I was swapping out the CPS and the top bolt came out fine. Went to do the lower bolt and it broke off in the hole about .5 inches in.

I tried bolting the CPS up with just one bolt for a temporary fix but it swivels and won't stay in place. I'm pretty sure that I have to pull the transmission to drill a hole in the bolt and try and easy out but I wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem and if the easy out was the best method to try removing the broken piece.

I looked closely at the front of the bellhousing to see if the bolt went all the way through but it looks like it's a sealed hole.

I really don't have the time to drop this tranny any time soon and was tempted to use an epoxy and put the bolt back into the hole but then I'd never get it out.

If I drop the trans down, would an easy out be the best way?

 

Ouch.. that sucks. I'v never seen this issue.

Personally, I think i'd find a replacement bellhousing and swap it out.. probably quicker and easier in the long run. I cant see getting good access to fix this in the vehicle.

I had lost a CPS bolt once, and your right.. it wont run with one installed.

 

I had the same problem but a little worse. I had both of the bolts snap off. I ended up having to have it towed to a garage and they had to drop the transmission to drill and use an easy out to get them off.

 

I'll remember the replacement bellhousing idea if I can't get the bolts. Thanks.

Did they drop the whole transmission or did they just loosen up the motor mounts and tilt the transmission down to get to the bolts? I'd rather not pull the trans if I don't have to.

Will the trans tilt enough to use a drill and an easy out?

 

Are you sure your bolt hole doesn't go all the way through the bellhousing. On my '99 both bolt holes go all the way through. You can see the end of the bolts.

My Torque Converter dust shield/bellhousing spacer has a hole in it for the bottom bolt to protrude through.

It's had to tell from your photo but the bolt probably corroded and locked into the Aluminum bellhousing.

Just looking at the situation, if you do have the hole in the TC dust shield and can see the end of the bolt, perhaps you could remove the intake manifold and it would give you room to work on the back of the bolt to remove it. Drilling it on center and using a straight flute easy out maybe it could be removed. Lots of penetrating oil first of course, and a little heat wouldn't hurt.

Edit: I guess those bolts are so rare they make hen's teeth look as common as roadside gravel. Good luck finding one.

 

A buddy of mine suggested using some threaded rod (or a bolt with the head cut off) as a dowel that you could thread a nut on (instead of a bolt). Super glue it into what's left of the hole.

 

I doubt this much help but maybe worth mentioning. With the manifolds off, the cps is sort of right there. I wonder if there is any chance of getting an angle drill down in there and drilling front to back for a new bolt.

Or unbolt the cross member, lower the tranny and get at with a drill and (welded) extension..

Epoxy DOES take really well to clean, roughened aluminum. (Jb weld is an epoxy). I suppose I'd figure a way to drill it if it was me.

 

They had to completely remove the trans so they could drill out the old bolts. Before they did the work they did have me go over so I could see what the had to do. I also couldn't see any other way that they would have been able to it.

 

I appreciate all of the help guys. I'm going to try to use a threaded rod/bolt in the hold using super glue or epoxy to hold it in and put a bolt on the end. Not sure it will work but it's not load bearing and it's only holding up a CPS sensor.

If it doesn't work I'll pull the tranny all the way out and swap bell housings with a spare. Now I need to hit up the junk yard to find one of those bolts.

 

"super glue or epoxy to hold it in and put a bolt on the end."

Sounds like something that will fail at the worst possible time, just sayin that area gets hot, bite the bullet and fix it right.

 

Most of the CKP screw holes I've seen have been "through" holes (BA-10/5, AX-15i, AX-15e, AW4,) so I don't see why they shouldn't be here.

You're going to have to pull the transmission to get the broken screw out, because you won't have room otherwise. Once you get the transmission down, work from the engine side of the bellhousing. Centre-punch the end of the screw, then drill into it - if you're lucky, you can get a good bite and run the screw out on the drill bit (heating up that bit of the bellhousing to expand the hole may prove helpful.)

The screws are, as I recall, threaded M8-1.0. And, there's a shoulder on them that wants to be just right, so I recommend an OEM replacement here!