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I am relying on the brain trust to get me out of this one.
I am in the process of replacing the valve cover gaskets again. I used my dental loupes and found micro-cracks in six of the bolt holes of the right side cam cover. I sealed them using super glue. I used new OE gaskets, grommets, and seals.
The left side has fought me. One of the coil bolts would just spin freely. I ended up drilling out the bolt head to be able to remove the coil and then was able to lift out the cam cover.
Now I can’t figure out how to remove what’s left of the bolt or the insert! Any ideas?
Is the bolt spinning in the insert or is the insert spinning with the bolt in the cover?
You might get some vice grips on the bolt and pull while rotating it. I’d guess that the brass insert is probably pressed into the plastic or is epoxied rather than threaded and does not go all the way through to the oil side. (I have never had the cam covers off to know for myself)
Is the bolt spinning in the insert or is the insert spinning with the bolt in the cover?
You might get some vice grips on the bolt and pull while rotating it. I’d guess that the brass insert is probably pressed into the plastic or is epoxied rather than threaded and does not go all the way through to the oil side. (I have never had the cam covers off to know for myself)
The insert is spinning with the bolt. I have tried pulling while rotating with vice grips, among other things. It just sits there mocking me as I am miserably defeated.
However, an idea just popped into my head. I could apply some JB-Weld on the rim of the insert and the plastic of the cam cover and attempt to fix the insert in place and see if I can then use the vice grips to spin the bolt. Do you think that could work?
Last edited by giandanielxk8; 02-20-2021 at 08:03 PM.
That's the same silly idea Jaguar thought up to hold the coil cover bolts too. I had a couple do this.
If the brass ferrule is spinning in the cam cover, you should be able to twist and pull on the remains of the bolt with a pair of pliers to get it out. Pop the bolt into a vice and grip the ferrule to unscrew - perhaps a bit of heat and releasing fluid will help.
The ferrules have a serrated circumference:- I smeared some high-temp JB Weld around the outside to fix them back in the cam cover. Make sure to clean out the hole so the ferrule sits flush and torque just a tad more than finger tight when you put things back together.
edit:- Charlie beat me to it.
The insert will eventually come out as the serrations will 'grind' it free. I doubt you will be able to hold it just with epoxy around the top
That's the same silly idea Jaguar thought up to hold the coil cover bolts too. I had a couple do this.
If the brass ferrule is spinning in the cam cover, you should be able to twist and pull on the remains of the bolt with a pair of pliers to get it out. Pop the bolt into a vice and grip the ferrule to unscrew - perhaps a bit of heat and releasing fluid will help.
The ferrules have a serrated circumference:- I smeared some high-temp JB Weld around the outside to fix them back in the cam cover. Make sure to clean out the hole so the ferrule sits flush and torque just a tad more than finger tight when you put things back together.
edit:- Charlie beat me to it.
The insert will eventually come out as the serrations will 'grind' it free. I doubt you will be able to hold it just with epoxy around the top
Ok, so, any ideas on how I can grip the ferrule? Using JB Weld is just wishful thinking on my part.
You can't while it remains in the cam cover.
I don't recall it being too difficult to get the ferrule out - just took my time and it eventually wore its way out of the plastic.
You can't while it remains in the cam cover.
I don't recall it being too difficult to get the ferrule out - just took my time and it eventually wore its way out of the plastic.
I will just remain hopeful that that does happen. So far it doesn’t seem to have the intentions of wearing out of the plastic. Do you happen to know if I have to spin the ferrule clockwise or counterclockwise for it to wear through?
With the insert out you could grind small slots then drill corresponding small dia. hole with insert in place and drive in small pins, nails etc. to lock insert in place. All this with your JB Weld also.
Thanks! I made sure to do so before JB Welding it into its place. I have also refitted everything back in the car did not have any problem torquing the new bolt to 5 Nm. I will let the car sit a full day without starting it because the black RTV I added in the two spots where the timing cover contacts the heads requires a 24 hour cure time. As a matter of fact, the same goes for the superglue I used on the cracks in the cam cover bolt holes.
I hope the vibrations from drilling the bolt out to remove the coil did not damage its internal electronics. I also have my fingers crossed and knock on wood in hopes that I have finally eradicated my cam cover oil leaks. I guess I won't know until I start the car.
There is not much to a plug coil, really just a small transformer that turns current into a high voltage for the spark plug. A little drilling should not harm it.
...the same goes for the superglue I used on the cracks in the cam cover bolt holes...
May be okay in this case since the geometry of the cracks probably helps quite a bit here with the glue acting as a convoluted plug, but just for reference unless it has been formulated for high temperature, superglue loses much/all of its strength in repeated thermal cycling over about 80C.
02-20-2021, 07:47 PM
Any ideas on how to remove this?
