Snapped rear main cap bolt! "HELP"

[Galt72]

I've got her torn down. Doing the EFI swap including new heads and cam. I figure I've got it down this far I'll put in a new oil pump and change out the rear main and oil pan gasket. After reading many threads on the subject I pop the rear cap just to find I've got the newer style one piece seal that you can't get to from the bottom. So I put the cap right back on and grab the torque wrench. I'm slowly working each side back and forth when the passenger side hits the correct poundage. I give one more push on the driver side and "SNAP" Busted it flush in the block #$X&!!!!!

I need some real help here, what are my options as this point. Yank the motor out or try to get it out somehow while it's still in the bronco.

 

[Mr Joe]

I would pull the cap and attempt to drill a hole in the center of the bolt. I'd use an easyout to extract the bolt. If you didn't use Lok-tite, it should come out.

 

[bax]

Are you talking about a rear main cap bolt?

 

[Galt72]

Well, someone must have been looking out for my sorry @#$ this morning. I hit it with a punch a few times then drilled about an 1/8 of an inch. I put the easyout up there to just check for size and the bolt spun right out

 

[BroncoJAK]

Well, someone must have been looking out for my sorry @#$ this morning. I hit it with a punch a few times then drilled about an 1/8 of an inch. I put the easyout up there to just check for size and the bolt spun right out

I'd bet the breath you took after that was sweet.;D

 

[Galt72]

I'd bet the breath you took after that was sweet.;D

Without a doupt

Relearned an old lesson this morning. "if it ain't broke"

 

[Galt72]

My son tells me I want to use plastigage to check for proper clearance when torqued back together. Does anyone know off hand what the proper clearance # should be.

I read a couple sites had it between .0022 and .0027 does this sound right?

 

[Wes harden]

How old is your torque wrench ?? Has it been checked recently ??? I wouldn't trust mine after that. I had 1 that was incorrect @ torquing 280 at 155 cost me alot of money, my last 1 was torguing low almost lost a wheel. last 1 was 17 years old, guess I got money out it. going to have it checked out and also buying a new Snap-on.

 

[68 Broncoholic]

Yeah, the bolt will come out easy cause you already had it out and there is no pressure on the bolt head anymore. The ones that are hard to get are the ones that snap trying to get them out the first time.

 

[bax]

If that was me I would be getting a new set of bolts. I would be worried about the others.