[DeTomaso] Busted motor mount bolt

Charles Engles cengles at cox.net
Mon Mar 5 23:23:51 EST 2007


Dear Uncle Jack,

           You wrote:

. But the left side mount must be unbolted from the car and
> engine, then split in two by unfastening the long connecting bolt between 
> the
> halves, while the assembly is still captured between the frame, engine and
> gearshift support. This allows you to separate the halves and work them 
> around the
> gearshift support.

%%%%%%%%%      The left side is two piece??    In all my engine removal & 
reinstallation misadventures, I have never noticed that either side mounts 
were anything but single pieces.   Have the  Italian  craftsmen deceived 
me??



            so my preferred method is to get a good cutting torch, heat up 
the visible
> end of the broken bolt, and once its red-hot, hit the oxygen lever! The
> remains of the bolt will come out as a fountain of molten steel, so wear a 
> welding
> hood & arm protection! There seems to be a sort of insulation-barrier 
> between a
> bolt and the part its broken off inside, so the block threads will be
> completely unharmed. I've even done this to broken studs in cast-iron 
> exhaust
> manifolds. Run a tap thru the hole to clean it out and use std gr-5 
> replacement
> bolts.

&&&&&&&   I have never done this, but it has a number of appealing 
characteristics:   lots of heat,  an offending broken bolt glowing red hot, 
instantaneous molten metal and a wonderful pyrotechnic solution to a broken 
bolt that does NOT involve a damnable (misnamed surely) "easyout"...!


                      Light the torch.......,   Chuck Engles 




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