Broken head bolt

[240ZMan]

Just got my block back and the broken bolt is gone. There isn't a trace I can see. I ran a stud in and it goes in smooth, and still feels tight.

The bad news, if you can call it bad news, is that it cost $110. But in the scheme of building up a motor, I guess that isn't too bad.

Best of luck to you, 1975yellowBSPZ. Since my block was already out of the car, I took advantage of it. I hope it doesn't get to that for you.

[st0878]

Be careful not to use too much oil when reinstalling a bolt to the block/head. A few drops of oil with nowhere to go can turn into a hydraulic pump and fire through or crack a block.

[SteveK]

240ZMan

What you have described sounds like "spark erosion" and has been used successfully to get many an engineer of of the poo, many moons ago (1980's) I worked for the British National Coal board, where very heavy engineering was the norm, a colleague of mine broke a 1 inch tap off in a cast iron casting which weighed half a ton and cost in excess of £10,000 - then -- boy was he glad of spark erosion.

st0878

Its a very good point and something to be conscious of, personal preference is to use the copper type grease's as they will stay in the threads and don’t "pool" so readily

Phred

I did like your method M8 -- never occured to me :stupid:

[peterc]

Great thread. I think most of us have had (or eventually will have) this problem happen to them. And once you've solved the problem using anti-sieze to prevent a future occurance is a no brainer.

And Phil, if you can fit a nut onto the broken bolt welding it through the middle is truly a great idea. I'm almost looking forward to it happeneing again, just for the satisfaction of being able to wind that sucker out ROFL

Cheers,

Peter

[240ZMan]

While we're on this subject, I have another question. We're fortunate in the Denver area to have a guy whose entire business is working on Zs. He has been a great source of information and advice to me. When I called him about the broken bolt, he said he didn't know as he had never broken one. At first I thought he was kidding, but he was serious. And I'd have to guess he has removed literally hundreds of heads. I broke a bolt on my second!

So my question is what "tricks" are there to taking the head off? I think I followed everything I've read in books, but as we all know, there is a lot that isn't in books:stupid: