well i went and did it. Broken Driven Clutch bolt 2004 DS

[TheCricketer]

OK. The bolt to hold the driven clutch on twisted off. None of it is sticking out to grab. Looked at the parts guide and cant even find the shaft as a part. Any ideas on how to fix this? Next steps? Anything?

[dundeebarnbuggy]

If the offending bolt is flush with the end of the shaft, you can try welding a nut to the bolt and after it has cooled completely, try turning it out. If the weld breaks, you can try again as sometimes heating and cooling loosens the threads slightly. If that fails, carefully, [stay on center] drill it out and chase the threads/retap. Know anybody with a lathe? Makes the job easier.

[TheCricketer]

Originally Posted by dundeebarnbuggy

If the offending bolt is flush with the end of the shaft, you can try welding a nut to the bolt and after it has cooled completely, try turning it out. If the weld breaks, you can try again as sometimes heating and cooling loosens the threads slightly. If that fails, carefully, [stay on center] drill it out and chase the threads/retap. Know anybody with a lathe? Makes the job easier.

Offending bolt is NOT flush with the shaft. Currently the attempt to drill it out if off center but I do not believe that I have contacted any part of the shaft itself. I've been using a Dremel to try and bore out the hole to recenter it with some success. Can you explain what "chase the threads/retap" means? I do not know anyone with a lathe but this is all still attached to the cart so without taking it all apart, I dont know how I would get the lathe to work.

Thanks again.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

WHOA! First step is to get the shaft out of the cart [and out of the gearbox] so you can work on it properly. It is very easy to screw it up permanently trying to do that horizontally with hand tools while bent over the chassis. Without access to a lathe, set it up in proper drill press so you are drilling true. If you have gone off center you can mig up the hole and start over. If there is enough of a shoulder [the bolt has broken off 1/4 inch or so down] you can drill with a drill that just clears the threads, they will help it center itself. Use low rpms [100-] and check often to make sure you are not drilling into the threads. Once that is done, you will need a tap the correct size and carefully retap that will clear the remaining metal out of the threads.

[TheCricketer]

Originally Posted by dundeebarnbuggy

WHOA! First step is to get the shaft out of the cart [and out of the gearbox] so you can work on it properly. It is very easy to screw it up permanently trying to do that horizontally with hand tools while bent over the chassis. Without access to a lathe, set it up in proper drill press so you are drilling true. If you have gone off center you can mig up the hole and start over. If there is enough of a shoulder [the bolt has broken off 1/4 inch or so down] you can drill with a drill that just clears the threads, they will help it center itself. Use low rpms [100-] and check often to make sure you are not drilling into the threads. Once that is done, you will need a tap the correct size and carefully retap that will clear the remaining metal out of the threads.

And how does one do that? Do you have to remove the entire rear end? What is “mig up the hole”? And just as a side note, I have the tire removed and it’s up on jacks so I have a straight shot.

[dundeebarnbuggy]

Mig as in mig welding. I always find with a stick it is too hard to keep the flux out of the hole. You have a straight shot at the shaft with the wheel removed. Good. But how do you know that the drill you are holding is DEAD level and straight in relation to the shaft? You might get lucky and drill it perfect but I would not take the chance of not. Yes you will have to unbolt the axle assembly from the cart and split it to get the shaft out. Might be helpful to you to enlist the help of a friend [especially if he knows his way around a shop] if you are not comfortable doing this.

[Springbok]

You may be able to use an easy-out bolt extractor to remove that busted bolt shaft the way it went in. If you already have a hole drilled through the center, maybe you just need a spiral extractor bit to get it out.

Typical easy out bolt extractor set:
https://www.lowes.com/pd/KD-Tools-4-...or-Set/4731419

If that doesn't work you may have to split that case and remove that input shaft as dundee described.

Here's how your axle comes apart. The input shaft (the keyway shaft that holds your driven clutch) in #51 in the diagrams linked below. I've never owned or worked on any of the newer axles produced after 1996, so this is mostly new to me. According to GolfCartPartsDirect.com, there are two different rear axles put in carts from 2000-2005. I imagine there would be a serial number on the axle somewhere for you to confirm. At the top of each diagram below they note the serial numbers each diagram applies to. You'll have to ID what you have.

Option 1:
https://golfcartpartsdirect.com/Category/271

Option 2:
https://golfcartpartsdirect.com/Category/274

[Springbok]

Originally Posted by dundeebarnbuggy

You might get lucky and drill it perfect but I would not take the chance of not.

Originally Posted by dundeebarnbuggy

If you have gone off center you can mig up the hole and start over.

Why wouldn't he be able to give it an honest go without having to remove the input shaft? There's a chance he may succeed and not have to pull his entire axle. Removing that axle/shaft is not a small job. By your estimation, even if he did drill crooked, he could then proceed to remove the axle and fill the hole for another try, right?

If he does drill off center and damage the original internal threads, I'm pretty sure the shaft diameter is big enough that he could even just tap the hole one size up and just get a bigger bolt. Even if the new hole is not perfectly centered, it's not like this is a connecting rod bolt or some other internal component that requires a perfect fit. All this bolt does is (with the help of a washer) keep the driven clutch from sliding off the input shaft. I don't imagine that the bolt hole not being in perfect square would affect things much.

As you know, half the guys on this site (myself included) have removed the driven clutch bolt only to find that the driven clutch still won't budge off that shaft! Here's my horror story.

Which leads me to ask of Cricketer, did your driven clutch come right off? Or have you not tried to actually remove it yet? There's a good chance that if the clutch won't slide off the shaft regardless, that you don't even need the bolt at this point. This is of course only an option if your driven clutch is operational and can be run as-is. Why are you trying to remove it? Is it to upgrade the spring like you did with the drive clutch? Might not be worth the trouble at this point.

If worse came to worse and he just didn't want to deal with it, as a last-ditch measure, he could always tack weld the shaft to the driven clutch; with the understanding that removing the clutch at a later date could be a pain.

[Springbok]

Also, how about posting some pictures of your issue? It may help us better assist you.

[TheCricketer]

This is absolutely perfect. Thanks guys.

The driven clutch slid right off and I replaced my spring. It was reinstalling that did it.

Will update with results.