of work. Nothing is at stake as far as damage to the rest of the parts, so there is no reason not to try and run it as it is.
Doing it this way nothing has changed. You can always still tear the engine down, remove the plug from the rear iron, replace the front iron, and rebuild it. There's nothing to be lost by waiting to see if the engine works out before tearing it back down. IF you fix it now, you have to buy a front iron, report it, tear the engine down and reassemble. If you run it as-is, and worry about fixing it later, you still have to do the same amount of work. Nothing is at stake as far as damage to the rest of the parts, so there is no reason not to try and run it as it is.
12-24-07, 12:57 PM
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I mentioned it to the mechanic about putting a plug in it, or welding it, he said he'll do what ever i want, but doesn't recommend it. He said the screw is in the #1 postion.Where the most compression and firing is going on in the motor, and if the problem was on the other side of the motor, on the cold side, than it might not be a problem , but he would hate to put a plug screw in it,with all the money i've spent in it, and do the install and have to do it all over again cause it failed. He said the longer screw keeped stripping,there's not enough thread left. Just gonna have to replace the front iron with a new used one i have. SUCKS!!!!!!!!!
12-24-07, 01:00 PM
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This is going to sound like a hack but at this point you have nothing to lose. Tap the hole on the rear iron and put a plug there, like a hex set screw. The other tension bolts should do a fine job of holding the engine together IF they are torqued properly (I go to 30ftlb in 3 stages) and the plug will keep coolant from leaking. One bolt is not enough to cause a failure in the short or medium term, IMO. So, run what you've got until you have a real reason to tear it back apart, and in the meantime have a replacement iron ported and waiting for the inevitable.
Doing it this way nothing has changed. You can always still tear the engine down, remove the plug from the rear iron, replace the front iron, and rebuild it. There's nothing to be lost by waiting to see if the engine works out before tearing it back down. IF you fix it now, you have to buy a front iron, report it, tear the engine down and reassemble. If you run it as-is, and worry about fixing it later, you still have to do the same amount of work. Nothing is at stake as far as damage to the rest of the parts, so there is no reason not to try and run it as it is.
Doing it this way nothing has changed. You can always still tear the engine down, remove the plug from the rear iron, replace the front iron, and rebuild it. There's nothing to be lost by waiting to see if the engine works out before tearing it back down. IF you fix it now, you have to buy a front iron, report it, tear the engine down and reassemble. If you run it as-is, and worry about fixing it later, you still have to do the same amount of work. Nothing is at stake as far as damage to the rest of the parts, so there is no reason not to try and run it as it is.
I agree, but i just don't know. My mechanic said to replace it, due to the postion of it.
12-24-07, 01:18 PM
#15
What do you have to lose? Even if you try it and it fails, you have lost nothing but your time, because you still do the same amount of work and replace the same number of parts whether you try to run it or not. I dont understand why you would simply tear it down right here and now without even trying.
12-24-07, 01:31 PM
#16
if you've already got the engine out of the car i'd just tear it down and rebuild it with a new front iron and new o-ring kit. this way you're only out about 300 bucks and it's all taken care of. you will just have to spend another full day's worth of time to take care of it. its not ported either, so you wouldn't have to get a port to match the streetporting.
and make sure to run a tap through those front iron bolt holes to be safe this time.
if you're in a pinch for time and you're not too worried about the long-term problems the cheap fix might cause, i'd go with kevin's approach. if you have an extra day and some extra money, do it right so you dont have to worry about it.
and make sure to run a tap through those front iron bolt holes to be safe this time.
if you're in a pinch for time and you're not too worried about the long-term problems the cheap fix might cause, i'd go with kevin's approach. if you have an extra day and some extra money, do it right so you dont have to worry about it.
12-24-07, 02:16 PM
#20
Haha, seriously man. I read stuff on here as if the guy is building the last setup that will ever be in the car and wants it to be perfect, and I find myself asking wtf? I guess because I change setups so often and work on so many cars I forget that not everyone has tools/garage/time/ability to do the same thing.
12-24-07, 02:18 PM
#21
Heli coils are great for some instances. This issue is an internal repair and the engine will have to be broken back down. Also the repair is one of a critical torque where stress and strain are ever present.
It's all about risk and being comfortable with it. Risk level = very low with a new Iron. Risk level = elevates with a lesser repair.
Later
It's all about risk and being comfortable with it. Risk level = very low with a new Iron. Risk level = elevates with a lesser repair.
Later
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