Didn't get anywhere trying to remove a broken thermostat bolt and before I do permanent damage to the intake thought it might just be best to remove the intake to gain better access to the broken bolt, or at least take the intake into a machine shop incase they need to retap the hole. How hard is it to remove the intake? I'm intimidated by the fuel injection part of this, lots of wires and crap. If this were a basic carburated motor I would hesitate, but??? Oh, it's your basic fuel injected 351 '94' with AC.

 

not hard at all. just kinda teadeous. make sure you dont bust anything, youll need fuel line shims, or whatever their called. the things that seperate the connections. and just take your time and remember where everything goes. good luck nik

 

Yea will need a long torx bit to remove the upper intake off the lower intake. I believe its a T20. I used one that was in the form of a 1/4 bit and then a 1/4 socket with a 1/4 extension to fit into the intake. You cant use a normal 3/8 bit torx as it doesnt fit. I did buy 1 from my Snap On truck but it was like 40 bucks. The one I got from the hardware store for 50 cent worked just fine. The harness once unplugged swings out of the way. Its really easy.

 

Deja vu. you are going throught the same thing i didnt when i broke the thermostat housing bolts on my truck. The closest bolt to the front on the driver side on the head will break off too, if you dont get it just right. Thats the one im working on now.

 

I'm assuming you tried spraying with a real penetrant, like PB Blaster, Kroil, etc, for days at a time? And tried some mild heating/cooling cycles, with a propane torch, if possible, to get the bolt to move? (Heat the boss around the bolt, not the bolt itself, which might tighten it.) I would really exhaust all of those remedies before I removed the intake--but then, I'm lazy!

I never did an intake, but I have a suggestion: take lots of pics with your digital camera. No need to load them onto a computer, and you can delete them as soon as you're done. But I've found a digital camera to be a great asset, allowing me to work a little faster, despite having to take the pics, because I don't have to try so hard to remember where everything went. I do a fair amount of small engine work, and I find the tiny carbs on chainsaws, etc..., are less challenging if I photo them as I tear them down.

I'm too lazy to go out and look at my t-stat housing, but could you CUT THE T-stat HOUSING AWAY, say, with an angle grinder and a cut-off disc, or a DREMEL and a cut-off disc, even partially, to expose more of the bolt, to get a better bite on it with some Vise-grips? If possible, this would also allow you to get penetrant further down toward the seized threads.

Also, some say they weld a nut on the end of the bolt, and use that to turn it, but I've never tried that. And rapping it, carefully, with a hammer and (flat) punch, may help shake things loose.

Lastly, if it were mine, and all else failed, I'd show it to a tech or a machine shop that's comfortable installing Heli-coils, and see if they'd be willing to drill it, to avoid having to pull the intake.

Just my .02.

Good luck with it.

BigSix1

 

Yep, tried most of the above mentioned techniques, but not the welding a nut part though that did cross my mind. Actually the housing is off, I only busted one of the bolts. I agree about the camera, can't hurt to have too many pics. Thanks for the advice everyone. I'm going to wait until it warms up alittle then go out and start tearing into it and will let you all know.