mousepad

I feel so stupid right now..



Anyway, I was half done in replacing my camshaft position sensor when the screw holding it to the block broke in half while I was screwing it in. Really stupid.. how do I go about getting the other half lodged out of the engine?



Thanks in advance!

187sks

You need some left handed drill bits and a broken screw extractor set. Unless some of the bolt is sticking out, if so you might be able to turn it with vise grips.

pas1216

if there is any little bit of the screw sticking out, you can use a grinder and grind a slot in it. Use that slot to remove the screw with a flat head screw driver.



vise grips was a good idea too.

SR Tech

what sks said



If not vise grips, take a cut-off wheel and make a slit in the top for a small flathead screwdriver and turn it out.



More than likely the reason it broke was due to cross threading so you may need to tap the head as aluminum is much softer than steel. I'm assuming the screw goes into the head as that's where the cmp is located but i could be wrong. Never looked before lol



Edit* Pas beat me to the screwdriver trick

Stocker

Those bolts are weak. It is better to break a bolt than break a cam shaft, so the bolts are weak. To clarify, in order of which is the preferred solution:



(A drop of penetrating oil on the threads is a good idea in any case)

• Vise grips grab the bolt - try from the side, not end-on
  
• A little bit of screw is sticking out, use a very thin dremel cut-off wheel to make the bolt into a slotted screw and use a flat-head screw driver.
  
• The screw is broken off flush or very near the head: same as above, but be careful not to damage the head too much
  
• If you are cutting a slot in the end of the bolt, do yourself a favor and stuff greasy rags in the head to catch the shavings. You do not want steel shavings in your valve train. Be exceedingly careful to clean out the shavings that are left after this operation.
  
• The second-worst-case is special left-twist drill bits and "easy-out" tools
  
• The worst case is to drill out the whole screw, tap and helicoil the head. Careful cleaning of course is required after this repair also. Done properly, a helicoil repair is just as good here as the original threaded aluminum.
  

zero_gravity

if nothing else will work, a machinist will be able to do it. you'll have to get the tow....but hey life sucks sometimes. i had to do that once, broke a distributor pinch bolt off flush with the head. extractors and other such methods wouldn't work.



also for future jobs: most bolts it helps to put anti-seize thread lubricant on the botls/screws. prevents them from getting stuck and breaking later on.

HyundaiKitCoupe

that drills into the broken part. then you simply unscrew it using a drill but like i said it's risky.







never worked for me but maybe i was doing it wrong. i'm sure it works but you have to find someone that knows what they're doing. i'm guessing if you do use this and mess up then you're "screwed" haha.

mousepad

thanks for the all replies guys.



tried to solve the problem over the weekend and the screw is just too small and angled weirdly to take it out of the block with the solutions posted above.



I'll have to lift the block and get the machine shop to get it out.



really sucks but i'll have to chalk this one up to experience.



On a related note, are there any risks with driving the car out without the cam position sensor connected to the harness?

The car runs fine on idle but i havent tried driving it out the driveway. i'm thinking of driving the car out to the shop tomorrow morning.



Any thoughts?



will report back within the week