burtonrider11
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2005
- Messages
- 178
And my saga continues. After summerizing our boat and thinking we were good to go this weekend, we went to the boat launch to get our first day on the water of 2016. Boat is a 1997 Starcraft 2010SS, Merc 5.7 2bbl, serial number 0K010675 Lo and behold, despite running in the driveway, the motor did not want to start. A few more tries cranking and then nothing. Turned off the blower, opened the engine hatch and could hear the starter motor. I reached down and could feel the starter motor swaying from side to side. Obviously, we've lost a starter bolt.
So after my frustration subsided and we were home, I was able to pluck the rogue bolt from the bilge. Broken. So this means I now have a piece still attached to the block. I tore deeper, removing starboard manifold and then removing starter. I had replaced the starter late last summer and had some problems with it making some noises when turning over last year, I had assumed perhaps something was wrong, now I wonder if that bolt had broken some time ago and had just enough thread to stay in place until it finally vibrated it's way out - it does have about a half a thread right now. The broken bolt is the one closest to the block, even better.
I did some research and think (and hope) I can punch the existing thread and use a left hand drill bit and/or extractor to remove what's left. I really want to avoid pulling the motor, it's beyond my technical capability and I don't want to pay $800 to do it either....
So this leaves me with some concerns as to why the bolt broke in the first place. Was it just a matter of undertorquing/overtorquing? Like an idiot, my torque wrench didn't fit, so I did it by feel, shame on me
I will be getting another one to fit this time. Could it just be a 19 year bolt, that after years of heating up and cooling down and having force exerted on it, finally had enough? Perhaps after the initial snugging of said bolts, I should have gone back and re-tightened them to make sure.
When I put everything back together, I am thinking about using some ARP or other "high strength" bolts for this application. I have both existing and will make sure they are an exact match. Would it be recommended to use Threadlocker? I didn't see anything on the existing bolts when I pulled them out initially.
If anyone has any tips on removing the existing and advice on how to make sure this risk is mitigated in the future, I would greatly appreciate it!
So after my frustration subsided and we were home, I was able to pluck the rogue bolt from the bilge. Broken. So this means I now have a piece still attached to the block. I tore deeper, removing starboard manifold and then removing starter. I had replaced the starter late last summer and had some problems with it making some noises when turning over last year, I had assumed perhaps something was wrong, now I wonder if that bolt had broken some time ago and had just enough thread to stay in place until it finally vibrated it's way out - it does have about a half a thread right now. The broken bolt is the one closest to the block, even better.
I did some research and think (and hope) I can punch the existing thread and use a left hand drill bit and/or extractor to remove what's left. I really want to avoid pulling the motor, it's beyond my technical capability and I don't want to pay $800 to do it either....
So this leaves me with some concerns as to why the bolt broke in the first place. Was it just a matter of undertorquing/overtorquing? Like an idiot, my torque wrench didn't fit, so I did it by feel, shame on me
I will be getting another one to fit this time. Could it just be a 19 year bolt, that after years of heating up and cooling down and having force exerted on it, finally had enough? Perhaps after the initial snugging of said bolts, I should have gone back and re-tightened them to make sure. When I put everything back together, I am thinking about using some ARP or other "high strength" bolts for this application. I have both existing and will make sure they are an exact match. Would it be recommended to use Threadlocker? I didn't see anything on the existing bolts when I pulled them out initially.
If anyone has any tips on removing the existing and advice on how to make sure this risk is mitigated in the future, I would greatly appreciate it!
