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How screwed am I? Looks like pretty screwed.

There's always another option. Most have been discussed here. Can you take a picture and post it so we know what you're working with? Don't worry about the threads. Worst case scenario, drill the sombitch out and retap new threads or bore it out and drop in a helicoil/timesert. Don't think too hard about it. People love to make mountains out of molehills.
 
Dabba said:
Update: I got it to the mechanic and they said it doesn't look good and are looking at "other options" My attempt to use a left handed drill apparently made it worse on them. If they can't get the bolt out of the block.. are there any other options besides taking it to someone else? I can't believe a bolt like this can take an engine with 60k miles on it junk..
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It doesn't make it junk. But it does let the shop take advantage of you.

I am with Demon, get the bolt out without worrying to much about the threads. They can always be repaired.
 
worst case remove motor .

take to machine shop and let them center it up and turn a carbide bit left and try walking it out and then fix or clean up the hole .

seen it done a lot with heads with broken bolts in the exaust ports areas .
 
My mistake. I thought I saw the markings on the heads for grade 8. That makes me feel a little better. The truck just means a lot to me and they make it seems like it's the death of the truck. I talked to them again and they didnt even have it on the lift yet. Normally these guys are pretty good so I dunno what's going on. It's just a matter of finding someone to do the work, I couldnt. I know worst case they can just literally drill it to bits and retap the hole but... It seems like a lot of mechanics around here are used to newer cars and not fabbing ****.
 
I would have a machine shop look at the bolt while the engine is still in the truck. I wouldn't trust a "mechanic" with drilling into my block. They should be able to tell you if they can do it on the truck or if you need to pull the engine.

You could always put in a four speed and always park on a hill:whistle:
 
Dabba said:
My mistake. I thought I saw the markings on the heads for grade 8. That makes me feel a little better. The truck just means a lot to me and they make it seems like it's the death of the truck. I talked to them again and they didnt even have it on the lift yet. Normally these guys are pretty good so I dunno what's going on. It's just a matter of finding someone to do the work, I couldnt. I know worst case they can just literally drill it to bits and retap the hole but... It seems like a lot of mechanics around here are used to newer cars and not fabbing ****.
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Grade 8 does not make it a hardened bolt. :deal:
 
A few machine shops around here have a "tap disintegrator" machine thats used to remove busted off taps,bolts and studs from various machines,its like a plasma cutter only it blasts just the busted part away...probably aint cheap though,and you'd have to bring the engine to them perhaps,I dont know if one could be used with the truck on a lift...

An update on my "free" 8 HP B&S engine..I finally got the dam chipper wheel off the engine,I found out the chipper wheel was threaded 7/16x20 ,I assumed the threaded hole I saw was only the 3/8 x 24 thread in the crankshaft:doah:...all I had to do was screw in a 7/16 bolt and whack it with a hammer once,and the wheel popped off and dropped right on my left foot...:mad:...the bummer was--the dam crankshaft is TAPERED,it starts out at about 1-3/8" OD near the side cover and tapers down to a short 7/8" straight section at the end about 1" long with a keyway.

....that SUCKS,because to use it on just anbout anything else I'd like to put it on I'd need a V-pulley real close to the side cover...so that means I'd either have to chop the old tapered hub out of the chipper wheel and have the OD machined to a large size a pulley could be put on,or a custom made tapered hub or pulley made,which will be quite costly...:doah:...nothing is ever EASY for me,never!...:mad:...
 
I talked to the mechanic today, he said he was getting it on the lift tonight, and that he'd see how it went. So I told them to give me a ring when he knows. Theyve had it since friday night so I'm going nuts here haha
 
diesel4me said:
A few machine shops around here have a "tap disintegrator" machine thats used to remove busted off taps,bolts and studs from various machines,its like a plasma cutter only it blasts just the busted part away...probably aint cheap though,and you'd have to bring the engine to them perhaps,I dont know if one could be used with the truck on a lift...

An update on my "free" 8 HP B&S engine..I finally got the dam chipper wheel off the engine,I found out the chipper wheel was threaded 7/16x20 ,I assumed the threaded hole I saw was only the 3/8 x 24 thread in the crankshaft:doah:...all I had to do was screw in a 7/16 bolt and whack it with a hammer once,and the wheel popped off and dropped right on my left foot...:mad:...the bummer was--the dam crankshaft is TAPERED,it starts out at about 1-3/8" OD near the side cover and tapers down to a short 7/8" straight section at the end about 1" long with a keyway.


....that SUCKS,because to use it on just anbout anything else I'd like to put it on I'd need a V-pulley real close to the side cover...so that means I'd either have to chop the old tapered hub out of the chipper wheel and have the OD machined to a large size a pulley could be put on,or a custom made tapered hub or pulley made,which will be quite costly...:doah:...nothing is ever EASY for me,never!...:mad:...
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That would be called an EDM machine.
 
So i stopped in today. They said I needed a new starter because the bolt holes were shortend or otherwise worn so the starter was lose, and thats probably why the bolt snapped. Apparently the other bolt was messed with or not quite the right size because the threads were screwed up. I dont think they're trying to screw me.. so Im not sure what to think with this. Im also having other work done, including replacing the fuel pump which is leaking pretty badly now so Im looking about 1k in all. Im just worried about working on it myself in the future, with different sized bolts and the starter being shimmed. I'm not really doing the work now so Im not sure whats what. I also have them doing the front dff fluid, oil change and inspection while its in there so.. /shrug. While its in there.
 
Its not uncommon for 6.2's to have starter bolt holes that are messed up,or even had the block break there ,most of them that did were because the brace that mounts to the case on the starter to the block is not there,in front of the solenoid...many lazy mechanics decide not to put it back on when a starter is replaced,because its rather hard to get at and tighten the bolts properly...its not a big deal on gas engines,but the diesel starter is much more powerful and the higher compression of the diesel really puts a lot of strain on the bolts and block...if yous has no brace I'd get one ASAP..
 
It has a brace, but it may have worked itself loose. I already had it off when I got it to them. Im just worried because apparently the flywheel is a little worn down. I dont want this crap runing my engine >.< Only 60k on the clock!
 
Got it back from the shop, had a suspicion the starter wasnt 24volts. I looked up the part and they threw in a 12volt starter in a 24volt system. I guess i need to call em monday...

Edit: I said **** it, and just swapped the starter wire to run off 12, i dont want the bother.
 
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The 12V starter would likely last a long time even used on 24V,I had a few VW Beetles I converted to 12V and left the original starter (6V) in them,and they spun over so fast,the engine would start in just a few revolutions,not long enough to harm the starter any--I think running one on a lower voltage does more harm than higher really...as long as you didn't crank it over endlessly I doubt the starter would burn itself up any faster really...

JC Whitney sells a series-paralell solenoid switch that lets you use 2 batteries in a vehicle and it sends the higher voltage to only the starter to increase cranking speed and for quicker starts in cold weather..if they roasted starters I'm sure they would have pulled them off the market by now..
 
Yeah, a 12V starter on 24V battery would be the hot ticket in cold weather. A lot of "old timers" used 12V batteries on 6V tractor starters and car starters.

I don't know how hard it is to find a 24V starter, but a 12V should be easy to source wherever you are traveling.
 
Also, for future reference, the starter holes are not blind on a 6.2L They pass clear through the block. You could have drilled the bolt all the way through to the top, then drilled both the block and the starter for the next size bolt in that particular hole. I did that on the last 6.2L I had to help prevent broken bolts after dealing with the same problem. Make sure you get the starter brace installed this time, they are still available new at GM.
 
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