bolt broke off in block......crap

[apoc987]

i got my car worked on by tisher nissan a few months ago for a new water pump and they mentioned to me that one or two of my bolts that bolt the header to the block were a little loose so they tightened them for me. i thought ok i dont know how they got loose but whatever thanks i guess. yesterday i was tinkering with my car and im just checking up on things under the hood and i get out my torque wrench to check the header bolts. i notice the second or third from the left is loose so i try to tighten it but its still very loose so i pull it out and notice its only half a bolt! i think when the dealership tightened it they went past the torque specs and snapped it in half. so now i have half a bolt in the block, how should i go about removing it? i dont have a lot of tools so should i just take it to a shop to get it removed? how much is this gonna cost me?

[gomd3]

dang, you can always try to drill it out and tap it. Or if it's a bolt that goes into the engine block, you can probably use a reverse drill bit to take it out. Just go to home depot and check what options are available. Keep in mind if you have enough room to do all this.

[lysander]

It's gotta be: Take it back to the dealer and complain. Make him fix it, and if he won't, complain to Nissan directly. I don't understand what they were doing screwing around with header bolts which have nothing to do with replacing the water pump (we won't even go in to the question of why you needed the water pump replaced... I did mine recently after getting it diag'd at a garage, and it turned out it was only a pin hole in a hose). Jeez I hate dishonest mechanics and ones that just want to spin the meter.

[p10det]

this will be a hard thing to prove. bassiclly to fix the headers have to come off and the stud has to carfully be drilled and extracted. at that it might be a good idea that you replace all studs. allot of cars studs break ofer time.
it is very esentual that the stud does not get drilled to far other wise the head has to come off and get sent out for repare

[apoc987]

It's gotta be: Take it back to the dealer and complain. Make him fix it, and if he won't, complain to Nissan directly. I don't understand what they were doing screwing around with header bolts which have nothing to do with replacing the water pump (we won't even go in to the question of why you needed the water pump replaced... I did mine recently after getting it diag'd at a garage, and it turned out it was only a pin hole in a hose). Jeez I hate dishonest mechanics and ones that just want to spin the meter.

yea i think it would be nearly impossible to prove......especially since its not on record that they tightened the bolts they just told me they did.

[Kerr]

Unless you have an exhaust leak, or, you are a contoll freak, there is really no reason to do this. That bolt will probably be a pita, especially where it is. I mean really, can you think how hard it would be to stand over the engine and fit a drill down there between the enginge and the raditator .

[lysander]

Dealerships, to some extent, work to maintain good will with customers. You shouldn't have to prove anything. Give them a try as being honest and/or into what's good for business (keeping you happy). If they turn out to be assholes, try Nissan directly. Most auto companies will cover customer complaints with dealers- again, good business. You don't have anything to lose by trying to put it back on who's responsible. Many states also have laws that protect customers from unscrupulous mechanics, or, as last resort, you could take them to small claims court. Jeez, they broke it, they should fix it.

[Zidane]

Same thing happened to me when I installed my header, except it was my fault. I had someone else fix it, but it isn't too big of a deal. Did you get the mechanic's name by any chance? That should help when trying to get them to fix it.

[apoc987]

yea i know the guys name that worked on it. i know its not that big of a deal if one bolt is off but id still like to get it fixed just for my own comfort. im driving without it right now and there are no leaks and i double checked and torqued the remaining 7 bolts to make sure everything is safe. how much did it cost you to get it fixed?

[Zidane]

It came out to $135. If I had the tools I would have done it myself, but to do it I would have needed a 90 degree drill.