Rep Power: 0

I am in the process of removing the head from a 2010 1.8L Civic. Two rocker cover bolts snapped off in the threaded portion and I found another one with a snapped off head.
Now I am at the point of removing the head bolts, and the first two I have tried are acting like they may be about to break, too. Is there any way to ensure this doesn't happen? I am doing it manually and probably went 1/8 of a turn on each. Squeak and solid resistance. Would it be better, or just plain stupid, to try an impact? I REALLY don't want broken head bolts in the block.

Please advise.

 
Rep Power: 0

Not seeing any recourse, I finally decided to try the old tried-and-true method of shocking the threads, since I couldn't access the threads with penetrant, or safely use a torch.
Using a 1/2" drive extension, a small sledge hammer, prayers, caution, and a lot of luck, I managed to remove them all without any breaking!
I beat on the heads, with the extension as a drift, numerous times each. Then, using a breaker bar, I rocked them back and forth about an 1/8th of a turn several times. A small snap and voila! Success!!

Now I need to go change my underwear.

 
Rep Power: 229

Glad to hear it turned out well.

 
Rep Power: 0

i know this is and old thread but i cant find much info.
how did reassembly go? all of my bolts broke taking them out. i got them out and have had my head resurfaced and got bolts from a salvage yard.
they are breaking during reassembly.
where did you get new bolts from and do you have any advice or tricks for reassembly?
mine is a 2007 civic 1.8. any help is much appreciated.

 
Rep Power: 222

Get new ones from the dealer. If you're breaking them when you're installing them you're probably going too tight. Are you using a torque wrench?

 
Rep Power: 0

followed the service manual torque pattern and turned each bolt 1 turn at a time until they started getting snug. at that point i pulled them down in stages watching the torque on each bolt. during disassembly all but 1 bolt broke. picked up bolts from the local pick and pull yard and broke 2 bolts on 2 different engines.
the service manual calls for 11 ftlb whitch is 132 inlb. the one broke at 100 inlb and i stopped there and removed all of them, backing them out 1 turn at a time in sequence. the broken one didnt completely break and i was able to remove it easily. ive been in the trade over 30 years and built several v8 engines and have never had anything like this happen before. hondas are definately different and im nervous about his one.

 
Rep Power: 222

That's weird, junk in the threads maybe? Or calibration issue?
or maybe they used crappy bolts in 2010

 
Rep Power: 0

I've ordered new bolts from the dealership. I'll be putting it all together this weekend hopefully. I'll post back with the results.