Some days I hate working on my car.

I feel for you Ron; we've all been there...

I have been down this avenue of absolute joy more times than I have socks in the drawer.  Wait till the special day arrives when, you are doing a 5 minute job  changing out the rubber fuel tank line discovering the clamp you put just put on said line nearest to the tank wasn't quite as tight as you needed it to be and in a millisecond of surprise manages to fall off the fuel line..... the vise grips that will suffice in the current Valdez petroleum flood are on the garage floor within sight but 2' further away than your foot will stretch to............

Ron, you have a lift?

In your garage?

And your car was on it when this happened?

And the body was off?

So you could actually see the Pitman arm and reach it at the same time?

With both hands?

I'm just stunned that the bolt broke under those circumstances.

Sorry to hear that, Ron.  I didn't think cars rusted in B.C. 

"I didn't think cars rusted in B.C."

You're evil, too, Dr. Bob.......    The guy lives not only in a rain forest area, but on a friggin ISLAND !    It's like paying extra for rust accelerants.

Isn't it a joy when a 5-minute job turns into several DAYS?  Like getting everything upgraded and done and THEN dropping a nut into the oil filler..... 

Not that I've ever done anything like that.   

Bob: IM S6 posted:

Sorry to hear that, Ron.  I didn't think cars rusted in B.C. 

Oh, you're a funny man, Bob!

Gordon Nichols posted:

  ...The guy lives not only in a rain forest area, but on a friggin ISLAND !    It's like paying extra for rust accelerants.

Isn't it a joy when a 5-minute job turns into several DAYS?  Like getting everything upgraded and done and THEN dropping a nut into the oil filler..... 

Not that I've ever done anything like that.   

You forgot salting the roads on and off for 4 months of the year, Gordon. And yeah, I've never done anythng like that either...

It's always sumthin', ain't it.  When I get back in mid-April, I have to replace the long brake line that goes from front to back along the transmission tunnel.  Of course I'll have to clean up the mess and repaint the pan.  Most likely I have to make a new piece of carpet or 2 as well. Silly me.  I thought I was about done.         madness

Sacto Mitch posted:

 

Ron, you have a lift?

In your garage?

And your car was on it when this happened?

And the body was off?

So you could actually see the Pitman arm and reach it at the same time?

With both hands?

I'm just stunned that the bolt broke under those circumstances.

 

Me too, Mitch.

I don't think that bolt had been touched since 1974.

A couple of years ago I bought a heli-coil kit from a garage sale.  It was cheap and I thought, "You never know".  I put it away and forgot about it.

Well, now I know.  I used my heli-coil kit on my buggered up bolt.  Worked like a charm.

What fun would it be if everything was easy?

Bob: IM S6 posted:

Sorry to hear that, Ron.  I didn't think cars rusted in B.C. 

Rust on the 'WET' coast....never.  

So here's the good news: he knew what to do to fix, and had the tools, etc. to do it.  Does not always happen that way.  In my case the car arrived "new" from the builder without any bolts attached.  There were places for the bolts to be, just no bolts applied. And of course, what do I know?  Well on this subject, nothing.  So there were more than a few very sharp turns applied over the next year or more, and then one day I notice the inner tire side wall, right side w/a  huge groove and cords showing, where it had rubbed the torsion bar knuckle.  Well, that's kinda scary.  After a lot of poking around, I figure out what should be, buy the bolts and jam-nuts, apply same, buy a new tire, and so am now expert.  Probably was not too far away from a nice blow-out.

And Alan's slipped gas line clamp coulda happened in the winter with the gas fired space heater working.  Now THAT would have been serious. Sorta did one like this  once too.  Was replacing the fuel pump or maybe updating the supply lines at the back.  Here I get partial credit for getting part of the problem right.  I did in fact disconnect the battery line to the alternator thinking I'd need to be mindful of sparks from errant tools, but unfortunately could not turn the kill switch to off because I was trying to run the electric fuel pump to make sure gas was coming through.  Was using a small can to catch the gas. So the live battery wire is tucked up behind the shroud, and I'm busy running the pump and gas into the can, and I jostle something and the live cable, capable of managing A LOT of amps, touches ground and scares the ever lovin' shyt out me, and my head is right in there inches from the open gas container.  Well, it took a few seconds to realize that I really shoulda been dead, and the garage, and house too, soon to be ashes.  But, God was not looking for me that day, so I am here to tell the tale.

PS: A few Al shavings down the plug hole might not have caused you any harm, although you are right to keep any and all out even so.  What would be a true bee-atch would be to slip the little Helicoil tang while breaking it off, and it goes down the hole.  That one would likely hurt.  Here, something like a locking hemostat might be the right tool.

It never ends.......

I had to take the Pitman arm off to drill, tap, and install a helio coil.  Try as I may, I couldn't screw in the bolt that holds the Pitman arm in place, so I took it out to have a look.

Stripped threads.

Now the search begins for a new bolt.

IMHO I would not mess with the Pitman arm, I  would replace the arm it's not expensive ,  that is the lifeline to steering and ....Oh Sh*t.

I am getting confused here.  The stop bolts on my car are fixed to the chassis in such a way as to provide a hard stop for the pitman, which has no threaded attachments but rather a couple of lands cast in where the ends of the bolts would hit, and so define steering lock.  There are two such arrangements of course, one for lock-left, and one for lock-right.  Don't see where the pitman requires any machining . . .??

Kelly, There has a pinch bolt that passes through secures the arm around the steering box spline shaft, this is what was heli-coiled. 

OK.  As to securing the stop bolts, this would be considered collateral damage?  Or maybe: I'm laying here upside down on the cold floor trying to dick w/ these confounded stop nuts, and what? wait a minute, WTF is THAT??? Some other problem looms.  It's just a hobby . . . It's just a hobby . . . It's just a  . . . . . .

ElFrazoo, over and out.

Ahhhhh......The "God of broken bolts" has struck!

No, I didn't heli-coil the Pitman arm bolt hole.  If the threads were shot in the Pitman Arm I would, as Alan mentioned, replace the Pitman arm.  I ran and tap through them to check, and they were good.

I had to take the Pitman arm off so I could drill and tap one of the threaded bolt holes (steering stops).

Update:  found a shop that sells the correct bolt.  the bolt is a bit longer, but that shouldn't be a problem.

I used a torque wrench but I still broke off one of the six bolts that hold the clutch plate onto the flywheel. 
Now I have to take the flywheel into a machine shop to get the broken bolt taken out.  The only good news is I hadn't planned on taking the flywheel off and when I did I found that the rear main engine seal was leaking.  If I hadn't caught this the leak would have, in time, killed the clutch.
The seal itself is only $11.00.  Putting it in is a bit of a pain, but I've already done one, so I know what to do.

CB has a nifty crank seal installation tool.  Place the lightly greased seal gently in the opening, install this really big washer over it, put the gland nut in and tighten it til the washer hits the case and you're done, AND the seal is straight.  If you have a source locally for the big washer, get one 3/16"+ thick.

I've used a big socket to install the flywheel seal. With a little care it goes in straight. The seal needs to be flush or just a touch below the case surrounding it. I've also seen guys install it with a hammer; you just have to be gentle.

I'm going to use my 10 ton hydraulic press!

With the last one I installed I put the old seal over the new one and tapped it in using a rubber mallet.

Another 15 minute job that turned into a 2 hour job.

I just received the new clips I ordered to attach the soft top to the windshield header on my Thing.  The passenger side install went off without a hitch.

Then I started on the driver's side.

There's 3 screws that hold the hinge onto the soft top.  Two of the screws broke off while I was unscrewing them.

CRAP

So, I got out my drill and went to work drilling them out.  The first one wasn't too bad.  I managed to drill it out, use a tap, and install a heli coil.  The second one was another story.

First, I broke off the end of a drill bit, with the piece of the bit stuck in the hole.  Ever try and drill out a drill bit?  It takes.......forever.

Next came the tap, which shouldn't have been a problem, except I broke off the end of the tap and it was stuck in the hole

Double crap.

The only option (besides ordering a new top) was to drill out the tap and those suckers are HARD.

I finally drilled it out and used a larger tap and installed a heli coil.

I guess I can expect more of this when working on a vehicle built 43 years ago.

I'm going for a beer.....or two......or three.

Have you ever thought of taking up crocheting?

Wow. 

Gordon Nichols posted:

Have you ever thought of taking up crocheting?

I'd probably stab myself in the eye with the needle.