Garage snaped injector bolt

[Gfromleeds]

Evening guys so i discovered i have an injector leak
Reading all the horror stories of how it can go bad very quick i decided to just let a local garage sort it!
I've had a call today saying the injector bolt has snapped in the head and there going to try drill it out but be prepared that I might need a new head!
Is this my problem? I gave them the job because this is exactly what I didn't want to happen to me on the drive!
If i do need a new head who pays?

 

[Trickythemerc]

Did they snap it when trying to remove it ? Or did they snap the new one when refitting it ? Either way drilling it out will require some care as things could get worse. Best left to a specialist to extract the broken bolt and then fit a helicoil or such like. Drilling and tapping to take an oversize bolt is not a good idea.

 

[tony gee]

if they are any good then drilling it out is the way.

 

[toteimerced]

Sounds like they are not very good, they snapped it, it’s their responsibility to get it resolved, even if they need to call in a specialist.

 

[Gfromleeds]

As I understand it the bolt snapped on removal.
He's already said he's gona get a guy that specialises in stud removal to look at it! But my main concern is who pays for this guy? And if he can't do it it who pays for the supply and fitting of the new head?
I was originally quoted "just an hour or two's labour!" As I sourced the bolts and washers from mb

 

[SpikyMikey]

I think we've been here before with garages attempting to drill out injectors...it didn't end well IIRC. Good to see they're getting it done properly.

 

[carat 3.6]

These bolts do sometimes snap when trying to remove them, there are many reasons for this and not all of them are the fault of the garage. A workshop that is used to these engines should make you aware that a snapped bolt is a possibility before taking the job on. They can normally be drilled out without removing the head, if they are not confident about doing that they may choose to use the services of a specialist.

As to who pays for it, unless you can prove they did something wrong it's your responsibility not theirs. By the sounds of it they have covered themselves by saying it might need a new head as the worst possible option, a specialist will normally be able to do an in situ repair in under an hour.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I've snapped a couple....one on my old 270 5 pot....one on a customers car. Very easily done as they are so thin, go through hundreds of heat cycles and are often glued in by tar if the injector has leaked.. Getting the engine very hot helps....but sometimes it just happens no matter how careful you are. Their mistake was in not telling you that it was likely and could incur additional cost. A new head would be excessive. I managed to get the customers one out with an extractor as it had snapped flush with the surface....but on mine it had snapped (not snaped!!) about 10 mm down. I drilled it out and tapped an 8mm thread (think the stock was 5 or 6mm). Worked fine .......until the car dropped a valve a year or two later....different story! If you go that route you do need to modify the hold down clamp and round the underside of the bigger bolt head to allow it to pivot around the bigger bolt shaft or it wont hold the injector down tight enough.

 

[carat 3.6]

I've snapped a couple....one on my old 270 5 pot....one on a customers car. Very easily done as they are so thin, go through hundreds of heat cycles and are often glued in by tar if the injector has leaked.. Getting the engine very hot helps....but sometimes it just happens no matter how careful you are. Their mistake was in not telling you that it was likely and could incur additional cost. A new head would be excessive. I managed to get the customers one out with an extractor as it had snapped flush with the surface....but on mine it had snapped (not snaped!!) about 10 mm down. I drilled it out and tapped an 8mm thread (think the stock was 5 or 6mm). Worked fine .......until the car dropped a valve a year or two later....different story! If you go that route you do need to modify the hold down clamp and round the underside of the bigger bolt head to allow it to pivot around the bigger bolt shaft or it wont hold the injector down tight enough.

Same here, works perfectly and imho a better job than factory. First few I used a m8 cap screw then I discovered that Ivecos use an 8mm bolt with a ball seat, so switched to those.

 

[Cherrypd]

There is probably something in the small print (that nobody reads) that by handing your keys over any subsequent failure of a part in the removal process is charged to the customer.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Same here, works perfectly and imho a better job than factory. First few I used a m8 cap screw then I discovered that Ivecos use an 8mm bolt with a ball seat, so switched to those.

I made my own ball seat cap bolt.....with the aid of a drill and a file!! The bolt was once holding a footrest on a Kawasaki ZRX1100 I'm pretty sure.....certainly a KHI bolt!!

 

[Petrol Pete]

It's pretty much their problem.

 

[ALFAitalia]

A quick look a legal site I've take advice frombefore is not so hopeful....it implies that if the bolt sheered whilst be tightened its their fault 100%.....but if it happened when being removed their are too many variable that make it difficult to make them liable.....was it overtightened when fitted?, rusted in place?, been in a long time resulted in bimetallic corrosion?.....etc etc.

 

[MCFastybloke]

If you had a house guest put the light on and the bulb blew, are they responsible for the new bulb?

If they stuck the big impact on it, looked away and sent it is a lot different to an old bolt on unknown provenence gave way under best practice.Stuff breaks.
A lot is take on trust in many situations in everyday life. I get it a lot in Contracting. We Knock off old tiling and suddenly become liable because the plaster is still stuck to the back of the tile. Ask the garage about how they see it.

 

[m80]

Likely as not that anyone removing the bolt would've snapped it.
I don't see that it's possible to prove otherwise.
Then, realising it will break before it's broken also seems impossible.

Had they pre treated with Plusgas, even heating some, it may have prevented. But it was in the workshop, stripped down, and a job to be done.

Your car had this problem, with the bolt, before you took it to the garage, imho.

 

[Petrol Pete]

Either way it's unlikely to need a new head unless some bodger gets real medieval on it trying to drill it out in the car . Head might have to be removed and handed to a specialist who can use a spark eroder or other specialist method.

Still, not a nice situation to be in .

 

[ALFAitalia]

I did drill mine out in the car.....not difficult. No way I was taking the head off for that!!

 

[Petrol Pete]

I did drill mine out in the car.....not difficult. No way I was taking the head off for that!!

You did a good job , but we have had stories of the repair being so bodged as the head had to come off .

They managed to snap it , so their skills/experience are already in question.

Yes , anyone can snap a bolt , Guilty your honour , but it's how they treat the OP, post bolt snap, that is important here.

 

[ALFAitalia]

I was lucky enough to not even need to remove the cam cover.....

 

[Petrol Pete]

I might start a new thread

'Tell us about your worst bolt snap experience (your fault) and how dear did it cost you ? ...your job ? '