As I had the battery & air box out, I was re-attaching my cone filter. (Was having warranty work done the other day, so I put the car back to stock.) I happened to notice out of the corner of my eye, a bolt that was not where it was supposed to be. I took a few pictures.



As you can see here, it is very hard to get too. I managed to get a 14mm open end wrench on it, and tried to tighten it. It wouldnt budge. So I tried un-screwing it. Nothing. It was clearly seized or the threads have been stripped. My car has a aftermarket clutch that the previous owner had a shop put in. Obviously this shop takes corners, whoever they are. I looked for signs of leaks & could not find any at all.

I am taking my car back in for warranty work (front motor mount squeaking, so a new one was ordered), and do you think Mitsu will go ahead & try to screw this back in? Maybe tap it, and put a new one in? Could I pass this off like I didnt know what was going on & ask them to tighten this up? Anyway, here is the pix.

 

If it won't turn anymore at all inwards or outwards the best bet will be to drill it out and tap with a new bolt.

 

Try spraying some break-free on it and letting it soak..

If you could get a socket on that, you may be able to use a breaker bar to free it.

 

Trust me, i tried for 5 minutes trying to get an open end wrench on it... its near impossible to work on.

 

remove everything in the way then you can get a socket on it..

 

BINGO nothing is ever easy

 

Deff spray it down, let it soak.
Try and back it out w/o snapping the bolt.
The bummer... you will most likely have to chase the threads. Which, by the looks of it, will be a big PITA!

 

From the looks of your engine, it seems stock -- if you're under 60,000 miles, I would recommend *****ing at the dealership.


That aside, definitely some WD-40 ... but it looks like you're gonna have to get that one (brass) bracket out of the way. I'd also recommend a breaker bar if you haven't tried it... something REALLY long.

When I was getting my O2 sensor out, I used a 2 1/2 foot pole from my car jack and slid it over the end of my ratchet -- worked great.

 

The shop that installed the clutch in put the wrong length bolt in that hole, I've done it a few times myself.

Be patient, get a socket on it. Replace that bolt woth a shorter one and you won't have any issues.

Darin