Broken diff bolt

[lochenjons]

I was pretty sure there was a thread on this but I couldnt find it. My rear diff was leaking a bit and I had popped the cover off not that long ago so I go to see how tight the bolts are...not tight at all. So I tighten them all down more. Then I deicde to tighten the bottom one down just a little bit more...and it snaps off . Anyone got a 14b for sale ?
EDIT: wow long day... if you read the post before I edited it....

 

[nad]

I snapped on off in my rear 10 bolt as well. I just left it like that, but I haven't changed the diff fluid since. I think it'll be fine, once I pull the cover again, i'll try to get pliers on it and get it out, and just put a new bolt in there. Once I get a good job and some $$$ I'm going for the 14 bolt and D44 also.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Are you talking about a ring gear bolt or a carrier cap bolt?

 

[lochenjons]

Are you talking about a ring gear bolt or a carrier cap bolt?

No just the cover, no biggee. More of a rant on my part than anything else. I had a question but then I realized it was really really dumb . I was surpised how little it took to break the bolt tho, and I had just broken another one from somewhere else

 

[4X4HIGH]

Oh ok, a cover bolt. Those are a 3/8" x 16 bolt and can take 35 lbs torque. I usually only tighten them by hand if using the stock cover and if a thick aftermarket cover then i will break out the torque wrench and torque them to usually about 30 lbs.

 

[lochenjons]

Oh ok, a cover bolt. Those are a 3/8" x 16 bolt and can take 35 lbs torque. I usually only tighten them by hand if using the stock cover and if a thick aftermarket cover then i will break out the torque wrench and torque them to usually about 30 lbs.

Oh thanks, knowing the size will save me some effort. I always tighten them by hand (dont have a torque wrench) and I barely gave it anything. Oh well...now I'm gonna have to pull off the whole cover again to be able to get whats left of the bolt out.

 

[Avery4jc]

I did the same thing when I was filling up my 14ff...I filled it up...slathered some RTV on it and put the cover on.
When I started to tighten the bolts I was going in a criss cross pattern and got them tight (by hand) then made one last trip around just to be safe and I snapped the head off of one of them...I didn't mess with it and I haven't had any problems.
You can take a dremel and slot the top of the bolt...then use a flat head screwdriver to unscrew the stuck part of the bolt...
Or try drilling it out and re-tapping the hole (might have to go to a bigger bolt...)
Or has anyone tried drilling it out and using a heli-coil?

 

[lochenjons]

You can take a dremel and slot the top of the bolt...then use a flat head screwdriver to unscrew the stuck part of the bolt...

Ha never thought of that, Ill have to give that a try

 

[Avery4jc]

yeah we used to do that all the time when I worked at the local hobby shop...whenever screws were stripped to the point that they would have to be replaced we'd just slot the top with a cut-off wheel then use a flat head screwdriver to unscrew the stud.