God danget, broken thermostat bolt
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Joined: Oct 2015
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God danget, broken thermostat bolt
Ugh, just my luck...20 minute job turns into ??? hour job.
Thermostat seems to be stuck open as it was only reaching about 160* and heat isn't working well because of it in the cold. About 2 weeks ago I did not check the antifreeze in the durango and previous owner had too much water in it and it froze up. Had to get my buddy to go get my trailer and drive 40 minutes in the snow to come get me.
I got it home, pulled it into the garage and turned my reddy heater on to thaw it out, drained the water, flushed out the system and filled it full of antifreeze.
We had got a call for more snow, and my DD is a 15' mustang gt. I decided I was going to pickup a thermostat last night and pull it into the garage and change it out.
Keep in mind, my durango has a solid front axle conversion with about 10 inches of lift on 37's. I have a standard height garage door, so I have to let all the air out of my tires in order to fit it in the garage.
Any who, I go to break the first bolt loose, it was tight...SNAP. ugh, fml. 2nd bolt came out alright.
So I weld a nut to it, there was a little bit hanging out, welded a nut to it, SNAP again, broke it off further down inside of the block.
Started to drill it out, was going to drill and tap it with a smaller bolt but my drill bits are dull, so was planning on picking up another one today...I got it off center trying to drill it out with a junk bit (13/64 for an 8mm tap). I was just going to drill and tap it to a 8mm because I have the tap and have bolts already....I know it is smaller than the original, but should be fine right? Assuming the dang tap doesn't break.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Thermostat seems to be stuck open as it was only reaching about 160* and heat isn't working well because of it in the cold. About 2 weeks ago I did not check the antifreeze in the durango and previous owner had too much water in it and it froze up. Had to get my buddy to go get my trailer and drive 40 minutes in the snow to come get me.
I got it home, pulled it into the garage and turned my reddy heater on to thaw it out, drained the water, flushed out the system and filled it full of antifreeze.
We had got a call for more snow, and my DD is a 15' mustang gt. I decided I was going to pickup a thermostat last night and pull it into the garage and change it out.
Keep in mind, my durango has a solid front axle conversion with about 10 inches of lift on 37's. I have a standard height garage door, so I have to let all the air out of my tires in order to fit it in the garage.
Any who, I go to break the first bolt loose, it was tight...SNAP. ugh, fml. 2nd bolt came out alright.
So I weld a nut to it, there was a little bit hanging out, welded a nut to it, SNAP again, broke it off further down inside of the block.
Started to drill it out, was going to drill and tap it with a smaller bolt but my drill bits are dull, so was planning on picking up another one today...I got it off center trying to drill it out with a junk bit (13/64 for an 8mm tap). I was just going to drill and tap it to a 8mm because I have the tap and have bolts already....I know it is smaller than the original, but should be fine right? Assuming the dang tap doesn't break.
Anyone have any suggestions?
Veteran
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 355
Likes: 6
From: Chi - west
What engine are you drilling on?
How far off are ya?
What is behind where your drilling off center?
Outside the box........
Any way possible to make a bushed fixture for an end mill to get back on center?
How far off are ya?
What is behind where your drilling off center?
Outside the box........
Any way possible to make a bushed fixture for an end mill to get back on center?
All Star
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 993
Likes: 11
From: Albuquerque, NM
True, weld up two pieces of bar into a plus sign, bottom cross bar the exact size of the t-stat main hole. The top cross bar would have two holes, one end uses the good bolt for position/secure, other end hole is for drilling. Use the t-stat hose tube flange as a template.