Posting it here since I trust the people that browse this section...

I replaced the distributor cap and rotor on my Accord today, and snapped one of the 3 screws that hold the plastic cap+gasket to the metal distributor housing. The remainder of the screw sits recessed (not flush/sticking out) in the threaded hole...

Can I safely extract it without damaging the surrounding threads, or is helicoil going to be my friend? As far as I can tell, it looks like a 3mm bolt, but I may be wrong...

Everything works fine with one screw missing (sealed and aligned decently), but I obviously need to fix it eventually. I've located a cheap junkyard '99 Accord distributor, but I don't think my '02 internals will swap over (friend had a problem going from '00 to '02).

Don't know what caused me to use a ratchet to tighten it, last time a screwdriver sufficed


Modified by LX4CYL at 4:08 AM 10/21/2005


Modified by LX4CYL at 4:10 AM 10/21/2005


Modified by LX4CYL at 4:11 AM 10/21/2005

 

Just drill and tap the hole, always works for me. I usually end up doing this once or twice every couple of months.

Damn customers who come in with their rust buckets for their bi-decade tune up.....LOL

 

If I drill/tap it, won't I have to use a different sized screw from now on, or did you mean something else (like helicoil)?

<----n00b

 

so what your saying is you snapped the head off of the screw?

your saying recessed? which would mean it sits inside the hole but then you say there is some sticking out, how about you take a pic

If there is some sticking out just grab it with some vice grips

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Casey@Burns &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so what your saying is you snapped the head off of the screw?

your saying recessed? which would mean it sits inside the hole but then you say there is some sticking out, how about you take a pic

If there is some sticking out just grab it with some vice grips
</TD></TR></TABLE>

No no, I meant not flush, not sticking out. It's basically the majority of the threaded portion that's stuck in the hole, below the surface (recessed). I just wanted to know if I could use a Drill-Out or something to extract the screw, without damaging the surrounding hole threads...

I'm going to try threading another screw into that hole, and see if it will continue to wind the snapped portion thru and pop it out on the other side (forgot to try)...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LX4CYL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The remainder of the screw sits recessed (not flush/sticking out) in the threaded hole...</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Mine snapped flush with the shaft.

I drilled a tiny hole ... and used the EZ out. then I just unscrewed it.
hopefully you didnt thread it in too tightly.

 

I used an EZ out on a 6mm water pump bolt that I had overtightened and snapped. It worked like a charm. It probably took me about 20 mins total. IMO, it's worth a try vs drilling and tapping.

- Scott

 

I also would recommend the easy out. So long as the screw isnt bottomed out (which i think the housing is theaded all the way through, so it shouldnt be), the screw should be fairly loose in the housing. With an easy out, it should come out with little effort.

 

Or you could just go duct tape/getto style and drill it out oversized, then put in a longer bolt and put a nut on the back.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by LX4CYL &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If I drill/tap it, won't I have to use a different sized screw from now on, or did you mean something else (like helicoil)?

&lt;----n00b </TD></TR></TABLE>

No, just drill the hole out and tap it with the same size thread as what it is supposed to use. I forget what size of drill bit to use to use a tap of that size, but it will be listed in the drill chart that usually comes with the tap/die set. As long as you are very carefull to start drilling in the absolute center of the old broken off bolt, you will be OK.

 

For anyone that cares, we tried extracting the screw and fudged it up even more. Instead of spending a little time/money and downtime by *trying* to fix the hole, I bought a used '99 Accord distributor on eBay for $16 shipped I figure it would be best to just strip it bare, swap in my existing '02 distributor internals, and install it on the car, essentially swapping housings in the process...

As soon as it came in the mail I stripped it of it's cap, ICM, igniter coil, and that *other* thing:




Is there any way I can remove the shaft+bearing entirely? Whenever I get time to pull my existing unit off the car, would it be a good idea to swap in my existing '02 shaft/bearing and/or install a fresh new bearing?

Apparently distributor bearing failures are a messy/expensive ordeal, so would it be wise to prevent this junkyard part from causing problems down the road? Waste of time?

The service manual does not show how to remove the shaft/bearing, neither does Honda stock a seperate replacement assembly. All I see are two screws, and what appears to be a pin holding the camshaft tooth-wheel in place, which prevents the entire assembly from sliding out...




It's a NSK 6000DU bearing, same as one of the bearings on the alternator of some of the Honda Goldwing bikes; can be had for a few bucks...