Hello,


I decided to tackle the spark plug replacement DIY. After fooling around with the heat shield for awhile, I found my coil pack bolts in pretty bad condition. I decided to take this pic and save this job for later, as I was afraid of destroying the bolts and being really stuck. Btw, the wetness on the bolts is from me spraying PB Blaster on them to help dissolve a little rust.


The question is, has anyone dealt with rusty bolts like this on the coil packs. I have dealt with rusty bolts, but its a toss up on who will win. I thought about buying replacement bolts and dealing with these if they break. Problem is, the back two cylinders are supper tight with space and getting a broken bolt out might be a 4 hour job.

 

I live in Ottawa where they spray salt on the roads in November with 0 snow.

that's all I deal with when it comes to bolts. rusty ones.

if you can't get something in there cleanly, you're going to have to bite the bullet and start drilling. I understand it's tight aND while it may make the job longer, try and remove as much as possible around the coil packs to make life easier.

 

Before drilling, you might want to try banging a slightly oversized Hex Key into the bolt - if there's enough corrosion there, this should work for you. If it winds up stripping out anyway, it should be easy enough to drill it, to get an easy out in there (you may need a right angle drill to get in there). Good luck

 

I hate to resort to removing bumper and mufflers, but it seems like fighting these bolts would be much easier that way. I may try to deal with the easy access coil pack without removing everything and then decide how to deal with the others. I also thought about soaking these in PB blaster or anything that might help over the course of a month. Like spray them every 3-4 days and then tackle them down the road. That may be just enough to allow them to break free before they crack apart. I also thought of taking something much smaller than the opening in the bolt to free some surface rust. That may allow the correct allan wrench to seat a little more flush.

 

PB Blaster/Penetrating oil(s) are always a good idea... The problem with removing the corrosion on the inside of the head is that it will make the inner dimension larger which will in turn cause the "correct sized" wrench to slip/strip - hence the recommendation to try a "slightly larger" key/wrench.

 

Makes sense. Car is 14 years old and has 60k miles. I am guessing these are original. Yikes.

 

Annoying, this part is hard to find.
900 067 089 09 pan-head screw M 6 X 25


The old style screw for older coil packs.

 

Maybe get the repair all ready to perform....then run the car and get it hot for a removal try ? Do they make a bolt removal socket -craftsman- ? that small ? ( you may have to bust away at the coil pack ear first ) good luck

 

At least I have found the replacement screws. I bet once the head is busted, the pack will come off and the rest of the screw would not fight to hard as the pressure is released.

 

I broke two of these when replacing my coils. They were in much better shape than yours from the picture you shared.

My bolts broke just below the head and only after I had started to loosen them. I was lucky that there was enough of the bolt shaft remaining that I could get vice grips on them and slowly remove the remnants without drilling.

My advice is to go very slowly and don't be afraid to use pb blaster as you go.

I was was able to source replacement bolts from the local hardware store (Ace) easily.

 

Just PM-ed you.. I have a few left overs original Porsche allen hex screws. I converted to the new oversized coils with new Torx-tip fasteners. You are more than welcome to have.

 

I hear you spruden. I have had success being really patient with brake caliper bleeders the same way. Lots of pb blaster and then slowly pressure the bolt tight and lose. If possible using a very gentle tapping with a hammer to cause vibrations in the threads that loosens rust. I am only concerned that the tight clearance is going to make the whole process a bigger headache. Fun getting you know your car though, lol.

 

I also ordered another head shield for passenger side. The one on the left came off just fine, but not even touching the other one until new shield arrives.

 

Maybe stainless next time
https://www.belmetric.com/index.php?...FRBWDQod-I0E9g
Or VW
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-genuine-...FYpKDQodoA4GmA

 

Man now that is some corrosion on those shields.