Potential Screw up of All Screw Ups!!! AND Lesson for Everyone!!!!

rgorke

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So, my '04 V8 starting having a belt rattling type noise. I loosened the tensioner and took off the belt and noticed that the belt tensioner wasn't spinning as freely as it should. Once I removed the tensioner, I could here a bit of grinding as it was spinning. I ordered a new Motorcraft tensioner on line. I also sprayed a tiny bit of lube into the existing tensioner pulley and that really seemed to help. So, I was thinking that it would be ok to use for a couple of days until my new Motorcraft showed up.

Putting the existing tensioner back on, I got the bolt started and ratcheted away just nice and easy like. Until I got to where it was snug, got out my torque wrench, set it for 30 lbs and no click, then no click and then realized, I had stripped the hole in the block. ARGH!!!!! Steel bolts and aluminum blocks!!!! ARGH!!!!

Fortunately, I have a "real professional like mechanic" buddy coming over to help.

WORD TO THE WISE: Always and Always finger the steel bolts in as much as possible. It don't take much to cross thread aluminum.
 
Yeah that should be fixable. I always clean up the threads and oil bolts before installing, just to be able to make sure that I can hand thread them for QA. Hopefully you used a quality lubricant on that bad pulley. A lot of people think that WD-40 is a lubricant, but like the ending of the word lubricant, it can't do the job. Within a few days, the place that gets sprayed with that stuff ends up drier than it started. I use spray oil or an oil squirt pump handheld gun loaded with straight 30-W for my bolts.

Best of luck with the repair, mate. I had to do 5 of those on a Subaru timing component job this year, and that sucked. Drilling into aluminum blocks to expand a hole for re-threading is delicate work and could quickly go too deep, very easily. Make sure to always use a locking ferule or even several wraps of tape on the drill bit to signal and stop forward progress at the end of the hole, once that safe depth has been determined.
 
Yeah that should be fixable. I always clean up the threads and oil bolts before installing, just to be able to make sure that I can hand thread them for QA. Hopefully you used a quality lubricant on that bad pulley. A lot of people think that WD-40 is a lubricant, but like the ending of the word lubricant, it can't do the job. Within a few days, the place that gets sprayed with that stuff ends up drier than it started. I use spray oil or an oil squirt pump handheld gun loaded with straight 30-W for my bolts.

Best of luck with the repair, mate. I had to do 5 of those on a Subaru timing component job this year, and that sucked. Drilling into aluminum blocks to expand a hole for re-threading is delicate work and could quickly go too deep, very easily. Make sure to always use a locking ferule or even several wraps of tape on the drill bit to signal and stop forward progress at the end of the hole, once that safe depth has been determined.
Thanks, it turns out my new tensioner will be delivered today so the oiled pulley is moot.
 
I feel your pain man. I once had to Heli-Coil 20 transmission pan bolts holes due to galvinic corrosion, (threads came right out with the bolts). Not only was it time consuming... but also expensive... just in heli-coils.

Almost as bad... was when my son stripped out the drain plug hole of the aluinum oil pan on his Escape. Worst part was pulling the pan... although I was a little nervous about keeping the hole square to the pan too.
 
Oh, and by the way... don't beat yourself up. Shit happens.

There's been a couple people on here... that snapped off intake bolts flush with the head... trying to pull them when temps were too cold.

I dont know about you... but I'd rather have to heli-coil stripped threads in an engine block... than try to drill and extract a steel bolt from an aluminum head.
 
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Update...I was cleaning out the bolt hole...the pieces of a heli-coli came out...It had been striped previously and “fixed”, not really. So I feel much better that I didn’t screw it up!!! But what to do? Well my buddy was there and said, “is that a bracket or a part of the block? We dig through my manuals and see that it is a bracket!!! A “new” one is ordered and on its way!!!

Question is getting the PS pump out of the way w/o having to disconnect all the hoses...

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Whew... that was a close one. I was gonna suggest a heli coil inside a heli coil... but I finished reading first. Whoever did the first one probably used too large of a drill bit... so the coil didn't have enough thread to grab. Usually the "kit" comes with the proper sized drill bit.
 
Whew... that was a close one. I was gonna suggest a heli coil inside a heli coil... but I finished reading first. Whoever did the first one probably used too large of a drill bit... so the coil didn't have enough thread to grab. Usually the "kit" comes with the proper sized drill bit.

Yeah, fortunately, I don’t have to try and “fix” it...just replace!
 
What I can not find is how to replace that bracket, meaning how tight to make the bolts for the bracket. I am definitely NOT going to over do the torquing!!! Looking at the picture in the manual, the bolts almost look like they have hex heads!

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If the bolts have the same thread size as the PS pump bolts, 18 ft lb should be about right. If larger, then find torque specs for that size bolt elsewhere in the manual. Torque specs are fairly standardized according to hardness grade and diameter and thread pitch. It wouldn't surprise me if they used a torx head on those, if they are recessed into the bracket.
 
I feel your pain man. I once had to Heli-Coil 20 transmission pan bolts holes due to galvinic corrosion, (threads came right out with the bolts). Not only was it time consuming... but also expensive... just in heli-coils.

Almost as bad... was when my son stripped out the drain plug hole of the aluinum oil pan on his Escape. Worst part was pulling the pan... although I was a little nervous about keeping the hole square to the pan too.
My Step-Son has a 2009 Escape and it looks like it needs a new oil pan gasket ...how difficult would this be to do?
 
If the bolts have the same thread size as the PS pump bolts, 18 ft lb should be about right. If larger, then find torque specs for that size bolt elsewhere in the manual. Torque specs are fairly standardized according to hardness grade and diameter and thread pitch. It wouldn't surprise me if they used a torx head on those, if they are recessed into the bracket.
Thanks, they are actually 10mm bolts. Pictures can be deceiving. It is a really pain getting those PS bracket bolts out. Even is accessing the bolts for the bracket w/o removing the PS pump.

I may just remove the pump all together. What worries me is the teflon seal for the pressure line fitting. Are those hard to get and install? The manual says I need a "special tool" that seems to run close to $200.
 
Don't open the PS lines, move the whole pump out of the way and secure it with bungie cords or something that holds it out of your way. If you need to pull the reservoir, that should be fine, empty it with a baster or suction gun (used commonly in transmission fluid/differential oil work, around $15 each), remove the hose from the reservoir or the pump, whichever is easiest. Make yourself comfortable, work relaxed, and good luck! no idea on the escape oil pan gasket.. Usually those type of repairs require the removal of the K member, so you have to use an overhead engine holder that straddles the engine bay and uses the fender seams to rest on. Those are fairly affordable in Harbor Freight for a single use, or try to borrow one. Hopefully, the oil pan is the problem and not an intermediate girdle like the LS V6 has.
 
I haven't done anything on an LS power steering pump, but I have changed the high pressure hose on my Ranger. I think that it is pretty much the same (except for have way more room to work with). There wasn't much to it. The special tool in this case was a piece of plastic that came with the new hose. I assume that you could also get that with a replacement aftermarket seal.

I also found this DIY tool discussion: Power steering teflon seal install tool
 
My Step-Son has a 2009 Escape and it looks like it needs a new oil pan gasket ...how difficult would this be to do?

It's been a while since I did my son's pan, (and longer since my ex's too) ... but I don't recall it being a pain. Worst with my ex's was cleaning out all the cooked sludgy residue from the pan... and the bottom internals of the engine. Its pretty open underneath... but IIRC there is something I had to do with the exhaust, (not unbolting it from the engine... but somewhere else), and I think a crossmember had to be removed.

If I get a chance and remember to do so... I'll peek under one of them and see if something jogs my memory.
 
Ok... found it. All bracket and pump bolts 18 lb-ft.

IMG_20191128_120756296.jpg


That's not really alot of torque... so I don't think you'll have to worry about stripping anything.

I'd be more concerned about something vibrating loose... so you might want to consider putting a touch of blue loctite on all of them.
 
It's been a while since I did my son's pan, (and longer since my ex's too) ... but I don't recall it being a pain. Worst with my ex's was cleaning out all the cooked sludgy residue from the pan... and the bottom internals of the engine. Its pretty open underneath... but IIRC there is something I had to do with the exhaust, (not unbolting it from the engine... but somewhere else), and I think a crossmember had to be removed.

If I get a chance and remember to do so... I'll peek under one of them and see if something jogs my memory.
I didn't mean to change the subject on this thread and apologize for not IM-ing you just wanted to know if it was a major PITA thanks for answering the question 04'
 
I don't think anyone minded. It was still somewhat on topic and sideways related to the original issue rgorke had.

Plus as Joe has mentioned before... it's a natural thing on this forum for a thread to turn into a multiple subject discussion.
 
Ok... found it. All bracket and pump bolts 18 lb-ft.

View attachment 828573129

That's not really alot of torque... so I don't think you'll have to worry about stripping anything.

I'd be more concerned about something vibrating loose... so you might want to consider putting a touch of blue loctite on all of them.
Hey thanks!!! I was out of town for the holiday and just got back. I was thinking about the blue loctite. Where did you find that picture? Which manual? I couldn’t find it in my 2004 LS Manual.
 
I have the 2004 manual also. It's in the engine reassembly section. I actually skipped over it a couple times... before I saw it.
 
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I am currently leaning toward taking the PS pump completely out. It was a tremendous pain to get the existing bracket out with the pump still in. I can foresee another "screw up" trying to get the bolts in, working against Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation. The big hurdle is getting the new teflon seal on w/o the $100 "special tool".
 

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