Snapped bolt holding CV in

[muddfildvaynes]

SO I went to torque the 6 bolts holding CV's in and one of the bolts snapped off inside.... Can I run it like this or is this going to cause me problems? Or will it not bother me until I need to take the CV out eventually? How do I get it out, drill it? Any ideas would help

[RJSquirrel]

It has been my experience that when a fastener is missing/broken on some rotating assembly, the others will not stay tight for very long. It must be a uneven clamping load or balance issue that causes this. That fastener wouldn't be there if the engineers didn't think it was needed. Until you can get the broken bolt out, I'd make it a pretty regular job to make sure the rest of the bolts are torqued down properly. If it broke off down inside the hole, left-handed drill bits and/or easy-outs are probably the easiest way to remove them. Application of penetrating oil (PB-blaster and Kroil work wonderfully) and then heat cycling the part with a torch to help break up the rust. Be very careful when drilling out the bolt to minimize thread damage. When you are done, chase the threads with a tap. Good luck!

[180sx]

^^^ I concur.

 

Jose

[pathfounder]

I'd replace it real quick. If you need the vehicle right away, keep it in 2WD.

[fleurys]

drilling is the name of the game. Start with small bit and go bigger step by step.. You will eventually get to a point where you have not yet reach the threads, but are able to insert a screw driver or something in order to remove the fragments of the bolts...

 

get prepare for a good 20-40 minutes to do this... and go slowly

[01silvapathy]

I have always wanted to try and use an easy out to simply drill into the old bolt then bite it and reverse it out, but if you were torquing them there is probably alot of stress on that bolt already. What fleurys said was probably the best idea start with a small drill bit and progressively get bigger. I feel your pain, drilling at an angle is no fun

[Northernpathy]

Snapped one on the R50 and never got around to fixing it. No problems so far, even 4 months later. Even after wheeling with it twice. Though I blew the CV on the other side this weekend, so it looks like I will finally get around to changing it during the holiday break. While I have one side apart, I might as well fix that side.

 

You should be fine running around with one snapped one, but I would recommend changing it as soon as you can just to be sure.

[muddfildvaynes]

good to know... but i do alot of aggresive wheeling so I dont know how it will hold up.... plus I have always been a person to try to do things the right way the first time so I am going to repair it in the next couple days. Its going to be a long next couple weeks, the pathy will get some much needed love as I an going to service the drivetrain like the diffs, transfer case, transmission flush, oil change... And my rock slider will be in from ruggedrocks and I wanna do a snorkel, and a rear bumper if I can get my hands on a plasma cutter. I have been wheeling it pretty hard so it is time for some maintenance.

[shift220]

Running it with a single bolt missing won't give you any trouble structurally. There is still plenty of capacity there.

 

I've had good luck with those reverse thread tapered bolt removers. If you do have enough bolt sticking out, welding another bolt or nut on the end will generally work the best.