i have a 83 f150 with the 351. i was changing my thermostat and the bolt broke inside. how do i get the broke bolt out or am i gonna have to buy a new intake

 

PB blaster, Cobalt drill bit and a broken bolt extractor.

 

take the thermostat housing off. Can you see part of the bolt sticking out? If so, you can try and mig weld anther bolt to it and back it out. Or, you can heat the manifold and try and grab it with vice grips. Heat is your friend here.

If you can't see it then you'll have to drill the bolt out. Try and center punch the center of the bolt as close as you can and drill an 1/8 hole. Try and drill straight and level through the center of the bolt. Then enlarge the hole and try a broken screw extractor. Again, heat is your friend. A propane torch might work but an Oxy/Acetylene torch is best. An iron manifold will take a good bit of heat, aluminum, not so much.

If they bolt sill won't come out, get a helicoil repair kit for the size bolt you need for the thermostat. It will have an oversized drill, a tap and an insert. Drill the old bolt completely out, tap it then install the insert and reassemble your thermostat.

If you're worried about repairing the threads with a helicoil don't. I repaired the threads on my handlebar risers on my Harley so my life is literally depending on that repair. And I trust it 100%.

Edit: Oh yes... How could I forget PB Blaster... You can also use heat then blast it with PB and it'll wick into the threads.

 

thanks guys

 

There used to be a really good web site that had a pictorial explanation of ways to do this and it was even in our sticky but the site went away for some reason.

But, there are YouTube videos and similar resources out there, search around some....

Let me google that for you

 

Previous posters summed it up well.

How much is sticking out? Depending on how big the bolt is, you can file a slot in it and back it out with a screw driver.

 

the problem is it is the lower bolt and there is no way i can get a drill in there and make it flat or level.

 

If enough is sticking out we can come up with more options.

One that comes to mind for the tight space: Cut a piece of allen wrench, or a bolt head and JB Weld it to the stub. When it's dry you can turn it out with a wrench. At least enough to get it started. Shouldn't require much torque, at least not enough to break a good bond.

 

Pictures would help....

 

Mapp gas works excellent if you dont have access to oxy/acetylene.

 

i can have pictures tomorrow, i dont have a garage. thanks for all the help guys

 

They make a tool called an "Easy-Out", there are different sizes. Basically, you drill into the center of the broken bolt you want to remove, then you use the easy-out tool to drill the broken bolt out. I will not say that they work all of the time, but they do work. I got my set at Harbor Freight, and have used them about a dozen times, all of which worked. Good luck.

 

Don't ever worry about Helicoils...Rolls Royce use them 100% as preference to tapping into the bare metal.

 

Let me guess, the bolt completely stripped out the thread in the riser. I had this exact same problem on 5" risers I bought from J&P cycles. I was maaaaad.... End of hijack.

Anyway, I had this problem on my exhaust manifolds. 2 bolts in each. Those are 3/8 16 I believe... I just used a 5/16 drill bit on it and didn't bother with the easy out. Tapping iron is much easier than tapping aluminium IMO. Aluminum will roll inside the tap and clog it up. Iron just seems to flake away. If you do go that route you will want to use a penetrating oil or some sort of lubricant as iron is very hard (duh stament... ). I broke a tap in my manifolds when I did them. Not fun getting that out. Oh, and make sure your taps are sharp. If there is any doubt get a new one. I am not sure what size you'll need but 3/8-16 sounds right.

 

Sorry, but an '83 should have a 351W, and if I'm not mistaken the bolts are side-by-side. IOW, there is no "lower bolt".

In any event, if you are going to drill it you really need to get the drill level. So, you will have to remove whatever is in the way, such as the distributor.

Also, it may be that you put the wrong bolt in the right hole. The tapped holes on the factory 351W manifolds are blind, meaning that they are closed at the back, and one of the bolts is longer than the other. I don't remember which is the longer one, but if you put the long one in the short side it will bottom out before the housing gets tight and you will either twist it off or have a leak. Don't ask why I know.