mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
11/7/19 8:56 a.m.

Does this thread directly to the head? Can you get a dremel or something on it to cut the head off, slide the valve off the remainder of the bolt and then take it out with vice grips? 

Daylan C
Daylan C PowerDork
11/7/19 10:55 a.m.

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

Me and Pete were messaging about this and I completely forgot about the fact that once the valve is removed more of the shaft will be exposed. 

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
11/7/19 11:04 a.m.

In reply to Daylan C :

Yea, I was mostly thinking how much it would suck to break it off flush with the head and how to not have that happen. 

Daylan C
Daylan C PowerDork
11/7/19 11:09 a.m.

In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :

I was mostly suggesting he try to not cut the head off because from what he was describing as his access hole, I don't know of a way to get a headless bolt out flush with the head without pulling the engine.

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
11/7/19 11:29 a.m.

In reply to Daylan C :

That may well still be a problem, but I'm pretty sure that worst case scenario the head can come off and have the bolt hole cleaned up. Not a great solution considering what it takes to pull the head. It might actually be easier to drop/lift the entire motor. 

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 11:52 a.m.

This bolt does thread directly to the head. I am trying to not cut the head off because access to the bolt is not ideal. 

Once the bolt head is cut off I would be able to slide the old valve body off. It's a possible option. Especially now that I have a new valve body with actuator and sender. But then I'm trying to get vise grips on it between the firewall and the motor. 

I will attempt bolt removal tonight with the new irwin removal tools tonight and then evaluate what the nuclear options are if that fails. 

 

 

 

 

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
11/7/19 12:13 p.m.

Ummm.....

Easy button:

Pull the plastics off the cowl. Use harbor freight unibit to drill hole above offending bolt. Put six point socket, extension, and drive with impact through the hole. 

Plug hole, reinstall plastics. Forget it ever happened. 

AWSX1686
AWSX1686 SuperDork
11/7/19 12:18 p.m.

Can you remove the front motor mount and pivot the engine forward at all? 

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 1:04 p.m.
Dusterbd13-michael said:

Ummm.....

Easy button:

Pull the plastics off the cowl. Use harbor freight unibit to drill hole above offending bolt. Put six point socket, extension, and drive with impact through the hole. 

Plug hole, reinstall plastics. Forget it ever happened. 

You've misunderstood what is happening. 

All the cowl plastics and the metal access panel under them are removed. The offending bolt is pointed backwards into the firewall.. coming out of the head of the motor  

Here's the FSM stuff for reference. 

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
11/7/19 1:07 p.m.

Take out the windshield, cut the cowl....

but seriously, what about pulling the front and rear mount bolts and rocking the engine forward? That was how you changed the rear plugs on GM transverse V6's. 

Dusterbd13-michael
Dusterbd13-michael MegaDork
11/7/19 1:23 p.m.

Well, crap. Didn't realize they were horizontal, not vertical. 

Daylan C
Daylan C PowerDork
11/7/19 1:57 p.m.

In reply to bobzilla :

You mean swivel and extension snake wasn't the answer for those?

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 2:15 p.m.

In reply to Dusterbd13-michael :

No worries man. This is a fun situation the whole way around. 

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 2:19 p.m.
bobzilla said:

Take out the windshield, cut the cowl....

but seriously, what about pulling the front and rear mount bolts and rocking the engine forward? That was how you changed the rear plugs on GM transverse V6's. 

The nature of how the motor is bolted in. To get to that point. I'm pulling the motor. The 2 side mounts are fluid filled and not going to give well in that direction without a strap on something under major tension. I can pull the front lower mount and rear rear lower mounts to help with it, but it's still not going to rock well that way. This motor is fairly tall and that's where a lot of the trouble comes from. The very forward nature of the windshield is where i run into problems. 

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 2:36 p.m.

Alright.. The removal sockets arrived. 

These are a far far superior design to the crap i got the other night at oreillys. These are also available at Lowes. I'll post a link to where I bought them on amazon later. The online reviews and reviews of 2 buddies put these as being the real deal. 

Daylan C
Daylan C PowerDork
11/7/19 2:39 p.m.

In reply to spacecadet :

Good luck, we're all counting on you.

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 2:45 p.m.

In reply to Daylan C :

Since i can't get the Gif to work

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 6:15 p.m.

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE GOT HIM!!! 

 

Now.. On to actually fixing the E36 M3 that's broken.. 

Daylan C
Daylan C PowerDork
11/7/19 6:23 p.m.

Awesome! Now put that garbage back together so you can go forth and V-TEC my friend!

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/7/19 8:21 p.m.

​​​​​​

VSA light went away immediately, used Torque app to reset the CEL. 

Went out for a test drive. Let the car come up to temp. 

Lights are all gone, and stayed gone. VTEC pulls hard to redline. 

HAZMAT IS BACK! 

 

And so i went to Popyeyes for a chicken sandwich. 

 

Successful night all the way around! 

 

Mazdaface and I will tackle the axle this weekend. 

ScottyB
ScottyB Reader
11/7/19 11:59 p.m.

w00t!  nice work, rip all the VTEC's lil' HAZMAT!

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/8/19 12:02 a.m.
ScottyB said:

w00t!  nice work, rip all the VTEC's lil' HAZMAT!

ABSOLUTELY!

 

Also +1 for the use of Rick Flair!

WOOOOOOOO!!!!

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
11/8/19 5:02 a.m.

Great fix. 

Looking at that bolt, what brand sockets do you have? Might be time to invest in a good six point 10mm from a reputable brand. 

spacecadet
spacecadet Dork
11/8/19 8:49 a.m.

I've never felt such a satisfying feeling like this to drive my own damn car to work. 

Hazmat got up to temp and I closed my 25 minute drive to work with a full range rip through 2nd and 3rd. Damn that felt good. 

 

 

mazdeuce - Seth
mazdeuce - Seth Mod Squad
11/8/19 8:52 a.m.

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