More Johnson Problems

[samo_ott]

Re: More Johnson Problems

Is it an exhaust cover screw or a head bolt? It's not really clear. Do you have a pic of it?

 

[guy74]

Re: More Johnson Problems

I would cut the head off the bolt with a dremel tool with a carbide cutter or the equivelent, then remove the cover off what is left of the bolt. Use a little heat and vise grips to remove the rest of the bolt. That is the method that I have the most success with in situations like this. I remove broken studs and stripped bolts all the time, probably every other day. It's part of working on heavy equipment that is over 25 years old.

 

[jbjennings]

Re: More Johnson Problems

--Thought of one more plan based on the last post. you could cut the head off like he said, use some heat, take two nuts and if there's enough threads left, you could screw the two nuts on and using 2 wrenches, back the inside nut against the outside nut and then use a wrench on the inside nut to back it out of the hole. Remember, it could be corroded and those old bolts WILL shear off in the block if you use too much force and you'll have to do all the pain in the rear stuff mentioned in my previous posts. It can turn into a booger so you might take it to someone as mentioned earlier and get them to do it--it may be worth 30 or 40 bucks just to not have the mental agony of worrying about it.
JBJ
BTW, get that rascal fixed and be sure to tell us how she runs!

 

[Benny1963]

Re: More Johnson Problems

hi have had plenty of broke bolts if you cant use one of the methods listed
and the bolt is broke off flush get you a set of drill bit and some cutting oil
center punch bolt dead center ,very important. start with samll drill bit.
drill hole in center, be carefull not to drill to deep, keep stepping up in size,
until you get to the size under the bolt your drilling . the only thing left is the actual threads. pick the thred out a little ways. then take a tap the size of your bolt and tap hole, work tap back and forth remove tap and clean and reoil in regular intervals . be carefull not to brak bit or tap off in hole.
if you drill the threads out .you can drill oversize and pit in helicoil.
my local machine shop charges 35 to 65 dollars a hole to helicoil or remove bolt . if you dont feel comfortable . take it to a machine shop.
good luck your not the only new boatmotor guy to have problems
dont give up
benny b

 

[BillP]

Re: More Johnson Problems

Don't even come close to forcing it. Use several cycles of heat before getting tough. Don't use a torch for heat unless an expert...otherwise it can puddle alum in a flash of a second and totally ruin your day. If nothing else use a hair dryer. Sometimes it takes me 5+ cycles of heating/cooling to break hard core studs loose...and that comes while tapping with a mallet and penetrating oil. Along with heat I also use ice on the area to help widen the expansion/contraction window. Take much care in centering the drill and if you have reverse drill bits use them...some screws will back out with them while drilling...but EZ outs are almost mandatory and make life very simple. Before I bought EZ outs I kept drilling larger holes until the threads could be picked out...it works but requires near perfect drilling alignment. Chase the theads when done to clean.

 

[duckhunter55]

Re: More Johnson Problems

Thanks for all the help guys, but here come the catch, which i forgot to m,ention. Its the very last bolt, but it is also the the bolt on the very bottom. The head of the bolt seems to be pretty well rusted so im guesing thats whats holding her in there is lots of rust. There is no room to get a drill or even a dremel tool. I think i will try fileing down the sides of bolt head and use a hair dryer several time to loosten it. Probly only got about 1 1/2in. of clearance, and cant get a socket on her neither. If push comes to shove and i cant get it out i might try and smear some type of gasket sealer compound around entire seal area. Do yall think this would work? Or have any stuff you have used before? Trying to get boat back on water for SAt. duck hunting

 

[jbjennings]

Re: More Johnson Problems

First off, Duckhunter55, you'll be late Sat. because that nice cold front is coming through today! Anyway, you'll probably not have much luck with using sealant. It needs to be tight. It might even allow exhaust gases to enter your water jackets and mess up the cooling. Go ahead and give in and prepare to take your powerhead off so you can get to that bolt. It sounds like you're going to need more heat than a blow dryer and a really good job getting that bolt to hold a wrench. It's probably still going to shear off so be prepared for the worst. Just my opinion.
JBJ
BTW, where do you duck hunt and what species are you after. Mallards are all mine so don't dare let me find out you've been shooting them.