I'm a moron, used my friends torque wrench and he had no idea it no longer worked and when doing timing belt and front seal replacement I was re installing Idler pulley(not the one that tensions the belt) and I kept tightening the bolt until the point it broke in the engine.

Can this simply be fixed by drilling a starter hole in the bolt in there, and then using an ez out type kit to remove it? Also does anyone know what are the exact specs of the bolt? The FSM I use doesn't say. Thanks in advance.

 

Ouch. Sorry to hear. I think you have the right idea and I am guessing that the remaining thread is buried in the head. Get a good EZ out kit. The last thing you need is for that to break.

According to the LexLS site, the idler #2 is torqued to 25 lb ft.

Look at it this way...this was a valuable lesson learned. I have broken off several bolts in my time but now learned pretty well how to 'feel' the approx. torque and when something is not quite right. Let us know how it works out for you.

 

bolt-out is your friend. counter-threaded drill bit and hope.

 

if the radiator is not already out, I would take it out now, in order to have maximum work room in order to do a good job on this extraction, you may only get one shot at it, so you want every advantage, and not be cramped, to do a pro job and be successful!

I would also read a lot of amazon or similar reviews of the various extraction devices and go with what is currently the most loved.

 

Radiator was out already, I tried two easy out's and they both broke off inside, the bolt didn't penetrate the head it; it didn't bottom out. At this point I am dropping the pan, baffle, and strainer, and then pulling the pump off and going to try and get it out with the pump off the engine, the way I see it, if I can't get it out, I can always get it machined and re-threaded. Am I correct?

 

from your description, I am not certain of which particular part the broken off bolt screwed into?

in other words, if you had to replace the exact part that is holding the broken off half of the bolt, which part would this be?

let us know that so we can visualize which bolt and we can better advise you, or grab a photo of the LS400 timing belt area from off of the Internet and circle which bolt and then post the marked up photo

 

There is two idler pulleys, it's the one that is bolted on the drivers side of the engine.

 

Sorry, the part would be the "oil pump". No way I'm replacing it, worse can scenario i'll get it re-drilled and threaded to 7/16 (I believe that's one size up from 14mm) but I am curious to see if I can hear a valid objection to that idea.

 

How much is a new pump?

 

what year is your Lexus, you can get the new factory Toyota (Aisin) oil pump for as little as $36 for a 98-2000 or around $60 for 95-97, and this is the real OEM part and brand NEW!

PS - the 1UZ engine has only one idler pulley/bearing for the timing belt, and it is on the driver's side - the other timing belt pulley/bearing is called a tensioner pulley (probably because it lives with the hydraulic tensioner!)

 

91, I only have one Lexus dealer near me, I would bet the part is at least $200 here, and sorry, you're correct about the alternate pulley being referred to as tensioner.

The dealer is called Birchwood/Woodhaven Lexus.

 

the part is not going to be $200 at the dealership, it is discontinued, not available at any price, nor is it available direct from Aisin

you picked the wrong year of LS400 oil pump for this to happen to

however, these folks have one on the national locator in old dealer stock somewhere in America for $161

so whoever you get to try and fix the old one, make sure they have a lot of experience with retapping aluminum!

 

Your gonna have to take the oilpump off. Use a left handed drill to get it out of the hole. But it needs to be done on the bench to not damage the threads. My heart goes out to ya brother.

 

It's a valuable lesson learned for me that's for sure; almost never rely on a torque wrench for low torque bolts at least.

I'm taking the pump off tonight, I'm hoping the two failed easy out attempts won't make it much more difficult for the left handed bit method.

Someone in the area is selling a 1UZ short block from the same gen for $300, that's also a considerable option for the parts.

 

How about Helicoils? From a brief read it seems they would solve the problem at hand also.

EDIT: A mechanic also suggested drilling it out and using a "thread chaser" since the hole for the bolt is all through.