O.K. I thought I'd take advantage of a decent afternoon and install the Thermocouple for the pyro of my new Quadzilla Commander. I didn't have time to complete the install but I thought I'd at least get the hole drilled and tapped and the thermocouple mounted. I started out drilling an 1/8" pilot hole as I've heard recommended (I was a bit unsure anyway due to the small bit) and guess what, fears realized as the drill bound up and the bit snapped off in the manifold. This ruined my day!!! Then of course the only two options are remove the manifold or the up pipe to the turbo. I chose to go with the up pipe since it seemed to be the quicker of the two. Well one of the bolts broke as expected, and the other nut came off normally. As I loosened the top bolts, the pipe shifted and bound the remaining bottom bolt and then it wouldn't come out. I ended up cutting the bolt with a sawzall and then when I tried to take the threaded end out it too broke leaving the short piece inside the manifold flange(I actually didn't know this until I started to re-install the up pipe). As you all know there is NO room to get a punch or anything in that area to push out the broken bolt. I thought I had it made after getting the broken bit out and drilling/tapping for the original project, the up pipe even went right back into position but the broken bolt stopped that cold. So now I am again stuck with possibly removing the manifold if I can't get the bolt out tomorrow. I would really rather not have to remove the manifold.

Any suggestions????

Thanks,
John
2003 CC 4x4 dually, K&N FIPK intake, Supertuner Max Microtuner, 91 gallon RDS tank/toolbox combo, soon to be Quadzilla Commander and hopefully a DP Tuner soon.

 

Is the bolt broken off enuff where you could get a dremmel and cutoff wheel to cut a slot in it and use a screwdriver?

 

or is there room for an angle drill and a left-hand drill bit?

 

theres barely room for your hands in the up-pipes. so you got the bit out of the manifold? it sounds like you are going to have to take the manifolds off to get the bolt out of the up-pipes anyway and hopefully no more bolts break off but manifolds are never easy to get off because the rust. if there is room a left hand drill or a drill bit and easy out might work. spray everything with pb blaster a couple times to try and loosen everything up. thats exactly why i diddnt use a 1/8 bit. i know from working in a machine shop they break easily if you try to use them by hand on cast iron hope you get everything fixed. do you have any pictures maybe they will help us out to give you some ideas.

 

The bolt is in the manifold flange and an angle drill is my next step. This part of the bolt is not threaded so I'll try both types of bit. I don't have pics but I'll let you guys know what happens tomorrow.

Thanks,
John

 

O.K. I didn't get to resume my project until Tuesday evening due to babysitting duties (don't laugh), but all is well. After liberal application of Kano (it's about like PB Blaster) and an extra day to soak, the broken bolt came out with a reasonable amount of driving. I made a long rod and ground the end so that my dad could hit it from outside the frame under the fender. This did the trick and the up pipe went in without much trouble. I was careful to not overtighten the bolts and I also replaced the donut at the top of the up pipe as the last thing I wanted was to have to remove the darned thing again later.

By the way, has anyone purchased the manifold flange bolts from the stealership? The bolt was $9 and change and the nut was $5.40- that's outrageous. It's just a 5/16 bolt with a smaller than normal washer style head and a washer style nut. I was already there and didn't want to take any chances on finding one the right length, so I took it and limped home.

Thanks for the support and I'll let you know when I finish my Quadzilla Commander install (this is the original project).

John
2003 CC dually 4x4, K & N FIPK intake, Superchips Max Microtuner (soon to be a DP Tuner), 91 gallon RDS transfer tank/toolbox combo, soon to be a Quadzilla Commander monitor

 

Good to hear. Any time you get away from the dealership with parts for less than $20.00, you don't need to limp. And I, like Muktown, choose to start with a larger bit. Me and 1/8 bits have had issues in the past.

 

This is a warning to all... DO NOT STEP UP THE DRILL BIT... DRILL IT ONCE!

Sorry this happened, them up pipes are a bear...