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Little project turns into a real big project!

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When working on any stuck bolt in aluminum, heat is always your best friend......Aluminum expands like crazy.

Many cycles of heat & PB Blaster along with the relative gentle thumping of a nice rechargeable 1/2" impact wrench seem to work wonders for me.

MANY CYCLES....Of CW and CCW while boiling the Blaster out that has soaked in.

Then repeat.....
 
WHICH two? On opposite sides?!? THAT would be bad. Have you a dead-blow hammer? I wouldn't think cutting MORE of the broken bolt(s) will help when it comes time to try and get THEM out of the heads. I'd say relief cut the crossover to make it a "U" shaped stud hole at the easiest one to access. Then it's HAMMER TIME. Repeated heat, PB or Kroil and a sprag style stud remover should then work for the broken studs. Have a good arc welder knit the cut pieces back and finish the hole and mating face later.

This is dentist's work. detailed.

"Porsche. Nothing like it." /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Thanks guys,

Doc, both bolts are on the passenger’s side of the crossover and because the pressed fit of the center downlet it's not going to come strait out without damaging the bolts.

That's why I'm writing off the center crossover and I've already got a couple of guys offering me theirs. Worse case I have a retailer with one for $100.

I've already started blocking off all the engine openings & prepping the engine bay from the *shrapnel* that'll be caused from cutting it in between the longest span to the left of the center downlet.

Wish me luck?

DrEntropy said:
"Porsche. Nothing like it." /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
Click to expand...

You may laugh Doc, But I actually have a new found *appreciation* (lacks a better word) for the breed than I had before.
 
Not laughing, Bret. I've some appreciation as well. I just know they aren't for me. I'll work on 'em all day (and HAVE), I just wouldn't OWN one. The German penchant for over-engineering is just not my idea of the way to get here-to-there.
 
Personally, I'd cut the crossover in two to get it out. $100 is a small price to pay for a new one.

Also, I would not attempt to remove the crossover bolt remnants before heating them and soaking them in Kroil, etc. Then do it again. I've only ever broken a bolt/stud off once (a thermo stud in MGB head). No amount of heating/LH drill bits/extractors would budge it. Took it to a machinist and it was out in 10 mins. Are you doing this work yourself or letting the kids do it?

If you are not careful, you'll end up removing the heads until you're done :smile: I'm wondering if this engine has not been overheated in the past.

Steel bolts in aluminum housings are really bad news, IMO; apply antisieze paste to *everything threaded* that you reassemble, even the shafts of the bolts.

My BIL has a Porsche 951 (944 Turbo). Beautiful, low miles car, but it takes about 3x as long to do anything on it and costs at least that many times as much. And it has been meticulously maintained from new.
 
Hey Scott,

No, I ain't letting any adolescent’s hands near this project.

But yes I’m going to cut the cross over in two either tonight or tomorrow with problems at work right now I just don’t have any time.

Basically I’m going to use a bunch of blue painter’s tape to block off any ports or openings where debris might get in. Likewise I’ll be covering the block and just about everything with a bunch of old packing blankets to limit the chips & cuttings from flying all over the place when I start cutting with my Sawsall.

But for some added safety & peace of mind - I’m going to flush the block, drain & replace the oil before I even think about trying to re-start the engine once the jobs done.
 
Brett:

Sorry to hear of your woes.
Good Luck!
Pat
 
I wanna SEE Bret takin' a SAWZALL to a PORSCHE!!! /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/banana.gif
 
I'll be sure to set up the camera for an action shot Doc. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

...That's gotta be the ~one~ thing I've *never done* to a Porsche. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
 
What a pitty,

If I had to venture a guess as to how many steel bolts I have removed from aluminum castings during my Welding tenure, I`d guess it to be in the high hundreds if not thousands at least.

Your best chances at sucess are with heat, and even then the complete sucess rate at removing the bolt/stud without damaging the threads in the aluminum casting is probably less than 50%

Sometimes impacting the bolt/stud straight on {like driving a nail} will shock the corrosion loose {not always} and don`t hit it hard enough to damage the threads!

IF and when you get it apart and ready to reassemble I recomend S.S. bolts and coat them liberaly and completely with antiseize compound.

The proper torque is critical when tightening a bolt into an aluminum casting. {by all means you don`t want to overtighten them.}

As mentioned in one of the previous posts, it may pay you in the long run to take the whole mess to a reliable machine shop and have the siezed bolts removed. Most times they can accomplish the task without damaging the aluminum castings.

Yea I know, we`re taking $$$$$$$$$ ! Still cheaper than replacing the heads if you mess up!

Just my .02 cents
Kerry
 
DrEntropy said:
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thumbsup.gif

...That's gotta be the ~one~ thing I've *never done* to a Porsche. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smirk.gif
Click to expand...

I helped cut up an old 914 with a Sawzall. Technicaly, it's a VW/Audi. Does that count? /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
Hey guys. I dont know about all these newfangles ways of removing broken bolts cold, but it's true when they heat is your friend. I've been fixing cars like that "porch" for 20 years and aluminium isn't that hard to deal with. In the old days, like with VW bugs, I would heat it up with a torch, but those days are long gone. Now I use a MIG welder and weld onto the end of the stud. The welding process heats it up a bit and quite often it comes right out. I doubt it with that car. It's too old and corroded. It will take several times of welding something onto the end of the broken bolt, but after a while the weld will no longer brake and the bolt will come out. Personally, I have NEVER lost a part. (OK some weren't beautiful when done, but they worked)

Now that there is a broken extractor in the crossover, no difference. Weld to the extractor. But you'll Never drill into the extractor!
 
The best thing you have going for you is patience.....
Heat-squirt-absorb-cool-heat-steam-repeat

The big thing is wait it out and use low impact persuasion.

Don't get in a rush!!!

Seriously.....Machine shop guys don't know any more than you do......

You-da-man......Feel the force Luke.

(BTW...I just got back from the pub again so, this is drunk avice.....take it for what it is worth)
 
WhatsThatNoise said:
(BTW...I just got back from the pub again so, this is drunk avice.....take it for what it is worth)
Click to expand...
Some of the best advice I ever gotten was initiated by a few pints. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/thirsty.gif
 
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