I got tired in the 93 degree heat today, and accidentally broke 1 of the 4 bolts that holds the trans mount onto the trans. I mixed up the install order when my crappy duralast jack started dropping the trans while lining everything up, and I installed the long bolt that goes through the mount, before fastening the mount to the trans. Needless to say, it didn't mount correctly and I over-tightened one of the bolts which caused it to snap. I tightened the other bolts pretty tight with my impact, and I'm afraid to touch them again for fear that I snap them too!

Since I had to button everything up, I created makeshift shims with electrical tape and cardboard to level the mount out so there's no play, however, this probably won't last too long? Huh? Am I fooling myself to think that this could hold up?

What can I do to make this right? Is it possible to drill out the broken bolt and install another? I tried with my cordless drill, and I could even make a dent in the broken bolt to drill out.

Any ideas are greatly appreciated?

 

It is not the best of situations. It will be ok for a while but the one bolt will probably loosen up after some amount of time because of the torque, twisting and vibration that goes on.

The bolt is probably a hardened steel bolt, so your drill bit will have to be sharp. Yours probably isn't. Sharpen it or buy a new one. Then center punch a starting dimple and drill with a low speed. Then use a screw extractor to remove the broken bolt.

 

There goes your answer right there...

 

i just had this happen to me...broke a bolt in the trans because i replaced the thicker aluminum mount with a thinner steel mount. i only checked to see that the holes lined up. so after snapping the bolt off, i had to spend the next hour carefully drilling out the bolt and retapping the threads. got a little off center but holds. and since the mount is thinner i had to shim the bolts. i'll get the right mount on there soon...maybe?

 

As I told people in another thread, the passenger side and tranny mounts have been revised. The bolts were shortened on the tranny and the passenger side bolts were changed.

 

Now that I'm looking at them, the new mount is steel and not as thick as the aluminum OEM. I got my new mount from Rock Auto (DEA #A7303); I'm surprised that it didn't come with the revised bolts. Right now the makeshift shims are still in while I'm waiting for my new drill and extractor set to arrive. My 18V coordless Coleman drill and regular bits weren't cutting the mustard.
I plan to redo this job, drill out the broken bolt, and re-tap the threads.
Where does one get the new bolts for the new stlye tranny mounts?

 

Well since my mounts were OEM, when I purchased it, he advised me of it and I got it from the dealer. The bolts are just shorter so if you want to attempt to cut them, you can try.