Sheared bolt on anode bracket

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Nasher

I think you'll struggle to find anyone who can Spark erode in situ.

You are more likely to have to strip the saddle etc down so they can put the removed part in/on their machine.

True. I’d assumed that the part in question was off & on the bench. If the OP has been trying to sort this in-situ, it’s no wonder he’s struggling. Time to bite the bullet….

[Herman Melville]

Originally Posted by willk

Oh man....

Literally my life at the moment. All I was trying to do was change the anode and clean up the bracket it goes on.

[Herman Melville]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

True. I’d assumed that the part in question was off & on the bench. If the OP has been trying to sort this in-situ, it’s no wonder he’s struggling. Time to bite the bullet….

I think the only way to get it off and on the bench - which would be paradise - is to take out steering cable from tilt tube, hammer out the tilt tube, somehow support the motor (I don't have hoist) and then take out the tilt hydraulic unit on top and bottom pivots....plus disconnect the various other things that woud be in the way like the tilt motor cable...

What could possibly go wrong ! ?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Herman Melville

I think the only way to get it off and on the bench - which would be paradise - is to take out steering cable from tilt tube, hammer out the tilt tube, somehow support the motor (I don't have hoist) and then take out the tilt hydraulic unit on top and bottom pivots....plus disconnect the various other things that woud be in the way like the tilt motor cable...

What could possibly go wrong ! ?

I suppose it all depends on your skill set & how far you want to take it. At the end of the day, it’s “only” an anode. If you can find a suitable place elsewhere to fit another on the same lump of engine, it’ll be fine. If the boat is trailered & washed off after use, it won’t be much of a problem. If the boat is left afloat….well you can’t have too many anodes.

[Herman Melville]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I suppose it all depends on your skill set & how far you want to take it. At the end of the day, it’s “only” an anode. If you can find a suitable place elsewhere to fit another on the same lump of engine, it’ll be fine. If the boat is trailered & washed off after use, it won’t be much of a problem. If the boat is left afloat….well you can’t have too many anodes.

It is in the marina from start of May to middle of October so really want to get that anode back on @Pikey Dave

I am going to drop it back to an M5 to make it easier to drill and use a couple of washers, drop the depth to 10 / 15mm to make it less work to drill and drill a new hole.

Have got some old steel lumps in the workshop that I can have a dry run too...

[paintman]

Don't take the edge off the nice new drill bits & nice new taps on 'old steel lumps'!

[Herman Melville]

Thanks all - fixed it.

Since you were so helpful and maybe to help anyone else this might happen to I thought I would post how I sorted it.

I tried and tried to get a drill - even a cobalt drill into the original hole but it was just a cratered mess. Mostly of my making but also it was full of the stainless bolt that was stuck into the aluminium alloy block and the drill did not like it.

Anyway I decided to make a new hole.

I got the grinder on it and flattened the area next to it.

Then I did not have any room to punch a starting hole for the drill so I found a little diamond tipped dremmel attachment in the dremmel box and was able to use that to make a really good starting hole to stop the drill wandering about.

Then I tried a 5mm drill (amateur error I now know) and got nowhere. I switched to a 3mm 35 cobalt drill bit and it went through it like a knife through butter.

Then I got a 4.8mm cobalt bit and drilled the hole bigger.

Then I got an M5 tap in and tapped the hole - seemingly withouth problem.

The M5 bolt went into the threads no trouble. I did M5 rather than the original M6 becuase logic said to me if I hash it up I can always go bigger and the M5 bolt will be plenty to hold the load. I just used a couple of washers to improve the fit and spacing.

I dobbed a tiny bit of threadlocker onto it too.

So all went well and it's pretty solid now.

Main thing I would have done differently is that I would have used a smaller drill bit next time for the tap. I chose 4.8m but 4.5mm or even 4mm drill bit would have improved the fit I think.

Anyway, all in all sorted and I am not going to take that bolt off ever again... and even if I do take it off and it goes wrong again I can always go up to size M6....

Now I know for some of you engineering experts out there this is a bit of a pigs ear but for my level of experience and knowledge I was actually pleased.

See photos.

[Herman Melville]

[Herman Melville]