Good Morning - yesterday, while replacing upper radiator hose, I decided to also replace water neck with a shiny new chrome one. One of the bolts was stubborn, put a little extra back into it, and SNAP, bolt cracked in half. Nearly fainted. With one bolt removed and the other cracked in half, I thought I might be able to lift off water neck to try and get at the remainder of the broken bolt. I cannot get that water neck to budge. Is the broken bolt still catching thread in the water neck and that's why the water neck will not remove? Is the neck rusted (for lack of better word) into place and needs to be loosened before it can be removed? And most importantly...what to do with the remainder of the bolt? Vette runs fine. No leaks as of right now. A friend I spoke to said I could probably leave it and be just fine. That doesn't sit well with my OCD. As always, any help is appreciated.

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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"

You need to fix it properly. It will leak eventually. I would start soaking it down with some penetrating oil. After letting it soak for a bit, take a soft face mallet and tap the water neck to loosen it. 

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GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.

+ 1 on everything Darryl said...especially the part about not using the chrome housing.....those things will always leak.
Soaking the housing will help loosen it from the broken bolt, and allow yo to be able to twist it up/off....hopefully. You won't be able to twist it very far in either direction, since the thermostat is right there, but it should be enough to get it off. After you do get the housing off, soak down what is left of the bolt for a day or so before attempting to remove it. Try tightening the broken part down some before loosening....this sometimes helps break loose the rusty bond/corrosion. However, as Darryl says, if that thing breaks off down in the manifold, there's no other fix but to drill it out carefully.


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Joel Adams
C3VR Lifetime Member #56    
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"Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comforting to cry in a CORVETTE than in a Kia"

Here's another vote on what they said and definitely against chrome housing.

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Dave C..........My mantra: I can not be bought!!      Long and short term leases available.

Thank you, gentlemen! I will try Sarge's suggestion. Thank you also for the chrome water neck advice. It's Mister Gasket. Was VERY inexpensive and I wondered about getting what you pay for. Onto Craig's List it goes! I also purchased braided hose wrap to try and dress things up a bit. Looked HORRIBLE. $50 wasted. Instead, I decided to do a red upper hose and it looks fantastic! Can I ask, what s involved with tapping and removing in the event bolt is broken flush? I will most likley need to have that done professionaly. Any idea what that should typically cost? Thanks in advance!! Oh, one final item: I replaced factory radiator cap with one of those Thermocaps. It's red and looks nice, and with a little adjusting to the Thermocap, it seems to fit nice and tight. Anyone have any experience with these? Here'a a link to the item: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000OF7MMA/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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"You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you'd say to somebody: You're gonna like this guy, he's all right. He's a goodfella. He's one of us. You understand?"

You start by taking a center punch and hammer. Put a small indent with the center punch dead center of the broken bolt. This will help keep your drill bit from wandering off dead center. Then use a very small drill bit to make your first hole through the bolt. Be very careful and make sure your drilling straight down. Not at an angle. You'll wind up messing the threads up. Then work your way up a couple drill bit sizes at a time to make the hole bigger. 

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GEN III 5.7L "LS6" Engine swap
TKO500 5 spd.

Get some of that freeze spray for the bolt in the manifold.

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Is your intake stock or it is aftermarket(or rather is it steel or aluminum)?  If by chance it is aluminum and you do get the broken bolt out, you should use some anti-seize compound for the bolts going back on.  Just a little food for thought.  Otherwise you might end up with the same thing happening next time a thermostat is changed.  :) 

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StingrayJim
NCM Lifetime Member #1936

Stingray's '76���������������������������� StingrayJr's '78���������������������������Lil Red '94

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