2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Broken Air Inlet Housing Bolt

[Sasquatch]

Back when I bought my truck, a lot of folks were dressing up their Rams with engine chrome. I got the bug and did likewise. The only part I didn't swap out for chrome was the engine air inlet housing. I kept the mopar original part because I planned to install a "PRIME-LOC" kit, which includes a nice stainless filter mount. The stainless cover is drilled and the holes aligned with the mating holes in the casting of the factory air inlet housing.



About a year after I bought and installed the PRIME-LOC, the main bolt holding the relocation mount sheared off and I was stranded at the side of the road. The truck had to be hauled to the dealer, and the Prime-loc bolt had to be drilled out of the original filter location. The drilling and re-tapping of the hole at the dealership (plus towing charges) came to over $250. 00



I called Prime-loc, and related the story of what had happened, along with the mechanic's observation that the bolt had failed, because it had been "inferior quality and not up to MOPAR standards... " The mechanic showed me where the bolt had broken, and noted how sub-par the metal was.



The Prime-Loc rep told me that they'd ship me a replacement bolt, overnight, at my expense, and commented, "Yeah, we got a bad batch of bolts at about the time your order was filled... "



He expressed no contrition and no particular interest in my problem other than to observe that I'd had their kit for over a year and it was out of warranty.



Yesterday, when checking the oil at a service station, I noticed that the oil dipstick tube had come loose, and the bolt that held it down was missing. I gently pried up the edge of the PRIME-LOC stainless cover and noticed that the bolt had sheared off where it passed through the cover and entered the top of the of the inlet housing.



When I got home, I removed the PRIME-LOC cover and filter assembly and discovered that the bolt had broken off about 3/8" down in the inlet cover casting and there was no way to drill it and get it out.



So... I'm in the market for a replacement air inlet cover. If any of you kept your old cover when you replaced yours with chrome, I'd be interested in buying it from you.



Also, for anyone who purchased a PRIME-LOC (or is considering purchasing one, now), I'd be very reluctant to place any faith in their fasteners. I've removed the other two bolts and found them both showing heavy oxidation/rust.

 

[Sticks]

You are talking about the intake horn right?



You can stili try to get the broken bolt out. If you can see it, you can get it. I would try an easy out before I went after drilling a large hole and re-threading it.

 

[Jim Fulmer]

Why not pull the intake off and fix it on the bench then replace that $10. 00 gasket and bolt it back on... ... seems odd to do it on the truck when it's so easy to get off... ... just my opinon.



Jim

 

[Sasquatch]

Sticks,



I tried drilling the bolt, first, then threading in an "easy out," but the bolt was corroded and even with thread lubricant the easy out wouldn't remove the bolt. I've faced this sort of problem in the past, and have used a torch on the surrounding area to help expand the metal and free the bolt. In this case, I was reluctant to use the torch and ended up breaking the point of the easy off and leaving about a quarter inch of it imbedded in the top of the bolt. When this happens, particularly when the bolt is down below the surface of the casting, it's pretty much "Katie bar the door. "



My options would normally include boring and retapping another hole next to the first one, but then the hole in the stainless cover wouldn't align properly, and I'm not even sure that re-drilling the stainless is a viable option. The annoying thing about this is that the dang fasteners (bolts) themselves are of such poor quality, and this definitely didn't have to happen (twice).



Anyone buying anything from "PRIME-LOC" should ask some very pointed questions about whether or not they've resolved their bolt material issues.



I'm no engineer, but you can look at one of these broken bolts and see what they're made of (cross section), and it almost looks like "pot metal"—that grainy, porous looking quality.



I think our Cummins engines probably place more stress on such fasteners than normal gas burners because they vibrate so much more.



Thanks for you interest.

 

[Sasquatch]

Probably right, Jim.



Frustration + Hurry = Botched effort.



Still looking for replacement Air Inlet Housing, if anyone's got one.

 

[Ron Bissett]

There are thousands of bolts out there on the market and in most cars trucks aircraft you name it with bolts made in third world countries that are not made up to our specs but how to tell if its bad ,wait till it brakes. You can not tell if its a ringer or not thats fair trade working for you. Use anti-size and don't over torqe . You can remove the intake and drill out the bolt some times if easy out is broken off a bolt disintergrator is used to burn it out ,but most can be drill out after diging out the easy out with a chisel or drill around the stub and knocking it loose ,use the Small's drill first and larger as you go take out all-most all the bolt then plenty of WD 40 or some other rust braker ,Keep easy out vertical at all times or side pressure will brake it off and you are back to square one . P. S there are cheap no good easy outs out there too. All bolts that brake off look like pot metal where they brake . If you drill the hole to big you can plug it with a large bolt and lock tight it grind it flat then re-drill the center tap and you are home free. Ron Bissett in Metro Louisville KY

 

[Sasquatch]

Ron,



I appreciate the helpful advice. I did what you suggested, managed to drill/knock the fastener out from the bottom, then re-drilled, retapped, and used a slightly larger bolt. Thanks for your help.