Dodge SRT Forum banner

Trashed my PT GT

3K views 27 replies 8 participants last post by  Pizza Trump 
#1 ·
Fixed my upper and lower motor mounts recently...look at previous thread...Well the transmission mount gave way when driving today, both bolts sheared off clean, engine fell almost to the ground and sheared off my CV axle at the transmission.
Is this a common problem? My upper passenger mount side bolts sheared off at some point, and the lower mount sheared off too which is what I repaired...Auto tranny...I will post pics...I am worried I toasted the tranny when this gave way...:crying2:
 
#7 ·
Here ya' go! Left 2 bolts are passenger upper torque strut/motor mount...middle 2 bolts are the transmission mount bolts...Right is the passenger lower torque strut/motor mount that bolts to lower cradle by the oil pan...I am not sure when each of these bolts broke or the order they broke in...I found the 2 upper passenger bolts a couple of weeks ago and replaced them...This week I installed a new elbow and ported manifold and found the lower mount hanging there...Fixed that and took it for a spin last night and the tranny mount snapped off and the engine was almost to the ground in the middle of the road...After a flatbed tow it is now home...It looks like the CV shaft disconnected when the engine/tranny dropped...I am hoping a new tranny mount. new bolts and a cv shaft will be it...
 
#11 ·
Did your timing/serpentine belt side of the motor slam into the frame when the bolts failedl? Not too familiar with PT GT's engine bay, know it's cramped though.
 
#13 ·
Bolts should be 10.9 grade, and work just fine. Did you tq these to fsm spc? For them to sheer off not 1 but many, tells me they were over tq. If it was under tq, they would just be lose bolts.
New bolts,axle etc should be back up and running. Check engine wiring harness.
 
  • Like
Reactions: HybridKid
#15 ·
I've snapped 2 factory bolts. E85 stock turbo. Since upgrading to torque solutions mounts and mpx bolt kit I haven't snapped anymore.
 
#16 ·
Broken bolts.....

Just bought a 2003 Pt Cruiser Gt, 141k, totally stock. All the front engine mount bolts were broken flush with the block. The head had just been replaced not long ago. 9 times out of 10, if you have problems, it is where the last work was done. Working on cars is just not taking things apart and putting them back together how ever you want.
You have to have finess and a very good understanding how tight tight is. Tight on a 1/2" bolt wil snap a 5/16" bolt. Tight on a 5/16" bolt is not nearly tight enough for a 1/2" bolt. You need to understand what 15 ft/lbs feels like, what 20 ft/lbs feels like and so on. You might be able to get a bolt super tight on a steel block, but do the same on an aluminum head and you just stripped the head. That's why they make torque wrenchs. If you don't know what you're doing, be sure to use one.
I have a feeling the reason my bolts broke off were because they were not tight enough to start with. Everything has to work in unison. When one bolt breaks the same stress gets multiplied over the remaining bolts until they all fail. Too tight will cause them to break also. The harder the bolt, the more brittle it is. Where a softer bolt, like a #2 , will bend like a liquorice stick, a harder bolt, like a#8, will snap like a candy cane. Thus, why proper torque is important. When you tighten a bolt you have to have a feel for the bolt. If it suddenly feels like it slips or gets easier, something failed. Either the bolt stretched or sheared, or the threads pulled. Your best bet is to try and back it out slowly and maybe you'll get lucky and get it out all in one piece. Leave it hoping it will hold is guaranteed failure wainting to happend at the worst possible time and causing catastraphic failure that will be 10 times more expensive to fix if you're still alive to fix it.
 
#17 ·
Just bought a 2003 Pt Cruiser Gt, 141k, totally stock. All the front engine mount bolts were broken flush with the block. The head had just been replaced not long ago. 9 times out of 10, if you have problems, it is where the last work was done. Working on cars is just not taking things apart and putting them back together how ever you want.
You have to have finess and a very good understanding how tight tight is. Tight on a 1/2" bolt wil snap a 5/16" bolt. Tight on a 5/16" bolt is not nearly tight enough for a 1/2" bolt. You need to understand what 15 ft/lbs feels like, what 20 ft/lbs feels like and so on. You might be able to get a bolt super tight on a steel block, but do the same on an aluminum head and you just stripped the head. That's why they make torque wrenchs. If you don't know what you're doing, be sure to use one.
I have a feeling the reason my bolts broke off were because they were not tight enough to start with. Everything has to work in unison. When one bolt breaks the same stress gets multiplied over the remaining bolts until they all fail. Too tight will cause them to break also. The harder the bolt, the more brittle it is. Where a softer bolt, like a #2 , will bend like a liquorice stick, a harder bolt, like a#8, will snap like a candy cane. Thus, why proper torque is important. When you tighten a bolt you have to have a feel for the bolt. If it suddenly feels like it slips or gets easier, something failed. Either the bolt stretched or sheared, or the threads pulled. Your best bet is to try and back it out slowly and maybe you'll get lucky and get it out all in one piece. Leave it hoping it will hold is guaranteed failure wainting to happend at the worst possible time and causing catastraphic failure that will be 10 times more expensive to fix if you're still alive to fix it.


Good information for the rookie mechanics.
 
#20 ·
I had a 05 PT GT with the 5 speed GetRag. Mine was stock performance wise though. With all that power I am surprised you didn't do solid upper and lower torque struts. Good idea to run blue or even red loctite on the bolts too.
 
#21 ·
I'd advise against using loctite on some of those bolts. Where the upper mount bolts to the bracket on the passenger side above the fender i used loctite and when i tried to remove the bolt later on it made the nut that's on that bracket spin inside the keeper destroying the keeper and made it a pain in the ass to get the bolt out. You can loctite the bolts that go the engine though but I'm not sure it's necessary.
 
#22 ·
Well I was able to get the snapped off transmission bolts out of the engine bracket...One backed right out by hand, the other I drilled into it a 1/4 inch reversed the drill and it spun right out...The tranny mount looks fine...The mechanic that installed the motor used a lot of air wrenches and probably does not have a torque wrench!
 
#25 ·
Update: When the motor dropped it ripped the rubber 90 degree elbow to the turbo intake in half and the top of the radiator pulled apart from the core as it got wedged up in the battery. I have replaced all of the bolts with new OEM pieces, replaced the CV shaft...The tranny seems fine so far but have to get the radiator in to really beat it up...:surprise:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top