vt aircon compressor snapped 3 bolts and fell off the engine!!! 2nd time!!!

[CV6Z]

his all, as i said the aircon compressor that bolts to the lower right of the engine (3.8 V6) has snapped the 3 bolts that hold it in place and fallen off...again...for the 2nd time in 2months!!!

why? now my car is stuck in bundy till thursday for it to be towed to holden...the bolts from what i could see had snapped inside the bolt holes...

anyone have an idea of how much im lookin at for this to be repaired at holden? or should i look elsewhere for this to be fixed...


any help is appreciated.

[pablo]

Who did the previous repair when the bolts snapped last time?

[D-Rich]

Either hercules is doing up the bolts or the threads in either the block or on the bolts are fked.
being that its happened twice. i'd say it would be the block. just needs to be rethreaded.

just an idea anyway.

[Zeussy]

That or the previous fix consisted of super glue, or araldite

Bad luck o/p, who did you get to fix it the first time? Same Holden Dealer by any chance??
Never heard of one of these falling off :/

[D-Rich]

That or the previous fix consisted of super glue, or araldite

hahahahaha classic. better than cable ties

[graham7773]

Those bolts have a combined tensile strength well over 6 tons. Are they breaking or pulling out of the block? I see that you said breaking/snapped. I have never heard of them breaking before and if they are, they may not have been tightened/tensioned up properly but twice??? Something strange there.

[CV6Z]

yeah im not even kidding....i replaced them the first time with genuine holden nuts and bolts - and again they have snapped after only doing about 2000km.... i tightend them up with a socket fairly tight, i doubt i can snap them if they have a 6tonne breaking point???

from what ive gathered, the bolts have vibrated loose enough while the drive belt putting constant pressure on them pulling outwards and eventually snapping them..been quoted $300 - $500 to get it fixed by a mechanic not holden. i was hoping it'd be around $500 so im ok with that..this time we'll be using a removable locktight glue aswell...

[bogan_vk]

try using hi tensile bolts from a place specialising in bolts this time instead of genuine holden if they keep snapping then get yourself some ezy outs to remove the old bolts and save yourself $500 fark paying that much to refit 4 bolts and a belt.at least thats what id do but im a tightarse.

[Tree cutter]

The compressor housing is probably worn from when the original bolts came loose. The housing needs to be flat where it bolts to your engine or it will move and let your bolts come loose again which will then break the new bolts. You might get away with cleaning the compressor housing with contact spray and then using some sort of epoxy to fill the gaps. You would have to let the epoxy set before you completely tighten the bolts. Its a bit dodgey but it will fix the problem most times.

[Bushy]

i would say get a new/second hand bracket for the a/c compressor that is joined to the motor with 3 bolts and 2 nuts on the engine mount.. ( also maybe a good time to check engine mount while your there as they are very common to rip after age and save ya time and money for next time if its on its way out, as that is the worst one to change :P ).. also get new bolts don't worrie about genuine ones. just get some black high tensile ones that are the right size and length... put it all together and you should be right to go