So I broke a thermostat housing bolt

first off, im an idiot.:tool:

i tightened a thermostat housing bolt a little too much. I snapped the head of it off. The bolt was aluminum and the head is aluminum. Im optimistic that I can get it out with an eaze-out because its not stuck in there.

any tips or help you guys have for removing this fuckin bolt?

and in the time being its not leaking when i run the car but how safe is it to run. the housing is shaped like a tall triangle. I snapped the bolt that was on the point as seen below. I used a ton of liquid gasket so what do you guys think about this being okay for a few days? im okay with a tiny leak but its not going to fail and leak bad is it? it was okay tonight for the few times i drove it after i bleed the system.

sounds like you know what you have to do…eaze-out

they work great if you do it right

Or you can take the other bolts off and maybe try to turn the t-stat housing off the broken bolt, giving you enough bolt to try and grab with pliers and get out?

Just my $.02

LOL similar thing just happened to the audi i just traded in…but you dont wanna know how i fixed it!

^tool

^ stood back and reaasured me it would be fine!

JB weld > *

duct tape >*

that sucks. i did something similar on the nissan with the water pump thank god it had 5 bolts and the rest held, never had any problems, at least not with that, everything else breaks though.
superglue>*

well i have great news especially if your me. haha

I pulled the thermostat housing back off and to my delight there was part of the bolt sticking out!! I was able to get it out with vice grips and needle hose pliers.

I bought another bolt, resealed the thermostat housing and put everything back together. I bleed the system and ran the car to burn off the coolant that went everywhere. The car is keep a normal operating temperature and no leaks!

Im letting the car sit and cool down. I put cardboard under it to make sure there are no leaks.

Im going to take it out later and bang the gears to make sure its not going to overheat then ill put the cardboard back under there tonight and see if we get anything tomorrow!

Im thinking that the system just needed flushed and refilled with some new coolant!

Im just so fuckin happy!
Jimmy