1978 280Z - Won't restart when hot, all interior gauges, fan motor, backlighting not working

[Zed Head]

One of these.  Find one that barely fits inside so it's outside the block, tap it in, turn it counterclockwise.  If should unscrew easily.

[NocturnalEmber]

4 minutes ago, SteveJ said:

The extractor kit I linked goes inside what's left if there is a hole in it.

 

1 minute ago, Zed Head said:

One of these.  Find one that barely fits inside so it's outside the block, tap it in, turn it counterclockwise.  If should unscrew easily.

 

The space for me to get it in there with any sort of accuracy is a big concern since I can't look at it head on, so I guess you could say I'm worried about making it worse, I couldn't get a hammer in there and have enough room to even swing it  moderately with enough force to drive the tap in. 

I'm really hoping I don't have to pull the engine (wouldn't be the first time I've removed an engine by a long shot.) Just because of clearance issues I'm wondering if it might be better to rent a welder and weld a nut to that stud.  Or I could try that socket stud extractor first, but I honestly don't think there's enough stud left that it could really grab onto to turn.

 

 

[Zed Head]

If you have a friend that's handy around cars you might ask them to take a look.  It's a tapered thread, so, really, a pair of pliers or Vise-Grips should work.

You might stick a mirror or a camera down there and see how big the hole is.  Some might not need drilling.

 

[NocturnalEmber]

4 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

If you have a friend that's handy around cars you might ask them to take a look.  It's a tapered thread, so, really, a pair of pliers or Vise-Grips should work.

You might stick a mirror or a camera down there and see how big the hole is.  Some might not need drilling.

 

 

I already tried the vise grip attempt, but I honestly can't really apply enough force to crimp it down tight enough (the tightest I could get the vise grips to clamp, I struggled, and I mean I *really* struggled to get them to clamp, and they just turned on the stud.)

At this point I could always enlist the help of some much larger muscle and see if they can manage to get it clamped tighter.

Edited September 3, 2023 by NocturnalEmber

[Patcon]

Stock with the vise grips! The tapered extractor is the first thing to try. The less you tear it up, the better. If it will start at all it will pull itself into the hole as you turn it. I would not attempt to weld down there in all that oil. It's not going to stick anyway

Harbor freight has a set $12. Do not snap the extractor off in the remnants of the pressure gauge!!!

[Zed Head]

What kind are you using?

[NocturnalEmber]

13 minutes ago, Patcon said:

Stock with the vise grips! The tapered extractor is the first thing to try. The less you tear it up, the better. If it will start at all it will pull itself into the hole as you turn it. I would not attempt to weld down there in all that oil. It's not going to stick anyway

Harbor freight has a set $12. Do not snap the extractor off in the remnants of the pressure gauge!!!

I honestly don't think I can get an extractor in there with enough accuracy to go at it straight on because of the clearance between the engine and the body. I'm not opposed to trying it if I felt like I could get it in there properly, but if I tap it in crooked I think I might mess it up even more.

 

11 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

What kind are you using?

I started with B, then moved to A.  Two forms of A in fact, the ones pictured, then ones with probably a foot and a half handle I found in Harbor Freight, I just didn't have the strength to get it to clamp tight enough; When i could get them to lock, the vise grips would just turn on the stud.  

 

I was originally planning on cleaning the area really good with brake parts cleaner, then washing it off really well by hand with soap and water to ensure there wasn't anything flammable nearby, and cover the engine bay in lightly damp towels to prevent any risk of fire.

Edited September 4, 2023 by NocturnalEmber

[Zed Head]

Here is the inverse option to what SteveJ suggested.  Goes over the part.  Sometimes they work.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/VG_394002

[Captain Obvious]

The consensus, based on the comments above, is that the stub of material remaining in the block will come out easily if you could just get a hold of it, either on the inside or the outside.

I, however, disagree with that consensus.

That things is tapered threads and it's in there tight enough to snap itself off when you twisted the oil pressure sensor with a pair of vice-grips. It's not gonna come out without a fight. That thing was threaded in there tight enough to seal the pipe threads and snap off the sender unit. I don't think it's going to turn easy. It's certainly worth a try to use an extractor into the center hole, but I'm not confident that will work. Just don't snap off the extractor inside the remaining stub.

Unfortunate.  

[Patcon]

Use an extractor and a adjustable wrench. Use a mirror or the selfie options on your phone to get a good look at it. Put the extractor  in the hole and turn it to the left, ccw. If you can't get a 2" extractor in it because of access, it's gonna be really hard to weld a nut on whats left.

What happens when that red hot blob or weld comes in contact with the oil in the engine?

What happens when you get solvent or water in the engine trying to get it clean?

[NocturnalEmber]

1 hour ago, Captain Obvious said:

The consensus, based on the comments above, is that the stub of material remaining in the block will come out easily if you could just get a hold of it, either on the inside or the outside.

I, however, disagree with that consensus.

That things is tapered threads and it's in there tight enough to snap itself off when you twisted the oil pressure sensor with a pair of vice-grips. It's not gonna come out without a fight. That thing was threaded in there tight enough to seal the pipe threads and snap off the sender unit. I don't think it's going to turn easy. It's certainly worth a try to use an extractor into the center hole, but I'm not confident that will work. Just don't snap off the extractor inside the remaining stub.

Unfortunate.  

I forgot mention in my initial post about this that I first tried using the wrench to get it off normally, it moved a hair, but then started rounding off the heads (and if I had to guess I think it might have been rounded off already for it to get to that point.)  The head was almost completely rounded off, and I was sure I had the wrench head on there properly, and the proper size. 

I attempted to cut off the body of the sensor to leave me with more room to get at the head, which didn't work, saw clearance wasn't possible and the blade I had didn't get very far. From that point I moved onto the vise grips, which sheared it off, leaving what is left now.

[NocturnalEmber]

So assuming I were to not go the welding route initially,

would it be best to use the socket extractor that Zed mentioned above? or the one I have to hammer in? There's also the one I mentioned from advance auto parts above, I'll include a picture of it for ease of reference (but honestly I'm not sure there's enough stud protruding out of the block for it to really grab.)

 

There isn't much room if any to hammer anything in there, that's my main concern with using something I would have to tap in with a hammer, I don't have the room to swing to build up enough momentum, and I have no way of knowing that I'm driving it in straight. 

 

Concerns about welding are definitely noted, and honestly if I went that route I'd have to clean and prep the area beforehand. The oil is a concern, but if I weld far enough back, I don't think there would be any weld getting into the tiny hole in the stud. 

 

If I felt more comfortable about being able to get a stud extractor in there straight that would be an easier method.