Fixing the sheared off bolt in the inlet manifold

A very, very wise man, for whom I have enormous respect,  said to me, having had a look at the two photographs below, "Take it to a small engineering shop Steve". 

I considered this wise advice and then asked what I would need to do if I wanted to try and remove it myself. I'm naturally inquisitive and curious, a life long learner and this can be both a curse and a blessing. Sometimes, I over extend my curiosity! 

The wise man came back and as always gave freely of his time and advice - simple steps on what to get and what to do. No judgement, just encouragement and sound advice. 

Another wise man reading this advice on a social media post contacted me and said "Don't do it yourself Steve". He wasn't disagreeing with the advice given originally - in fact he was endorsing it - "Don't do it Steve". Both wise men knew what could go wrong because of their extensive experience with such problems; they knew how difficult the task would be, unlike me, who had no experience and just fancied a go at it! What do they say - "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?"

I considered both sets of advice and eventually and reluctantly came to the conclusion that the advice was, as I knew from the start, very wise and maybe, having never extracted a bolt like this one from a hole like that one before, I'd better get it done professionally. At this point, one of the wise men, who lives just over the border, offered to do it at his work place, taking on a burden which he really couldn't afford to do, given the current Covid - 19 situation and the difficulties he was facing in his own work place with shortages of staff. 

The manifold removed

Within a day of the package arriving, he had extracted the bolt but was unhappy about the threads remaining in the hole. He concluded that a helicoil would be appropriate.

I had to go look up what it was. According to Screwfix, a helicoil is.....

"a brand of threaded inserts that have been created by a coil of stainless steel wire. Made to support and create stronger threads in all metals, composites, polymers and other materials where the internal thread has been stripped or damaged. Helicoil has over 65 yrs of experience and is well known in the industry for manufacturing to the highest quality standards."

Well, there you go - you learn something new every day - I didn't even know such a thing existed. I've used thread cutters before when working on a 1965 Motorvespa 125 super (called 'Stacey') but a coiled wire insert - go figure. 

In the meantime, I consider that me breaking off the bolt is, in fact, fate intervening. The lock down ban on sailing has been lifted - I could have gone today. But, I am slightly troubled by whether it is the socially responsible thing to do or not and so the enforced wait due to my own folly has given me breathing and thinking time. It has also given me time to sit back and watch from afar how arrangements work at local marinas and what issues crop up out on the water. And perhaps, it has given me time to let the initial rush die down a little. 

It will be another two or three weeks before I have reassembled the outboard engine and tested it sufficiently that I am happy that the carburettor works perfectly and the engine won't suddenly cut out and refuse to start at some inopportune moment. If I am to go sailing, I do not want to be a burden on any rescue services or other boat users. All my equipment must be in tip top condition. I must be sharp and confident in my passage plans, risk assessments and 'what if' contingency planning. 

Paranoia! I have always suffered from advanced 'paranoia'!

In the meantime, I ought to be a little kinder to myself. I have learned heaps doing my own outboard service. Three weeks ago I couldn't do any of this:

• replace the engine oil
• flush out the engine using  a flush water pipe connector
• replace the spark plug
• check the coil starter
• replace the gear lube
• grease all moving parts
• fix the waterproof neoprene gasket on an outboard cowling
• remove the lower gear unit and the water pump housing to replace an impeller
• change the shear pin
• remove and clean a carburettor (less successfully I must admit)
• remove the petrol tank
• remove the inlet manifold
• contact the national dealership - Tohatsu UK
• discover a flaw in the outboard - a quality control issue

I may not have done it the right way and whilst the impeller and lower gear unit removal and refitting were a success - I tested it in the water tank and it worked fine - the jury is out on fitting back the manifold and getting the choke and throttle cables sorted correctly. Jury is also out on whether the cleaning of the carburettor, such as it was, has had any beneficial effect. 

There is going to be some explaining to do to the boss - if that engine doesn't start in a few weeks time!