Flywheel bolt snapped during torquing...

Make sure those bolt holes are cleaned out.

It probably broke off at the surface of the flywheel, looks to be the right depth. New bolts from mcmaster will cost you all of 6$ for a box of them. No reason to use used bolts for something this critical.

I bought the torque wrench at napa it was about 100$, it goes from 250-25. The bolt wasn't quite bottomed out yet, and it snapped. The bolts came with a Exedy Clutch kit I ordered from rock auto, I noticed on the engine side on the new flywheel I got it says "made In China" which from what I understand is a red flag for quality parts.. might be the reason the bolt snapped... should I return the kit and buy a south bend kit? Or just buy some new flywheel bolts?

The bolt that snapped was also a brand new one that came in the clutch kit

IDI_Journeyman said:

I bought the torque wrench at napa it was about 100$, it goes from 250-25. The bolt wasn't quite bottomed out yet, and it snapped. The bolts came with a Exedy Clutch kit I ordered from rock auto, I noticed on the engine side on the new flywheel I got it says "made In China" which from what I understand is a red flag for quality parts.. might be the reason the bolt snapped... should I return the kit and buy a south bend kit? Or just buy some new flywheel bolts?

Click to expand...

South bend clutch is pricy. Havnt slipped it yet tho. Grossed 25k more han once

IDI_Journeyman said:

I bought the torque wrench at napa it was about 100$, it goes from 250-25. The bolt wasn't quite bottomed out yet, and it snapped. The bolts came with a Exedy Clutch kit I ordered from rock auto, I noticed on the engine side on the new flywheel I got it says "made In China" which from what I understand is a red flag for quality parts.. might be the reason the bolt snapped... should I return the kit and buy a south bend kit? Or just buy some new flywheel bolts?

Click to expand...

Seemed to me that the engine rotated at the 45lb torque on the crank bolts. Did you have to stop it from rollin over? That should be a ball park reference

You should be able to thread those bolts in by hand until they meet the flywheel face. The torque wrench should only be needed for setting torque, not for tightening it all the way. I would suggest cleaning out those threads before trying again.

Another tip, I threaded a couple 3/8 threaded rods into two of the holes so that i had something to set the flywheel on during installation.

shawn deere said:

Seemed to me that the engine rotated at the 45lb torque on the crank bolts. Did you have to stop it from rollin over? That should be a ball park reference

Click to expand...

I'll echo this, I had to grab the flywheel hard with a gloved hand while I torqued the bolts because it wanted to spin.

Wow, When I first read this thread, thought some one in the past used an impact wrench and over torque the bolt past its elastic limit. New bolt, that really instill confidence in the remaining bolts ;>) . If the bolt shoulder is neck down, it is probably a one time use stretch bolt.

I usually run a thread chaser to clean the threaded holes. Most flywheels the holes will only align up one way. Using two studs as ispki said is helpful.
Treat tighten flywheel bolts like torqued down head bolts. Snug bolts first then alternately torque them in three steps: 20, 40, 50 lb-ft.

To hold the flywheel in place, use a light chain. Run one bolt through the chain and into one of the pressure plate bolt holes and secure the other end of the chain with a bolt in one of the bell housing bolt holes. Adjust chain length accordingly.

Little more detail but sleep better at night. Years ago worked in a shop were impacts were only used for disassemble..

Notice this is my first post on this site.. Bob G.

That is weird. Anytime I've torqued a flywheel it's by myself. Both holding the flywheel from turning and torquing it.

I do blue loctite on the flywheel bolts. 3/8" pins to get the flywheel started are good also.

Most parts are made in china - so I don't worry about that. I'm a LUK clutch kit guy myself. Installed several with no issues. Typically they include new bolts. Which I've not had issues with, but they do have a batch of pressure plate bolts that have a crazy high torque on the bag.

I'd give a call to the clutch manufacturer and see what they say. I definitely wouldn't use the other bolts until I knew what was wrong.