Well it was totally my fault for not paying better attention. That out of the way. The lower bolt for the serpentine belt tensioner broke off as I was torquing it down(trying to replace my tensioner and belt today). Its a rather long bolt, it snapped inside the hole, unfortunately it was the first 1/3 so its way back in there. I cant seem to find a long enough bolt extractor, I found a really long sears drill bit that will reach though. What all would be involved? Should I break down and just take to the dealer? Not really a first choice but how could I get better access to it? How bad am I screwed? No pun intended!. Thanks.

 

Hmm...maybe try hammering in a screw driver a bit? Might be worth a try if you have the room.

Edit:
Err...nevermind. I wouldn't recommend this. It would probably mess up the threads.

A drill bit may be a little hard with the shavings being stuck in there and no way to get them out with the drill bit still in. I can't think of any other ides except the hammer...

 

its such a small diameter in there thats the problem. What sucks is I just realized I need to have this car operational by end of next week(flying to Omaha, and going to an autox in Hastings,heh) as Im using it to drive to the airport. If I cant figure out something good soon I will have to break down and take it to the dealer. Luckily a mitsu dealer is down the street from where my car is at, so tow charge shouldnt be too bad.

 

How far is it in there? Did you just break the head off? I just looked at the specs and it's 18+- 3 lbs for torque. I assume you went way over this. An odd idea I just came up with would be to try would be to tape a sheet of semi thick paper to the bolt and then cut out there the bolt used to be connected. Then put some strong glue on the opening you just created and hold it there and let it dry for a while. The idea behind the paper is that you will get some these ozzes out and instead of bounding to the head, it will bond to the paper, which should rip off while you use a socket to slowly turn it out.

May be worth a shot...

 

dealer pros: if they break something else? they are responsible. cons? it might cost a little more than expected. if you absolutley must do it yourself i would just extend the easy out.

 

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...tor-build.html
^^^^
this guy did the same thing and had to pull the motor halfway out. good luck

 

Yea dude, take it to the dealer. Not being a dick, but if you weren't competent enough to not break a bolt while replacing a belt, how many other things are you going to break trying to get it out? If you must do it yourself, heaven forbid, take an automatic center punch and put a divet in the broken part of the bolt, off center. lubricate, then using a pin pick, turn it out carefully. It should come out. Also, to the guy with the construction paper, please explain this again so it makes sense. I'm curious. Thanks.

 

Well this time it wasnt so much about competance as just an accident. It was my fault for starting to rush cause I had to leave soon cause I am on call. Car had to be out of the way. the bottom bolt of that supports the tensioner is the one that broke off.(12mm,iirc) Its about 3.5-4 in long maybe, well the tip, so the first .5 in or so is where it broke at. so I need something that can reach 3-3.5" and what-maybe 1/4" or 5/16" diameter hole.
I am not sure if the plate where the actual serpentine tensioner sits unbolts from the block. If it does remove, then maybe I can have easier access and this wouldnt be a big deal.

 

The "plate" it bolts to is your oil filter housing. To remove it, you just have to unbolt the timing cover, which is pretty easy to do if you have the right tools. To get to it you'll just have to remove the serpentine belt, crank pulley, water pump pulley, upper engine mount, and maybe a couple other odds and ends. Once that's out of the way, you should be able to unbolt the filter housing and the broken bolt should be easy to get out from that point.


This thread should help (the page 6a PDF has a pic of what you need to remove):

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...-belt-how.html

 

thanks, just the info I was looking for. Ya, it looks like if I remove the oil filter housing I should be able to get to it. It looks like the bolt threads into the tiiming cover itself, not really into the block. So its a matter of getting access to the lower timing cover. Well, I need to replace my timing belt anyhow.

 

I would try a left hand drill bit first . should spin right out.

 

thanks. I will go try and find one. I found some really long drill bits, would be awesome if I could get a left hand bit that length. Wouldnt have to mess around with taking anything off.

 

If you can sharpen a bit you could make your own left hand drill bit. It's not really that hard to do but does require a little skill. Once it bites the bolt they usually come spinning right out. An old guy showed me years ago and the trick saved me a few times since.

 

never done that. how do I sharpen a regular drill bit to bite like a left handed?

 

just pick up a set of "easy outs" aka left handed bits