14 replies to this topic

[OllyD]

Hi guys, having a really bad day today!

Last night noticed an extreme clunking from the engine, shaking the whole car. Pulled over at a petrol station and the engine steady bolt that attaches to the engine had fallen out and gone. My engine had about 6-7 inches of movement and the engine was actually hitting the bulkhead when i accelerated. Blue-petered a pen in its place with some packaging tape and drove carefully home.

I then took the same bolt off my old knackered 998, but to my absolute dismay at 11pm last night, the bolt seems too big! I've got an MG metro 1275 and it was finding the hole,but wouldn't engage the thread. But i've checked minispares websitend they only have one size of bolt on there, indicating a universal size.

I bodged the engine in place today so i could get to work, but i'm getting all sorts of problems now. Fuel is plummeting at a rdiculous rate, funny noises are coming from the fan, and I want to cry! I need my car for everything, i live in the styx and am lost without transport.

What bolt do i need/why won't it fit/can i get the bolt from any autoshop and if so what exactly size should i ask for?

Thanks guys!

[THE ANORAK]

could be that the tread is damaged ???

you can get special brackets that you fit when the normal bolt has sheared off, they are a bit like adaptor plates and use other stud holes in the block instead of the original ones, maybe you need one of these ???

[Big_Adam]

The long bolt is 5/16ths not idea on lenght,

http://www.minispare....aspx?pid=32758

repair bracket if you need it. Bolts to the flywheel housing.

[emalee]

how about a ultmate head steady, my bolt there snapped off, leaving half in the block,

its kinda hard to drill out, so now i've just got a head steady and the engine hardly moves!!!

[Big_Adam]

From the many posts I've read about the UES (ultimate engine steady) is that you should never use it on it's own or you'll rip out the thermostat studs.

that and the UES is a pain in the arse to work around,.

[taffy1967]

The Moss Mini Parts Catalogue has a list of bolts and screws etc and their sizes too. (Not sure if thats shown on their website though).

So it might be worth contacting them to get the exact O/E size you need.

I also hear that the bolt holding the engine steady on the bulkhead bracket should be identical, so you could undo and remove that to test.

Good excuse to replace/renew the bushes anyway?

[Dan]

The repair brackets are currently unavailable as the guy who made them retired. I posted my only repair bracket off to another unlucky Mini Forumer who needed one a few weeks ago. Supplies are drying up fast of this much needed part.

Are you sure the old bolt isn't still in the hole preventing the new one from threading? It is far more common for it to snap than fall out.

And as above, don't rely on an Ultimate Engine Steady only. That can lead to real damage. It is very bad to drive the car with no steady rod fitted.

Edited by Dan, 11 March 2007 - 10:48 PM.

[Retro_10s]

KAD lower engine stead, get two... jobs a good'n with a the standard head steady as well.

Even just one of the KAD lower engine steadies and the standard head steady will pretty much stay dead still.

[OllyD]

Just taken the breather off the clutch so i could swivel the engine steady out the way and see the thread... and the bolt's snapped. I rally don't want a repair kit as they're £20. Is there any way to remove the broken bolt from the hole?


I've also just found I've got petrol in my oil, as well as an oil leak from my sump plug. Woe is me!

[taffy1967]

Just taken the breather off the clutch so i could swivel the engine steady out the way and see the thread... and the bolt's snapped. I rally don't want a repair kit as they're £20. Is there any way to remove the broken bolt from the hole?

Is the bolt protruding beyond the hole? If it is then you could get a nut welded on the end, so your able to then unscrew it out. If there's nothing protruding, then it's not easy to get the bolt out with the engine in situ. You could ask a local engineering firm for help, because they may have the necessary tools or a drill small enough to fit between the engine and inner wings, but fitting a repair bracket would solve the problem in no time, even if you wanted it sorted properly afterwards. I believe Mini Spares are trying to get those repair brackets manufactured by another company since the owner of the other one retired.

I've also just found I've got petrol in my oil, as well as an oil leak from my sump plug. Woe is me!

If there's petrol in your oil then you shouldn't drive your Mini because it's now a very effective bomb. Sounds like the petrol pump seal has gone perhaps?

As for the sump plug, just fitting a new washer after you've treated it to an oil change usually works. So long as you tighten it up correctly and the threads haven't gone.

[Musto]

this happend to me like last week. you can get a thing called an "easy out", you have to drill a small pilot hole in the snapped thead. then wind the easy out in . its a reverse thead so you have to spin it anti clockwise. The tip is a bit like a screw, so when it grabs in the pilot hole it winds the bolt out! it only costs like a fiver and you get about 6 sizes.

i got them from a small local buisenss, but there made buy draper so someware should have them.

and drilling the pilot hole---NOT EASY, dont think you can use a cordless, i had a air powerd drill so its quite small.#

good luck

[Retro_10s]

Expect an Ezi-out to break Ezi-ly and never come out.

[OllyD]

Just bit the bullet and ordered a strady repair kit, fuel pump and a head gasket set.



I was already poor this month, now I'm barren!

[Dan]

You've made the right choice. The repair kit only exists because it is nearly impossible to remove the broken bolt with the engine in the car. A small right angled air drill is about the only tool capable of doing it. Easy outs are indeed rubbish for anything that is properly torqued up or a little corroded.

I am surprised that they now have the bracket in stock. Maybe it depends on which of the four types you ordered?

[OllyD]

Well, all 4 variations are showing up in stock- I hope that they actually are! I had to go for the one that fits around the breather on the clutch housing, which was £7 more expensive than the others. Hopefully a little less common as well?

Thanks for all the replies guys!