Distributor hold down

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76Scamp

76Scamp

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This seemed like the best place to put this, but if I'm wrong, please let me know. I bought a new distributor for the engine because the advance no longer worked on the original. A friend of mine decided to put it in for me and he says that he broke off the hold down bolt in the engine. I haven't seen it yet, and it may be a few days before I can get to it, but is there anyway that I can get what's left of it out of the engine without removing the engine? He said it came out just fine but the problem started when he was trying to put it back in. With how little room there is between the engine and the side of the car, is there any possible way to get in there and remove what is stuck in the block? Thanks for any and all help.
 
I take it this is a slant 6 huh?
If you are real lucky you might be able to coax it out with a small hammer and pointed punch.
If not you are going to have to drill it and use an easy out. (if you don't have a mig welder)
If you do, then lay a nut over it and tack it to whats left of the bolt.
The good news is they are not usually tight in the threads and it may just turn out.
 
If the bolt is not very tight, I've had good luck using reverse cut drill bits. They'll usually back out as soon as the bit starts to bite. Just do your best to center punch it as close to center as possible. A spring loaded center punch tool works well in tight quarters. Start with a small bit and work your way up. You can get long bits in clockwise cutting but I've never looked for extended length bits in a CCW cutting design.
 
There is a method where you heat the bolt (red hot) and then mash a wax candle on it. The bolt then comes out rather easily. I know it sounds weird, but a lost of guys swear by it.
-Matt
 
I was gonna say a left hand drill bit and if that don't do it an e-z out
you probably will need to use a right angle drill to get in there straight
if any is sticking up above the block cut a groove in it with a dremel and use a screwdriver and back it out
 
On occasion, I have been able to get busted off bolts out with just a small pocket screwdriver (like fits in a pocket protector)
It could actually be that loose in the threads.

For some reason I didn't think about the CCW drills. DUH! :D

Hope it unscrews right out for you.
 
lowes has a VERY good screw extractor kit. called speed-out. it has 4 pieces. #1, #2, #3, #4. each has left hand drill with a easy out type grabber. i used it to get out a very long 4" wood screw that was very tight. my G.F. thought it was a genus. well worth $14. check it out.
 
I would try the lefthand drill bits as well
if that fails consider this your excuse to swap in a 360
 
If it was the same bolt I'd expect it to come out rather easily. Of course that depends on if it went in correctly or cross thread. Sometimes you can rotate it out with an engraver. High speed air would be best.
If your going to drill, do your best to center punch it in the center first.
 
Daves69 said:
If it was the same bolt I'd expect it to come out rather easily. Of course that depends on if it went in correctly or cross thread. Sometimes you can rotate it out with an engraver. High speed air would be best.
If your going to drill, do your best to center punch it in the center first.
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He told me it came out just fine, going back in it broke off before it was all the way. I'm going to try and get out there tomorrow to see what's up with it.
 
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to drill it straight due to how it broke. I also wasn't able to just drill the hole bigger because of the angle. But, as bad as it sounds, I drilled a new hole directly above it because it was the best place I could get at and I have the timing set where it should be and it's running again. Now I just need to figure out some small carburetor problems and it'll be running great.
 
76Scamp said:
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to drill it straight due to how it broke. I also wasn't able to just drill the hole bigger because of the angle. But, as bad as it sounds, I drilled a new hole directly above it because it was the best place I could get at and I have the timing set where it should be and it's running again. Now I just need to figure out some small carburetor problems and it'll be running great.
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And guess who doesn't get to touch your car ever again? :D

Glad you got it solved.
 
TrailBeast said:
And guess who doesn't get to touch your car ever again? :D

Glad you got it solved.
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Exactly. Though I will say that the title is still in his grandmother's name until Friday, but even so, I told him to wait for me to get there because I have a timing light and I know my way around old cars. All he knows are these new computer controlled things that you need a degree in computer engineering to figure out what's wrong with them. My newest is 1990 and its computer system is basic enough that I really don't mind it. As bad as people think GM's TBI is/was, I like it.
 
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