Broken Coil Pack Bolt...

[jason43080]

Hello, I hope everyone is doing well and having a great weekend so far, at least better than mine. So I decided to change my spark plugs out yesterday as I have 94K+ and decided to go ahead and take the plunge. Loooong story short, while tightening the coil pack down over plug #3, it snapped with the bolt stuck inside below the surface. After getting pissed off and throwing things around for a bit, I tried to do some research online on how to remedy the problem. So tonight I tried to drill into the bolt with the expectation of using a bolt exctractor but things didn't go as planned. The drill bit just ate up the bolt and now the bolt and the threads are beyond f*cked. So now comes my question, what in the h-e-double hockey sticks do I do?? I made it worse for sure and at this point I'm staying away from the drill. As always, your advice and suggestions are GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Matt]

You may actually have to drill more, but your confidence is shaken.

Normally, you would use a bit a bee's dick smaller than the bolt and drill the sucker our. Then you'd be able to clean up the threads. If someone has a better suggestion, then they'll chime in.

 

[Mooseman]

You might be able to run a tap of the same thread and size to bring the threads back. They might not be perfect but maybe just enough to hold the bolt. If not, maybe go one size bigger and find a bolt long enough to work.

 

[hockeyman]

Find out what size the threads are and buy a tap kit (as mentioned above) with that particular size. Not a hard job, just time consuming. Lucky for you that it's not the #6 plug/bolt that's much harder to reach!

If you cannot find the exact size of the bolt threads here, then remove one from another coil and take it to a hardware store so they can size it up for 'ya.

I'm not sure if this will work or not, but another possible option is to use a HeliCoil Kit. Although, you will first need to completely drill through that broken bolt.

Vid:
[video=youtube;46bIm2xaLuc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46bIm2xaLuc[/video]

 

[djthumper]

Every one is on the right track but we can not see the extent of the damage at this point. Try to post up a good photo of it so we have a better idea. I have a set of left-hand twist drill bits that I normally start with at times it has removed the broken bolt.

 

[gmcman]

I have a set of left-hand twist drill bits that I normally start with at times it has removed the broken bolt.

+1

Harbor Freight has a decent set, among other stores. May need to lightly tap the center of the bolt with a sharp punch first.

Harbor Freight Left Hand Bits

 

[gmcman]

Also, I would highly recommend one of these for our platforms. There are better torque wrenches out there but this one has served me well.

Inch Pound torque wrench

89 inch-pounds on the coil bolts.....just a little more than snug.

 

[jason43080]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I appreciate the help! Yes, fortunately it wasn't #5 or #6, it could be worse for sure. I should have taken a picture of it last night after I attempted to drill it, but I didn't. I put a small bit of super glue around the boot screw hole to hold it in place until I can get it properly repaired and I really don't want to take it off and re-glue it, it seems to be holding so far. I'm just really hesitant to drill any more myself in fear that I might fubar it up even worse. Most of the threads are gone and if there are any left, they are down deep where what's left of the bolt is. Any idea how much an average shop would charge to drill and re-thread the one hole? The whole idea of doing it myself was to make sure it was done right and to save money as money is very tight right now.

 

[gmcman]

Remove the other coil back bolts and use some anti-seize on the threads, torque to 89 inch-pounds. Doing this now will reduce any problems down the road.

Best course of action if you can't remove the bolt is to drill it out the best you can, keeping the bit centered as much as possible. There are heli coil kits avail for most every bolt size so after the bolt is out, there is an appropriate drill size for the thread inserts from Heli Coil. Simply drill the hole, screw in the insert, then use a factory bolt again.

What's most important, I don't know how much meat is around the bolt hole so be careful, don't drill too deep..go slow and use good, sharp, like-new bits.

 

[triz]

Get us a pic. That will help us help you and see the extent. I know how scary it is to bust a bolt. A pic will help tons.

 

[jason43080]

I will try to get a pic soon to give you a better idea. I'm really hesitant to use the drill again but I need to get this fixed.

 

[triz]

A cellphone shot should be sufficient. The thing with this is patience. Use a very small drill bit, shop vac the "dust". Usually you can get it loose to get a few turns with the easy out. Depending on how the bolt broke you might be able to use a flathead screwdriver to loosen it the rest of the way.