Broken crank bolt extraction

captthunderpnts

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I could not get your pic to open, but I think I get the gist of it....

If you can get a decent size hole drilled in the bolt... I would try a reverse thread tap and then screw the reverse bolt into it. If its not in there to tight, you should be able to back it out.



.....Of course a 'pro' is always going to recommend the "heart transplant" option. No doubt, this is probably your "best" option, but a lot of work without a lift, tools, and experience tearing into mod motors.

For starters.... Pull that darn radiator!! 10m of work will at least get you a better perspective on things!! Its gonna come out anyway, if your cant extract that darn bolt!!

Already snapped a hardened extractor into the pilot hole :mj: Still trying to clean up that mess. Also, way ahead of you, radiator is out and it definitely does make it easier to get in there.
 

Blown_By_You

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Already snapped a hardened extractor into the pilot hole :mj: Still trying to clean up that mess. Also, way ahead of you, radiator is out and it definitely does make it easier to get in there.

I did that on my heads too... Breaking the carbide really screws your pooch lol
 

Metal Head

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I've been having a hell of a time finding a place around here that even sells end mills. Would they fit in a typical 3/8in power drill? Also, I've called every machine shop within 30 minutes of me, and none of them want anything to do with this issue, so I'm SOL on that front.

Forget everything I said before. Since you couldn't wait to get the correct tooling like I said and snapped off a carbide extractor in there you are screwed. Nothing you can do by hand is going to drill through carbide. The only way to get through carbide by hand is to break it out with a drift and hammer or by abrasion (grinding) and you'll never get through it all without tearing up the threads in the crank.

Like it or not 95PGTTech has the only viable answer at this point. Have a replacement crank on hand because even if you have that thing on the bench at this point it is going to take more work to fix than a stock crank is worth.
 

captthunderpnts

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Forget everything I said before. Since you couldn't wait to get the correct tooling like I said and snapped off a carbide extractor in there you are screwed. Nothing you can do by hand is going to drill through carbide. The only way to get through carbide by hand is to break it out with a drift and hammer or by abrasion (grinding) and you'll never get through it all without tearing up the threads in the crank.

Like it or not 95PGTTech has the only viable answer at this point. Have a replacement crank on hand because even if you have that thing on the bench at this point it is going to take more work to fix than a stock crank is worth.

It was done way before you mentioned anything. Now, I don't think the extractor is carbide...Northern Tool special. Guess I'm screwed though, because I don't have the tools or space to pull the motor to replace a crank in my garage.

I've already made peace with digging everything out and retapping the crank to a bigger bolt, at least.
 

95PGTTech

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It was done way before you mentioned anything. Now, I don't think the extractor is carbide...Northern Tool special. Guess I'm screwed though, because I don't have the tools or space to pull the motor to replace a crank in my garage.

I've already made peace with digging everything out and retapping the crank to a bigger bolt, at least.

Don't pull the motor. Pull the trans, jack the engine up off the K, drop the pan and the crank. If this is a mostly stock motor, buy a used crank and have it checked by a machine shop and throw new bearings in it.
 

bumsoil

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I have a full set of rod bearings and I'll let them go for a good price. They are p series clevite.
Pm me if interested
 

Metal Head

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I've already made peace with digging everything out and retapping the crank to a bigger bolt, at least.

Re-drilling and tapping a crank snout is not something I would try to do in the car, especially when starting with a buggered up hole. The tap drill and threads need to be cut into the crank squarely and on axis. I don't think you are going to be able to manage that with a Makita drill. This is something that should be done in a machine shop on a lathe.

The only way to do it properly in the car would be to have a jig made that slips over the crank snout with a drill bushing to hold your bit and then another for the tap. Without a round starting hole I doubt you'd end up with a desirable result even with the jig.

I foresee a lot of wasted time grinding out an extractor,and the rest of the bolt only to end up with a broken off tap drill or tap in another off center hole. :uh oh:
 

captthunderpnts

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Re-drilling and tapping a crank snout is not something I would try to do in the car, especially when starting with a buggered up hole. The tap drill and threads need to be cut into the crank squarely and on axis. I don't think you are going to be able to manage that with a Makita drill. This is something that should be done in a machine shop on a lathe.

The only way to do it properly in the car would be to have a jig made that slips over the crank snout with a drill bushing to hold your bit and then another for the tap. Without a round starting hole I doubt you'd end up with a desirable result even with the jig.

I foresee a lot of wasted time grinding out an extractor,and the rest of the bolt only to end up with a broken off tap drill or tap in another off center hole. :uh oh:

Yeah I'm on the same page as you, but I'm working with the limited time, tools, and funds at my disposal for now. That said, here's where I stand so far. I was able to get away from that offset hole and sticking my head up by the crank snout, I'm close to dead nuts on with my hand drill. Just need a little more love to chew through what's left.

2NlSQKIl.jpg
 

95PGTTech

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Another thought as to why this is a bad idea:

Even if this does work out the way you are envisioning it (and from the above picture, it has gone south quick), you are going to need to remove a significant amount of material from the crank snout, which is already low on real estate as it is. Keep in mind this is the main power takeoff for the engine - all other accessories are driven off of it and it sees the highest torque/load/stress of any of them.

Even for someone who does not do this professionally, from what you showed here mechanically, jack the front of the car up on jack stands. Remove the K member after supporting engine. Remove the trans. Drop the oil pan, remove the mains and the caps from the rods. Bag and label everything for your piece of mind. Where it came from and what orientation. Purchase a used crankshaft and take it to a machine shop to be inspected to see if it needs turn. Purchase your bearings (main and rod) from that point. Put everything back where you found it, and do some other little nitty gritty stuff while you have everything apart to make yourself feel accomplished/improved.

Total labor you will be waiting on the machine shop far longer than doing any actual car work. Know when to hold em, know when to fold em. Know when to walk away, know when to run.
 

captthunderpnts

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Another thought as to why this is a bad idea:

Even if this does work out the way you are envisioning it (and from the above picture, it has gone south quick), you are going to need to remove a significant amount of material from the crank snout, which is already low on real estate as it is. Keep in mind this is the main power takeoff for the engine - all other accessories are driven off of it and it sees the highest torque/load/stress of any of them.

Even for someone who does not do this professionally, from what you showed here mechanically, jack the front of the car up on jack stands. Remove the K member after supporting engine. Remove the trans. Drop the oil pan, remove the mains and the caps from the rods. Bag and label everything for your piece of mind. Where it came from and what orientation. Purchase a used crankshaft and take it to a machine shop to be inspected to see if it needs turn. Purchase your bearings (main and rod) from that point. Put everything back where you found it, and do some other little nitty gritty stuff while you have everything apart to make yourself feel accomplished/improved.

Total labor you will be waiting on the machine shop far longer than doing any actual car work. Know when to hold em, know when to fold em. Know when to walk away, know when to run.

What all is involved with dropping the k-member out? At a glance, it looks like the entire from suspension is going to need to be pulled as well. I'm honestly intimidated at that notion.
 

Stolen 98

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What is the root cause of the problem here?

Re-using the factory bolt?

A faulty Torque wrench?

Unknown previous damage by the first owner?

I've swapped steeda pulleys on and off a 3V GT about 10 times...some times using a new bolt and some times re-using the original and haven't run into this.

Keep in mind everything will work out in the end...just might take a little more $$ than planned. Hang in there!
 

captthunderpnts

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What is the root cause of the problem here?

Re-using the factory bolt?

A faulty Torque wrench?

Unknown previous damage by the first owner?

I've swapped steeda pulleys on and off a 3V GT about 10 times...some times using a new bolt and some times re-using the original and haven't run into this.

Keep in mind everything will work out in the end...just might take a little more $$ than planned. Hang in there!

One of the previous hammerhead owners decided to use an aftermarket bolt that was quite a bit longer than the stock Ford part. Of course I realized this when it was way too late.
 

95PGTTech

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What all is involved with dropping the k-member out? At a glance, it looks like the entire from suspension is going to need to be pulled as well. I'm honestly intimidated at that notion.

It's big, it's heavy, but it's VERY easy. Remove the calipers and hang them. Disconnect ABS sensors. Assuming you have stock springs, remove the bolts from strut to knuckle (2) and lower control arm with jack, remove spring.

Remove the sway bar. Link on each side, 2 nuts hold sway bar to front frame at bushings on each side.

Steering. Disconnect the steering shaft from the rack, you will want to make sure the steering wheel is locked. Disconnect the two lines (hydroboost) going down to the rack. It's tight in there and sometimes it is easier to take the two bolts rack to k member out to be able to move the rack around a lot.

Disconnect the two motor mount bolts (obviously the engine should be supported from the top around this point. Now the K is ready to come down. There are two large bolts on each side that go k member to frame. In addition, there are two on each side toward the rear (much smaller).

I'm sure there are one or two small things I'm forgetting such as the small ground wire on the passenger side frame to k member. but in a gist, the k member is going to come down with the rack and the lower control arms, knuckles, rotors. Plenty of excuses in all of that to upgrade to some new, shiny parts.



A friend is not necessary in terms of difficulty, but it certainly would help as an extra set of eyes and to help with the bulk of the stock stuff. I would budget a couple hours to do this for the first time. not difficult, just big.
 

mustangsvt281

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It's big, it's heavy, but it's VERY easy. Remove the calipers and hang them. Disconnect ABS sensors. Assuming you have stock springs, remove the bolts from strut to knuckle (2) and lower control arm with jack, remove spring.

Remove the sway bar. Link on each side, 2 nuts hold sway bar to front frame at bushings on each side.

Steering. Disconnect the steering shaft from the rack, you will want to make sure the steering wheel is locked. Disconnect the two lines (hydroboost) going down to the rack. It's tight in there and sometimes it is easier to take the two bolts rack to k member out to be able to move the rack around a lot.

Disconnect the two motor mount bolts (obviously the engine should be supported from the top around this point. Now the K is ready to come down. There are two large bolts on each side that go k member to frame. In addition, there are two on each side toward the rear (much smaller).

I'm sure there are one or two small things I'm forgetting such as the small ground wire on the passenger side frame to k member. but in a gist, the k member is going to come down with the rack and the lower control arms, knuckles, rotors. Plenty of excuses in all of that to upgrade to some new, shiny parts.



A friend is not necessary in terms of difficulty, but it certainly would help as an extra set of eyes and to help with the bulk of the stock stuff. I would budget a couple hours to do this for the first time. not difficult, just big.
Agreed, i have done it a handful of times and it is not hard at all.
I used a support bar from habor fright to support the motor as we dropped the kmember. Shouldnt take you that long, maybe a weekend with some help. Like others have suggested though, get a used crank and have it checked then order your bearings. I may have a used crank and i know a very good machine shop in my area. Give me until tomorrow and ill let you know. If i have one i can have the crank checked, cleaned up and i may have some bearings you could use. Ill pm you once i get a better idea of things.
 

captthunderpnts

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As an update, I've decided to just go with replacing the crank and bearings for now.

I am unsure though about getting this guy balanced before install. Does anyone know what I'll need to provide to a machine shop aside from the crank itself and maybe my harmonic balancer? I feel like I'd need weights of rods and pistons for them to get it zeroed...correct me if I'm wrong? Just trying to make this as painless as possible.
 

95PGTTech

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Yes, ideally they are provided the weights of the entire rod/piston/pin/bearing assemblies. In your case I would ask them to evaluate the crank journal surfaces and install.
 

captthunderpnts

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Yes, ideally they are provided the weights of the entire rod/piston/pin/bearing assemblies. In your case I would ask them to evaluate the crank journal surfaces and install.

I've scoured the interwebs lightly, but have been unsuccessful thus far. Is there anywhere written in crayon that has weights for stock rods and pistons for them to plug in for balancing? I'm told that the crank was balanced specifically for 03/04 bottom end, which I'm sure is different enough to the 98 internals to wreak havoc.
 

95PGTTech

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There is no set spec. When doing a shortblock, the machine shop will weigh each rod and piston assembly and hang bob weights on the crank set to those values for balancing.
 

caveeagle

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No point in trying to balance the crank unless your planning to pull your heads and take the entire rotating assembly in for balancing.

Anyone know if the 4.6 2v motors were balanced by ford originally?
 

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