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When changing the gasket for the oil filler cap housing, I snap off the bolt with my 1/4 inch torque wrench. It was my first time using a torque wrench and I was very careful initially on my first bolt that clicked but broke the next bolt when I cranked at the same setting.
The housing is still tight as normal and there aren't any leaks near the broken bolt as I've driven the car for 100 miles. Any suggestions on what to do? Part of me wants to leave it as is for now. There is likely very little of the broken bolt available past the value cover so it will be a massive pain. I don't think I would have enough bolt so I can use a vise grip on it.
I was looking into buying some bolt extractor from Amazon, but many reviewer were saying that the bits can break off as well causing a bigger mess.
Would you guys just suggest going to a mechanic for this who would have better tools, experience and methods for this? missing broken bolt to left of oil fill opening.
When changing the gasket for the oil filler cap housing, I snap off the bolt with my 1/4 inch torque wrench. It was my first time using a torque wrench and I was very careful initially on my first bolt that clicked but broke the next bolt when I cranked at the same setting.
The housing is still tight as normal and there aren't any leaks near the broken bolt as I've driven the car for 100 miles. Any suggestions on what to do? Part of me wants to leave it as is for now. There is likely very little of the broken bolt available past the value cover so it will be a massive pain. I don't think I would have enough bolt so I can use a vise grip on it.
I was looking into buying some bolt extractor from Amazon, but many reviewer were saying that the bits can break off as well causing a bigger mess.
Would you guys just suggest going to a mechanic for this who would have better tools, experience and methods for this? missing broken bolt to left of oil fill opening.
See if any of that bolt is still sticking out, maybe you can grab it with the pliers if you remove the filler. If this is not an option and you definitely have to drill it, you going to drill a hardened steel bolt that is stuck in the softer alloy body. You need good drill, proper size and quality drill bit (depending on the extractor you going to use) and very steady hand. This is pretty simple operation but it requires some practice. If you never used this kind of stuff before I'd say leave it for the professional. If you damage that valve cover or if you snap that bolt extractor in the broken bolt cost of repair will go up exponential. As for your torque wrench. Did you got confused between inch-pounds and foot-pounds or you think you got bad torque wrench?
If you have no experience extracting broken bolts bring it to a trusted mechanic. If you do have experience or want to learn how to extract broken bolts, it is doable with a good set of drill bits, center punch and a good drill.
See if any of that bolt is still sticking out, maybe you can grab it with the pliers if you remove the filler. If this is not an option and you definitely have to drill it, you going to drill a hardened steel bolt that is stuck in the softer alloy body. You need good drill, proper size and quality drill bit (depending on the extractor you going to use) and very steady hand. This is pretty simple operation but it requires some practice. If you never used this kind of stuff before I'd say leave it for the professional. If you damage that valve cover or if you snap that bolt extractor in the broken bolt cost of repair will go up exponential. As for your torque wrench. Did you got confused between inch-pounds and foot-pounds or you think you got bad torque wrench?
- Bought this one from Amazon. The scale is in inch-pounds and I had the setting around 150 so it was equivalently below 13 foot-pounds. It click correctly on the first bolt so I thought it was lubricated enough. As I've learned now, it doesn't take much torque to break an engine bolt.
Spoiler
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Bought this one from
Appreciate the comments so far, I'm leaning towards trying to extract it myself but maybe later in the year. It is not leaking and need to prioritize my oil burning issues and catalytic converter codes.
Amazon - Bought this one from Amazon. The scale is in inch-pounds and I had the setting around 150 so it was equivalently below 13 foot-pounds. It click correctly on the first bolt so I thought it was lubricated enough. As I've learned now, it doesn't take much torque to break an engine bolt.
Spoiler
Spoiler
Bought this one from
Appreciate the comments so far, I'm leaning towards trying to extract it myself but maybe later in the year. It is not leaking and need to prioritize my oil burning issues and catalytic converter codes.
I did not use torque wrench when tighten the bolts on mine, just tighten it to snug and stop...It's the new o-ring that seals the connection.
Could someone provide me the torque specs for the oil filler cap housing? I remember seeing a diagram with 15 foot/lbs and had assumed that. I had the wrench set for 160 inch/lbs when I snapped the bolt.
just wondering if the wrench was actually bad or just totally my fault
I was able to get the bolt out. Thanks for everyone's help. There was enough of it exposed that I was able to use a needle nose vise grip to get it out.
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Broken Bolt
