[Escortowner]

Ok i was doing a little color on my manifold cover. So i took it off and started to paint it. I let it dried and then i put it back on. Looked really good.so i started to tighten the bolt. then snap it broke. i removed the cover, and the bolt is down there deep. So i go to a automotive store and he told me it was easy to remove. All i need is a EZ-Out bit. So i go to the store and a ask the guy how to do it ,then he told me it was EASY. So i go home got out my drill and started to drill a pilot hole and then i started drilling and then when i got done i see that i drilled in the side of the bolt in to the manifold. So right about now im freaking big time. So i put some gasket maker around the side and put the manifold back on and tighten the 2 other bolts. it sounds ok but when i rev the engine and it like it almost dies and then starts back up again. Well i think it the oil perssure,but i have no clue.

Well my question is. what should i do. what can a professional do, and how much do you guy/girls think it well cost me.

Well thank for taking ur time read me storie and and anwswer well help.. THANKS!!!

 

[coyote-x]

You mean your valve cover? The thing on top of your engine that says 'EFi' or 'DOHC' or 'Split Port 2000' or whatever? Or your exhaust manifold cover?

 

[Escortowner]

Yeah i mean the valve cover, my bad.

 

[Electronikal]

Could you take some picture for us? would make it easier for us to help you out..i've snap a bolt too one day in the engine's head..

so you're saying that you have drilled through the srew's whole? or you have kind of grinded the entrance of the screw's hole a bit ?

 

[coyote-x]

I don't really know, but the short answer, depending on what you broke, is, a lot. Take it to a mechanic, have them look at it and give you a quote. It sounds to me like you drilled a hole in your cylander head somehow, which means that you're probably going to need a new head...

 

[egtdude]

yeah... just might have bent yourself over on this deal. I'd have to see how bad the damage is. If your lucky you didn't drill through to anything else and just have an odd shaped bolt hole. It is by no means a good way to go around. But if it drilled through to a different cavety then who knows what could all happen. If in fact it runs different then it did before I'd go over everything real carefully.

 

[egtdude]

P.S. what the hell are you guys doing breaking valve cover bolts? If this is a GT the valve cover bolts only require roughly 5-10Ft/lbs of torque on them. Which is a hair past finger tight. Get a Torque wrench. It will save you a lot fo trouble. There are some pretty cheap wand style ones out there. Not nearly as good as the expensive ones but its a good start.

 

[Escortowner]

Well, theres the hole that the bolt goes. i drilled on the side of the hole abit --> cO. Looked like that but not so much. i was thinking, that they can make a bigger hole. then put a thead adapter in it. like what u do to a stripped spark plug. But if it comes down to it. I will go to a junk yard and get a new cylander head. It should cost me 75 dollars at a junk yard, but it is going to kill me to put it in.

 

[egtdude]

you are correct. Depending on the measurement it can be drilled out and a sleve put in. but again it depends if it punched through to below. If not you should be good. Still might cost you as much as a junk yard head though.

 

[dave_hunting]

I had a 57 Mercury and we snapped off a exhaust manafold bolt. Yeah you guessed it BLOCK. We drilled it cockeyed and got the bolt out with an easy out. problem was when we went cockeyed we went thru the water jacket. Dont ask! After 2 months looking for a block we were unsucessful. It was a newly rebuilt from scratch.
To make a long story short we yanked out the engine. Flipped the block. cleaned the hole out good with acetone. removed all traces of oil. Filled the gap where the drill went kaos. We replaced the missing thread material and plugged the hole with JB WELD. (OK OK I know this sounds silly. But we had to try.) After letting it cure for 48 hours I took a tap and re tapped the hole. We re assembled it and it worked. I dont know if JGB Weld will work on Alunimum?

Dave

 

[RedIntake]

It will work on aluminum, epecially if you are threading into it, since it will be pressed against the wall and help tight, but have fun getting it in the hole. I broke a valve cover bolt, haven't done the work to get it out yet, but it's not leaking, so..
I'm gonna use a drill press to drill it out, since it seems that nobody can do it without messing up the threads.
Do you guys know what grade steel the valve cover bolts are made of?

 

[christop099]

I kind of had a similar problem a couple months back. A friend of mine was working on my car and he broke the middle valve cover bolt off in in and it still worked fine with the two outer ones. Then me being such a smart kid ended up breaking one of the outside ones off later. So I took me car to a friend and he driller the two holes out and threaded them and now I just have two bigger bolts on my car and one normal one holding the valve cover one.

 

[Beaverboy]

it sounds ok but when i rev the engine and it like it almost dies and then starts back up again. Well i think it the oil perssure,but i have no clue.

Sounds like your valve cover is sealing so badly that it's letting a ton of air in (listen for air being sucked into the gap between the valve cover and the head with the engine running), or... You knocked a vacuum tube loose or forgot to re-attach one (this is more likely). If the latter is the case, you can just forget about the snapped valve cover bolt unless you see evidence of an oil leak from the valve cover.

If it was a problem with the oil pressure your engine wouldn't almost die.. it would die a fast horrible death.

 

[RedIntake]

Sounds like your valve cover is sealing so badly that it's letting a ton of air in (listen for air being sucked into the gap between the valve cover and the head with the engine running)

Your valve cover PCV valve lets in as much air as it wants. Air is always inside the valve cover, but it still doesn't get into the head itself. If there were no way for the valve cover to let air in and out, your valve cover gasket would go every time a valve opened or closed. That's what the black hose coming off of the right side is for, it allows air to go into the valve cover, then get pushed back out as the valves require. It doesn't allow a vaccum or high pressure to form in the valve cover.

 

[Cooter]

When you go to drill out a broken bolt , next time center punch it first.I dont know how your intake looks but see if you have threads sticking out the bottom of the hole.If you do get the easyout on there melt some wax in there before you try unscrewing it. Good luck.

 

[Beaverboy]

Your valve cover PCV valve lets in as much air as it wants. Air is always inside the valve cover, but it still doesn't get into the head itself. If there were no way for the valve cover to let air in and out, your valve cover gasket would go every time a valve opened or closed. That's what the black hose coming off of the right side is for, it allows air to go into the valve cover, then get pushed back out as the valves require. It doesn't allow a vaccum or high pressure to form in the valve cover.

:x I was thinking of my old BMW which had a vaccumed crankcase.. it would sputter and die if you removed the oil cap while it was idling. Very sensitive to any vaccum changes.

So, the idea that this broken valve cover bolt is causing his car to hesitate is completely absurd.

 

[RedIntake]

It's all good dawg

 

[96lxscort]

Just had to add my two cents here. I had this happened once on my escort.

As has been said, a centerpuch will go a long way to saving you time and money. Also invest in a set of REVERSE drill bits. The fluting is opposite to a conventional drilbit. Drill a small pilot hole in the broken bolt then use the appropriate E-Z out that fits in the hole and remove the bolt.

Also if I recall correctly, the only thing below the bolt holes is the cam, I may be mistaken, but I don't see how drilling through the side of the hole would adversly affect the motor. I do hope you kept the metal shavings out of the motor.