Broke bolt dilemma -- HELP!

[john_bud]

Hi,

Found a bolt on the ground. The end shows it snapped off flush with just little tab sticking up.

The blue paint told that it came from the Ford tractor and a search found that it is one of the two bolts that hold the engine to the engine cradle. Bolt goes in to the front of the engine block thru a rubber isolated grommet. It's unique to the HD Industrials model 1801 and 4140.

Looking up, you can see the water pump pulley on the right and the radiator hose on the left.

Anyhow, the place where the bolt goes only has about 5-6" of space in front of it and limited space around it. It seems like the only way to get to it is to take the frigging front half of the tractor apart. Remove the nose cone with lights and hydraulic tank, front pump, hyd lines & filter, power steering lines and cylinder and then the front end with the engine cradle. I figure it's about 10-15 hours of work. Not something I wanted to find out !

Any ideas on how to get this sucker out with less stress and effort?

Thanks!

jb

 

[zzvyb6]

How about some pix from the stand back area so we can see hazackly where we get to work from and the clearence issues. i.e. top, bottom, peekaboo and straight in.

 

[john_bud]

ok,

The missing bolt is on the left side.

About 6 inches of total gap between the front end mount and the engine mount.

From the bottom you can see the drag link and steering cylinders under the 6" gap.

You can see there is about 2 1/2 to 3" of verticle opening


This is a bad bolt to break!

 

[CATMAN]

I believe you are taking the photo with a mirror. The reflection points to the broken bolt. I would first try a small flat blade screwdriver and see if it rotates or wiggles at all. (sometimes you luck out and you just rotate it out) The next idea I would try, is a "90 degree" reversible drill (air or electric) with small left-hand drill bits. Sometimes when drilling with left handed bits, the bit will "catch" and the bolt just rotates out for you. I would probably even purchase a 90 degree reversible air drill ($39-$49) for this project if you didn't own one already. At work, I just use a cheap one on the rare occasions that I need one and it works fine, but I am sure glad I own one, when I need it. I would try these ideas first before tearing the tractor down.

 

[CATMAN]

Well, Now that you have more photos, I don't honestly know IF there is enough clearance for a 90 degree reversible air drill. Good Luck on this one.

 

[john_bud]

Well, Now that you have more photos, I don't honestly know IF there is enough clearance for a 90 degree reversible air drill. Good Luck on this one.

That's not the answer that I wanted, but it is the one I expected.... rats.


Anyone else got a miracle in their pocket?

jb


Oh yeah, I initially tried to screw it out with a chisel. The bolt is 5/8's or so and there wasn't a screwdriver of the correct width and short length. A brave chisel got ground down to fit.... it was a cheapie any way.

jb

 

[3RRL]

John,
So sorry to see this post.
I got your PM but am of no help on this one man. That's why I didn't comment in the first place. You need to get a hold of Houdini, I think. That has to be the worst place for a bolt to pop off. Problem is you don't know if it is stuck in there or not. How in the heck are you going to get in there except remove the items in the way?

The suggestion of an angle head drill and left handed drill (if it fits) is a good thing to try. But it will only tell you if the bolt is loose or tight. If it's tight, maybe an easy out after you drill a hole in it, but it looks to hard to get in there and do any of that.

Did you look to see if there are any openings whereby they might have access to the bolt in the first place? Or does it look the installation was all done prior to putting all the stuff on/around it? If so, you are doomed to remove it first.

 

[JerryG]

I'm guessing that the broken part is in a blind hole in the block?

 

[john_bud]

Rob,

Rat's ! I was hoping that you had an old machinist trick gizmo that would work.

Unfortunately, I do KNOW that the the other 1/2 of the bolt is still in there. It's about 1/4 " under the surface so to speak. The picture with the mirror shows it -- sort of.

I've had the ENTIRE tractor apart already to do a major repair / resto on it. There isn't any room for anything nor access ports.

Here's a picture of the engine cradle with no engine. It's a touch cleaner in this picture....

As you can see, the camera is about 3-4" under where the engine will eventually be. The bolt hole in question is one one showing at the extreme top. You can see the SOLID steel in front of it. The distance is about 6" as shown in the other pictures. The hole you see is off to the side and is for the hydraulic return and supply. It's pretty full and too far at an angle.

I am getting an idea. Dangerous one at that. Will percolate on it for a day or two to see how it comes....



JerryG, Blind as a bat. That was the first thing I looked for, but knew it was blind.

jb

 

[3RRL]

John,
I am getting an idea. Dangerous one at that. Will percolate on it for a day or two to see how it comes....

You're not thinking what I think you're thinking are you? Maybe stick an arc rod to the end of the bolt and try to wrench that out? Maybe the heat will loosen it up, but if you miss the bolt ...
You can't see in there either, right?