Hey, I have an 84' mini mayfair that i am restoring!? anyways took out the rad yester day (radiator) and then proceded to remove the thermostat housing when OMG two bolts snap in the casing, its still stuck on and i need to remove it from the cyclinder head and replace it? how do i go about sorting this issue? thanks GUYS AND GALS Kyle
Area that im talking about So this is where the thermostat housign is located, the bolts are snapped about half way down? ideas on removing these without damaging head? www.kyle981.co.uk/pics/engine.bmp
last time i done one of them we removed the stat housing and used mole grips , some times it works . just remember to give them a good hit of wd40 or something similar .... or you could try warming the area with a blow torch but it may take some time ... if they snap then its time for the drill and a easy out kit
If theres nothing protruding from the hole that you can grab with some plyers I would say your best bet is to SOAK, and I mean SOAK it in WD40, get a drill thats smaller than the bolt and drill down in to the bolt, if you get lucky the drill will catch on the bolt and allow you to unscrew it with the drill bit.
mole grip's would be my first thing after giving plenty of wd40. We have to use mole grip's at work to remove the out casing of the drum brakes on the quad's due to the rubbishy screw's and the rubbish that gets stuck!
Finish removing the thermostat housing. It looks like there is still a bolt holding it on. Remove it(or at least its head). Tap the housing loose with a rubber or plastic mallet. Once the housing and hose are removed you should be able to get a pair of vice grips on the broken bolts. Use penetrating oil. Try to unscrew them. Don't apply enough force to break them again just see if they will move at all. If any of them move, rock them back and forth to loosen them up. One thing I often try is heat. Heat the head and broken bolts. Spray the bolts to make them cool quicker than the head. Be careful, WD40 has been mentioned in this thread and is very flammable. Another caution: when using heat it is very possible to warp a surface that needs to be flat. Only use heat as a last resort. You can always drill out the bolts and fix or rethread the holes if you have to. If you are removing the head you can just take it to a machine shop.
Yep, lots of WD40. For future reference, if you need to remove bolts that hold hot parts to other parts then douse them with WD40 first, and take it slowly removing them. The heating and cooling of the parts they hold together stretches them or something and makes them prone to the head shearing off when you try to undo them.
Ok looks like ill have to drill them out, cus two of them are broken half way down, Rite ill ave a go today, keep you all updated! Kyle
Yo, If you've not attacked it yet then weld a nut to the top of the existing stud. Then get it off like that. That is if you have access to a welder. But if your drilling them out don't forget to do the thermostat housing but be careful with it as new ones tend to crack easily.
Ive soaked them in wd40 filled the gaps with it, so im goign to drill wen i get home (im staying at a mates) ## How do i know how far to drill down through the thermostat housign into the head?
