02 DTS N* broken lower case bolt.
 

I am replacing the lower case and rear main seal on an 02 DTS 4.6L, Well while removing the main bearing bolts, 2 of them broke (both were outter bolts), I got 1 out and the other I kinda did some damage to the threads in the block when the drill bit walked. so now I am at a loss as to how i am going to get this bolt out, and i am sure it is pretty inportant, so not installing it I think would cause some issues. any idea/opinions as to what to do, or anyone have this problem b4? What kind of problems would come up if the bolt is not replaced?

Thanks in advance.

if i am following you right..... you need to drill it out and retap the hole. ???? is that possible???
rickyd

If the bolt is still up in there, try using a die-grinder with a pointed shape carbide cutter to get a pilot hole started in the center of the bolt. With a good solid pilot, use a drift type punch in the center of the bolt, and whack it a few times with a hammer. This will, a lot of times, break the bond between the bolt and the threads. Once you get a good pilot, you can use the drill and ease-out.
If the threads in the block are damaged, you'll need to use a heli-coil, or some other type of thread repair. If using a heli-coil, you may want to use two inserts to be sure it will hold.
hth

you do NOT want to leave out a main bearing saddle bolt...they're there for a reason!:D

1. as stated above by the 'apple', one should always drill a pilot hole to work on such important parts, always, always.

2. running the engine w/o those bolts can only lead to a bent crank/engine failure

3. when a bolt wont come out, instead of using brute strength, a little finesse can often do the job .. ie.. heat the bolt with a small torch, 'tap' it while hot, heat again, 'tap' it again .. or heat them and use a impact wrench on lower power since these imitate a taping as they turn the bolt.

4. this is a 1st for me .. i have never heard of bearing bolts breaking before. how did this happen? what was used to wrench them out?

sorry kinda forgot about this thread.

I used a breaker bar and socket to loosen/remove the lower case bolts and the 2 bolts just snapped, they were all pretty tight.

I end up taking it to the machine shop to get the other bolt out.

Also did head gaskets at the same time and had a hell of a time with thos as well, the threads in the block got pulled out when I removed the the head bolts, so I had to drill and tap new holes for a stud kit (from NORTHSTARPERFORMANCE.com).