Broken accumulator bolt fixed...what an adventure!!

[1999750il]

accum5.jpgHi all,

As many of you already know, I snapped the bolt heads off of 2 of 6 accumulator bolts on my 1999 750il. I was somewhat lucky that both snapped right at the head and thus I was left with as much stud as possible. I was able to remove one of the studs by using 3 nuts on the stud and backing the whole assembly out. I wasnt as lucky with the second stud. Even after spending a solid week of oiling, heating the second broken bolt..I purchased an inductive heater to turn the stud red hot and then tried using vise grips to remove the broken bolt. That didnt work either...I ended up snapping a small piece of the remaining stud but the threads in the head would not turn. So now I had to come up with a plan to use the remaining stud so I didnt have to remove the head to fix this. My next plan was to try to weld a nut onto the remaining stud...but after applying so much heat and torque to that stud to only have it snap even more....I was worried even if I was able to weld the nut to the stud...the threads in the head were so seized..that I might end up snapping the stud flush with the cylinder head and then I would have to remove the head.

After much research...I was able to come up with a plan that I believe would work.
I have some pics below showing the condition of the stud and the pieces I purchased to correct the issue without taking the cylinder head off. There is VERY limited room between the firewall and the accumulator body. I needed to use a mirror in order to see the stud broken stud and using regular sized tools was not an option.
I ordered several connecting (coupler) nuts with internal 6mmx1 threads off ebay and after some sanding of the connecting nut and drilling of the accumulator hole..I was able to find the perfect fit.
This prevented me from having to remove the cylinder head and was a cheap fix...just time consuming.

Hopefully this helps others out there...good luck!!

accum0.jpgaccum1.jpgAttachment 617294accum4.jpg

[clarkitect]

Pretty slick!

[oldroller]

A 'Pinch stud'!
Indeed, very slick, well done!

[racer2086]

Great idea! Does not look like a fun job!