Broken bolts

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bigdoug
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: Detroit Area, Michigan

Broken bolts

Post by bigdoug »

For those who have the 03-08 vibes, I believe all of them have this vertical bar/support below the hood latch that goes to the lower radiator support. It also holds the hood latch. Mine was broken, and my hood would lightly bounce at highway speeds, not to mention the hood didn't seem to want to close all the way down.

What should have been a simple job to replace it while doing an oil change ended up with me snapping the head off of both the topmost and bottom bolts for that vertical bracket. The center bolt came out. The bottom bolt I have drilled out. Even though I can remove the hood latch, I don't seem to be able to drill out the top bolt without having to remove the bumper as well. In an attempt to remove the grills at least, the two screws with rubber bumpers on either side of the top grill became stripped out as well. So now I have two bolts broken in the holes, two stripped screws I'm going to have to grind down, and a lot of swearing and hours of work that should have been a 10-20 minute job.

Oh yes, and now my hood won't latch so there's a bungie cord holding it down now.
Any suggestions on how I can get that broken bolt out behind the latch? The two screws in the bumper?
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Caretaker

Re: Broken bolts

Post by Caretaker »

ha, ha.....welcome to my world !!!!!! Whether it be lawn mower repair, simple auto repair, or repairing wood rot in the eaves of my house, what should take 30 minutes takes 4 hours PLUS 3 trips to the local hardware store. Sorry for your troubles, but I can TOTALLY relate.
jolt
Posts: 945
Joined: Sun Mar 02, 2014 2:07 am
Location: Twin Cities, Minnesota

Re: Broken bolts

Post by jolt »

This is where planning ahead with some penetrating fluid can really help out. A couple of weeks before doing something like this, spray all the bolts down and at least give yourself a chance of getting them loose. There is no easy fix at this point. Broken bolts are always time and materials charge at a shop. Be sure to put some anti-seize on the new bolts so that you won't have to go through this again. It is never fun dealing with rusted/frozen bolts.
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vibrologist
Posts: 1598
Joined: Sat May 10, 2014 8:24 am
Location: Iowa

Re: Broken bolts

Post by vibrologist »

One of the best penetrating oils you can make is 50/50 acetone/tranny fluid. The acetone penetrates into the crevices and the tranny fluid gets pulled along. If you can induce some vibration on the bolt it will help as well. Rapping it with a small hammer may work for that.
Good luck.
Vibrologist
'05 Vibe

"It is important to know the difference between 'accurate' and 'precise' even if you are neither!"

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bigdoug
Posts: 80
Joined: Thu Jul 21, 2016 5:36 pm
Location: Detroit Area, Michigan

Re: Broken bolts

Post by bigdoug »

Good news is I was able to get the metal screws out of the top of the bumper with some grinding and a wrench. So, when I have a moment I'll pull the bumper off and fix it all up again.
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