So I was finished with my new timing chain: we went up hills and down, with the new chain and all was a-ok, until the temp just kept rising. Luckily it was just around the block and pulled into the drive and under the hood: coolant EVERYWHERE. Leak was in and around the tensioner, so naturally I checked the bolt that was available without removing the engine thermostat....yep, needed tightening...then I tightened the damn thing right off. It broke about half the bolt off, NOT flush with the engine block. So I bought a bolt extractor and small drill bit, then thought better of it. I guess I'll just find a local mechanic to extract it for me? Was that bolt just old or am I that strong (or should I finally get a torque wrench for my bfriend and I to share?) Oooh it was so close.

Thanks for the help.
Gretchen
1981 240D (SVO soon as it runs again)
(his 1983 240D SVO)

that was one of my first bo bos I was changing a thermo on a honda.
I tightened to much and broke the housing.... what an ordeal...

This is one of those life lessons.... and from now on you will undertighten...
and you will be ever so catious....

Good bolt strong arm... time for a lighter touch and time for the torque wrench...

the bolts on the tstat housing are known to break.. i soaked the bolts in pb blaster for about a week to be safe, and cross threading into the alum housing is easy to do..drill and tap it and you'll be good

Ohhhh, I am so good at bustin' bolts, went pro at 12 years old! My Dad took a old ratchet and cut the handle down to about 3" long...that helped a lot.

Tight is usually tight enough and a "touch more" is really too much and one small "grunt/umphh" is usually followed by an snap/ting noise and a stream of bad words. Turning bolts should not turn into a power-lifting contest.

Righty tighty, lefty loosey, go easy

__________________
Mark
1983 300TD Wagon
Even a broken watch is right twice a day

I have always been told to tighten the bolts until ya strip the threads and back it off a 1/4 turn.

What size ratchet were you using to tighten the water neck?
didja use antiseize on the bolt? You of course wire brush cleaned the bolt and tapped out the threads before reasembly right?
give us an update when you get it back to gether.
John

If you can still get a grip on the broken bolt, I found that the bolt extraction tools you get at Sears work well. They're like sockets that grab on to the surface. It costs about $20 to buy a pack of them.

__________________
Ralph

1985 300D Turbo, CA model
248,650 miles and counting...

Oh he was using a small 3/4 inch rachet with a 15 long handle.

__________________
1981 300D 147k
1998 VW Jetta Tdi 320k
2001 Dodge Ram 2500 141k
1979 300D 234k (sold)
1984 300D "Astor" 262k(sold)
Mercedes How-To and Repair Pictorials
I love the smell of diesel smoke in my hair

Gretchen,

Try some heat on the housing to remove the bolt. But be careful you don't melt the aluminum.

Here's my story from yesterday:

I had 2 4mm screws in the my alternator (ALT) that secure the V-regulator. Neither would come out and I knew that if I turned them too hard, they would break.

I remover the ALT (that's another story) and carefully heated the aluminum ALT case with my acetylene torch using a steel shield to protect the plastic V-regulator from the heat of the flame. Carefully working the screws back and forth, I eventually got the screws out unbroken.

I will reinstall the screws using an anti-sieze compound so this does not happen again. U should do the same.

P E H