I've thrown important parts of my rover in anger. They are still in my neighbor's yard... probably. I can identify.

 

I just went out and looked and yes if it's the upper rear mounting bolt that broke off there is no room for any extractors or drill. I agree with the above and just use a punch and mark the floor then drill say a 3/4 hole using a uni-bit to gain access to the broken off bolt. Then you can simply use a floor drain plug to fill the hole and cover it back up with the carpet.

Only 1 Land Rover an 02 D2 that I owned for a very short time was a complete pile of junk and it's the only one I ever bought from a so called LR Mechanic sight unseen. It had a rough life, found solid mud 2ft tall inside the passenger side doors, CD Changer packed full of mud, blower full of mud, and a front passenger seat that was seized into place due to rust and mud. I'm not even talking about it running at 229F at idle (how it never blew up is beyond me), and driveshafts that squeaked like a prom queen's bedroom mattress.

It made the trip home and after I voiced my disappoint to the previous owner, I made a list of top things to fix, and I then quickly sold it for a 500.00 loss, but it was gone. Now when I sold it I fixed all the serious items, and I fully disclosed it's condition to the new owner unlike the previous owner I bought it from. All my other LR's have been CL finds or from trusted friends. None of the good ones have given me any grief or left me stranded.

I say just calm down, drill a hole, and hopefully get the broken bolt off and go from there. I also agree on warming the area up as to make the left over bolt break free.

 

When taking bolts out of old vehicles, especially when dealing with aluminum cases, use weasel pee and let it soak for a day and add more, then use an air rachet wrench. the wrench exerts less force but at a quicker rate and lessens the chance of breaking the bolt. Been working on the old stuff for years and found life easier with weasel pee and air rachets, heat if needed, but does burn. Also, as stated above, back of for a day and come back with a clear and not mad mind.

 

Personally I have never seen a bolt 'wear out.' I have no problem with the switch needing replacement after 100K miles, no problem at all, but not putting a .02 cent piece of hose on the A/C drain to help avoid this bolt rusting BS from the factory is, in fact, poor engineering.

 

Good points. Putting a torch on the bolt would really f-up the XYZ switch if you wanted to rebuild it, though. Completely agree about the radiator - I've been in there. From the brackets that hold it in to the horns that need removed to the way the tranny cooler mounts... it ALL sucks.

 

I've never come closer to punching a stationary non-human object in my life than I did today. If it weren't for all the money I have in this truck it would have been like the Rocky scene at the meat packing plant.

 

Know the feeling but trust me. There is terrible engineering on every vehicle made. Must I remind you of the bearing that shall not be named in your car.

Like Best4x4 said, take a step back, lock it up and come back another day.

 

Sometimes you just need someone to say, I feel your pain and not solve your problem.

so, I feel your pain.

good luck.

 

I have to agree. I've broken more bolts on this truck than every other vehicle I've worked on combined. And I was a professional mechanic for a couple of years.

I describe them as a "steel and butter alloy".

 

Vs other 4x4's besides the older Jeep TJ/LJ and older Jeeps the RRC, D1, D2, and Defender where basically put together with much more human interaction. Also being based on military designs they come apart much easier than say a 100% computer built Prius.

Bolts can wear out (threads can strip), and they can corrode from the elements/environment. That's what I was talking about. In your case it's due to an aluminum housing and steel bolt seizing it up.

The AC draining onto the XYZ is the least of it's worries. The bolt is metal and the transmission housing is aluminum. Doesn't matter if it's the space shuttle or a Land Rover the metal and aluminum are going to constantly contract/expand upon heating up and cooling down and over time the bolt can seize into place. (especially since it's not removed often). That's when trying to remove it from a warmed up D2 would have probably been about the temp needed. I don't think the torch comment earlier was meant to be like a cutting torch temp, but to lightly warm the surrounding area (not applying direct flame to the XYZ Switch.

I've torn all my LR's down to pieces with simple common found hand tools. The Radiator IS NOT hard to remove if you simply remove the front grill to gain access to the screws holding the securing plates over the radiator supports and on an 03-04 that is a 15-20 second job!

Hardest thing I've had to help a friend remove was an Alternator on an 03 Ford Escape V6. You're supposed to lower the front rack, exhaust, removing the CV, brakes, and a few other things it took me nearly 6hr! Replacing an Alternator on a Land Rover RRC/D1/D2/Defender is a 30min job at the most....

Sad thing was 2 months after I nearly killed myself on my friends Ford Escape I had to do it a second time as the replacement alternator (mounted 2 inches from main cat) died.... Worse design, quality I've ever seen and from what I've heard it's a mechanics meal ticket on time and labor.

All vehicles will have their ups and downs, but vs other 4x4's out there a D2 is really easy to work on.

We've all been there with a simple job that suddenly turns into a nightmare, but I take a step back, cool down, then go over the situation again and 99% of the time I come back with a simple and quick solution and I always learn from my mistakes.

When I was growing up my dad had me under my first car helping to change the oil while I was still in diapers. I grew up and learned everything from him. Some good things and some bad things. His worse flaw was always grabbing a 3ft 3/4 metal pipe and using it as a cheater bar and he'd always snap bolts, or wheel lugs. I learned from his mistakes and I properly fasten down bolts with the correct torque specs.

Softest metal I've ever touched had to be the Japanese stuff found on all my 89-91 Mitsubishi Montero's. The bolts were a funky little gold color and they loved making them all be Phillips Head #2's. One twist with a good screwdriver = instantly stripped head or snapped bolt. Then I had a Mitsubishi tech friend and he said to NEVER just try and twist a Mitsubishi Phillips Head #2 bolt without using a manual impact driver or inserting a screwdriver and tapping it with a hammer with several good hits before attempting to loosen it. Basically the same issue here with a metal bolt and aluminum housing. After I learned that I stopped snapping off heads or stripping them out on Mitsubishi's or anything with that soft golden steel bolt.