i recentley installed skunk2 camshafts, after installation i noticed a ticking-grinding noise coming fro the distributor. i replaced the distributor and the noise was still there so i took the car to a nameless mechanic to see if he could find the problem,
he adjusted the valves and took the cams out to seee if thats where the noise was coming from. everything looked fine so he put everything back together and the noise went away, except one of the bolts that go in the cam holders broke off where the threads start. he told me that it should be alright, but he gave me the car back without fixing it. Idont want to take it back to him because of this, so my question is how do i remove this broken bolt. any and all suggestions are appreciated. please help!

 

any pictures?

 

usually someone breaks / snaps/ overstretches one of the smaller bolts that are at the end of the cam holders, in faact they are over the end caps I believe.
you can use an easy out to remove it.
you can also drill it out and retap the hole. --- this may require you to use a larger thread bolt.
you can also have a reputable shop do it all for you.

I would not run the car hard or for long with the broken bolt as is (missing). you are asking for trouble if you run it this way for long. I stretched my bolts at the ends by using the wrong torque specs the first time I changed cams and almost broke them. I bought replacements online and removed the stretched ones and installed the new ones to proper torque (such a tiny amount too!). So also check the other end bolts by removing them and looking for stretching where the threads begin and the smooth portion of the bolt starts.

good luck, this should not be too hard to do.

 

These 10mm bolts are easily broken so it is not uncommon.
There are several options.

1) take it back to the Nameless Mech and give him a chance, if he is willing, to fix it. If he refuses you can sue him to have it fixed.
2) Remove the head and take it to a Machine shop have them drill out the bolt and replace it.
3) Drill it out yourself. Go to Sears and get an extractor set it looks like a drill bit but when you drill it it will back the bolt out of there. You first use a standard hard metal bit to drill a small hole in the top of the broken bolt and then you use the extractor to back it out.

If you do this yourself you stand the chance of getting metal shavings into your crank case and this could be VERY damaging.
I would probably try to do it on my own just cause I like doing stuff on my own, but just be very careful with then metal burs

 

thanks for the info. i thought about drilling it out but, thats kind of scary to me. i dont want anythig else to go wrong , i paid to much for my motor to mess it up on something so stupid. but i guess ill probably try drilling it out anyways since i dont have that many options.
thanks for your help again!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by freakifran &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">thanks for the info. i thought about drilling it out but, thats kind of scary to me. i dont want anythig else to go wrong , i paid to much for my motor to mess it up on something so stupid. but i guess ill probably try drilling it out anyways since i dont have that many options.
thanks for your help again! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Pull the head and have a machine shop do it. It will be worth it for peace of mind. Cost of a New Head Gasket and some sweat may be better than risking the drill slipping and destryoing the mating surface for the Valve cover or getting shavings in your crankcase and destroying your cams or worse. If you don't feel comfortable doing it on your own then DON'T

 

I jsut got back from my friends house (rainman ek). We adjusted the cam gears and noticed the bolt I thought held down the cam holder was actually a bolt that held down the oil plate that sits on top of it. It is the last one on the right top, so i am not as worried, but i will fix it in the near future using the info. that you guys gave me. Thank you Spoond Teg for the info. and help. You can see my car at http://www.deepsouthhybrids.com or look at Rainman Ek's posts. peace