Guest NissanD21man Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I bought my 87 4cyl Pathfinder after someone had started to replace the clutch. I don't know what they did, but one of the bolt holes in the engine block was pretty distorted and the bolt wouldnt even come close to threading in. I bought a tap and tapped new threads in the hole but the bolt still wouldnt thread in, so I ran the tap through one more time. Of course you can guess what was next. Yup, I broke the tap off in the hole. :furious: Can anyone tell me whether or not all of the bellhousing to block bolts are truly necessary? The other three out of the 4 are in, and there are another two bolts with nuts at the bottom just bolting the bellhousing to that plate between the engine and trans. If I must have that last bolt in there, what can I do to get that piece of tap out without taking the transmission out again? That thing was a pain in the hiney to get lined up! I think if I get the tap out, I can just put a smaller diameter long bolt with a nut through it. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 hmmm.... is the tap now holding the housing in place? If it's anything loke my 95, those bolts are pretty large diameter. I'm sure you will lose a bit of strength with one missing but I doubt it's enough to drop your tranny while driving down the road. Also, the 4-banger doesn't generate enough torque on the tranny to possibly bust out the 3 remaining bolts by power alone. It'd probably take some serious off-roading to flex things enough to worry. Perhaps getting in there with a welder and making your own attachments. If you need to pull it apart again, you'll just have to grind out the welds or, better yet, drop it off at the dealership to replace the clutch and see if you can hear them cussing all the way at your house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 I disagree ... drill it out retap it with something larger - even if you dont THINK there is enough power to be concerned about, there IS! You are just asking for other bolts to break, transmission will bind, and if it binds, a whole lot of other stuff is going to break ... I know its a pain in the a$$, but do it the right way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 yah, what matterhorn said. they are there for a reason. If you wheel off-road I'd definately get that other bolt replaced. It the tap is holding it togather, you are prob ok for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 ok... I'll retract my opinion... but I still think welding it would be a nice touch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatterHorn Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 that might work if they were both of the same material ... cast aluminum and cast iron dont mix together so well ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NissanD21man Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 Thanks for the advice guys. I just got a titanium drillbit. Looks like I'm in for a fun-filled evening. :sniff: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87pathy Posted June 18, 2004 Share Posted June 18, 2004 You probably won't be able to drill out the broken tap. Get a tap extractor. they usually work pretty good. If you try to drill it out, you'll probably elongate the hole and then you'll never be able to fix it. After that Install a Heli-coil They aren't that expensive, the kit will run you about 30 bucks but you'll have it for any future stripped threads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sw Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 would also recomend a heli coil, there good stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Boy Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Remove the broken tap and if you have no luck with a heli coil, forget about the threaded end in the block either just buy a smaller diameter high tensile bolt with a nut or a longer bolt of the origional diameter and drill out whats left of the threaded end in the block. Go the whole way through the two casings with the bolt and put the nut on the other end. Better than leaving nothing there at all!!! In fact its probably just as good as the origional configuration any way if theres room to do it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest NissanD21man Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 The tap is out! Unable to locate a tap extractor, I went to Harbor Freight and bought a cheap set of punches for $5 and hammered on the tap. It came out in a few pieces after about an hour or so. I'm afraid to stick another tap in there. I think the steel plate between the block and bell housing is what made the tap bind up, and I really really don't want to pull the transmission back out and then put it back in. I'm going to buy a round file tonight and make the block hole just a little bigger so I can put a long 3/8" grade 8 bolt through with a lockwasher and stover nut. Between waiting for parts and little mishaps like the tap, this is going to be the longest clutch replacement in history, but at least it will be done right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Boy Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 Good man!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesmaximase Posted June 23, 2004 Share Posted June 23, 2004 You should only have to loosen up on all the bolts instead of taking the tranny back to move the metal shield/pan your talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now