Forum:
Yes ladies and gentlemen, i have sheared the most awkward bolt of the three in the thermostat housing and now i have a steady leak from it, where ive only used two bolts i have left.
Any advice on what to do, im not too sure if i have enough thread to lock two nuts on it, any other suggestions!
I dont want to spend any money on it really so a garage is out of the question!
Help me!!!!
Before or after?
I did warn about the bolts and not to overtighten. The torque is only 5lb which is very light.
Did you shear the bolt whilst tightening, or was the bolt already over tightened and snapped on removal? If it broke when tightening, the broken bit will be quite loose within the thread. If it broke whilst trying to unscrew it, then it could be rusted and difficult to remove. Let it soak in WD40. You should be able to buy a new bolt at any garage. Get them to match the thread and diameter. Obviously if a new bolt is longer than needed, just hack saw it to size ... gently file/round the cut end and it will easily screw into the hole.. Now read as below.
Do you have any bolt remaining inside the hole? If it snapped whilst tightening there is a chance it will unscrew with a screwdriver. Use a flat bladed screwdriver that fits down the hole but not too tight against the hole's thread. If necessary grind away the sides of the screwdriver until it fits easily into the hole. Now sharpen the working end of the screwdriver ... knife appearence.
First try pressing the screwdriver into the remaining piece of bolt and unscrew. It that fails then get a small hammer and tap the screwdriver into the remaining bolt so it has something to grip into. Dont hammer too hard, you will break the housing off. Now unscrew.
NB ... you can buy 'stud removers'. These are screw type products which are left hand threaded. They screw down but in the opposite direction to the direction of the bolt. Stud remover has a left-hand thread so as it goes down into the broken bolt and wedges itself to the broken bolt. The direction of turn actually removes the broken bolt since the bolt has a right hand thread. You can buy stud removers in several sizes. The need a drilled pilot hole to bite into the broken bolt.
Stud remover
If you've got at least 5 - 10 mm of the broken bolt protruding then don't cut it off what ever you do. Buy the kind of stud remover (or setter) with a knurled eccentric cam which grips the stud tighter the harder you turn it. Put a half inch ratchet on the tool and just undo. I've never failed with this tool so long as there is enough broken bolt/stud left to grip in the first place.
Here's one on evilbay to look at:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Stud-Extractor-1-2-Drive-Bolt-and-Nut-Remover-By-Laser_W0QQitemZ250207868820QQihZ015QQcategoryZ30917QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Mine's a Sykes Pickavant but looks exactly the same.
Good luck - Alastair.