.......aghhh!!!!

I am getting ready to install the new engine/tranny in my truck tomorrow, I get the flywheel on, line up the disk, start the bolts for the clutch, get them all finger tight then start in with the torque wrench in 10 ft lb increments in a start pattern. Everything is going great until I get to about 15 ft lbs on one of the bolts and it snaps right in half. I got everything off, the flywheel on the bench and the bolt out with an easy out before the loc-tight set.
The threads at fine (checked them with a new bolt by hand and it went in fine) but now I am out one clutch bolt. Can I go to the hardware store and use a grade 8 bolt and some loc-tight in place of the one broken bolt and be fine? I'm not doing any drag racing with my truck, it is just a driver. I need to get this fixed tonight!

I would buy all new grade 8 bolts myself. If one was over torqued and stretched or otherwise damaged the others very well could be. The only slant which uses special clutch cover bolts are the 10" clutch on the small flywheel so you should have no problems.

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Joshua

Great! I will head out to the hardware store in a little bit. Just curious, what was the point of the funky shaped bolts and should I use some lock washers along with loc-tight or just lock tight and 30 ft lbs?

Funky shaped? Are they shouldered bolts? If so that's important because they locate the clutch cover to the flywheel. Can you get a picture?

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Joshua

30 ft lbs?

All my 9 1/4 and 10" clutches used 5/16"x18 bolts torqued to 200 in/lbs...
The stepped bolt head for the 10" clutch is to keep the head from nicking the bellhousing as it whizzes by. I've only seen the 3/8" bolts on reconditioned flywheels where the 5/16" hole got wallowed out...or someone couldn't get 5/16" bolts and went with the 3/8" V-8 clutch bolt set.



-D.Idiot

Yep, shouldered bolt. Gotta find shouldered bolts to replace them. Also need to make sure the shoulder doesn't bottom in the bolt hole before the clutch cover it held tight to the flywheel.

I thought you had a large flywheel and clutch. I see the scalloped 10" clutch in the picture. That's why the small head on the bolt.

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Joshua

So where did you guys find your bolts or did you just get a used set from someone? I will check out Tacoma Screw tomorrow morning and see what I can find.

So until I get my hands on a full set of new bolts I still need this thing done by tomorrow so I grabbed a grade 8 bolt at the hardware store and did a little work to it to match it to the stock bolts.
I know that it isn't what alot of you would do but it worked and I am back on track to get this thing done. I will be looking for new bolts and replacing all of them as soon as I find the right bolts.

You may find the clutch disc rubs the bolt heads. Hopefully not.

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Joshua

I thought of that and checked after the disk was centered and the bolts were torqued down and believe it or not even with the bigger head on the one bolt there is the same (give or take a hair or 2) space between the disk and the bolts so I am pretty confident that it will not rub. The head of the new bolt isn't that much bigger than the widest part of the old bolts.

Just an update... the engine and trans are in, it runs great, shifts fine and the bolts don't rub anywhere.