lower unit to exhaust housing bolts twisted off

[Jmac870]

Looking for some advice here, removed the lower unit of my 76 johnson 9.9 (10E76G) and in the process 2 of the 6 bolts that hold it on twisted off and are flush with the inside threads so there is no grabbing ahold of them with vice grips. My question is if I were to leave it and just replace the 4 good bolts will I run into any issues? if so how should I go about getting them removed, some sort of machine shop to drill them out and re-tap? Any advice appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

[F_R]

Re: lower unit to exhaust housing bolts twisted off

Well, they put six bolts in there for a reason. But if you want to trust your luck with four, that's your privilege. Personally, I'd drill out the broken ones and install Heli-Coils if necessary. BUT.....if you are inexperienced in doing this, you probably will make a bad situation worse. Those stainless steel screws in aluminum are difficult and tricky to drill. I've done a bazillion of them, and still have some fear. Best to have a pro do it.....one that has experience doing it. You might find him at an outboard repair shop, if you have a good one in your area.

 

[Jmac870]

Re: lower unit to exhaust housing bolts twisted off

no repair shops with 2 hours of me unfortunately, and yes I am definitely not experiences enough to do this myself. There is a small engine mechanic with a very good reputation not far from me though I may ask if he has any experience with drilling these out. As for the heli-coils I am going to look them up as im not sure what they are.
Thanks for input

 

[rothfm]

Re: lower unit to exhaust housing bolts twisted off

Somethimes jobbing it out isnt that expensive.

While I like the challenge at times of removing broken, rusted, stuck stuff...If its important enough there are real pro's available.

I was lucky enough to find a shop 1 town away, that is awsome at removing broken things. I brought him a 90hp block with various broken things, some with easy-outs broken inside bolts. He removed them all for me for $75 bucks including a degreasing bath. Very, very worth it.

 

[boobie]

Re: lower unit to exhaust housing bolts twisted off

You best bet is to find a good repair or machine shop.