Thanks for the ideas, help, support, and encouragement. The bolt actually was broken off just shy of 1/4" outside of the block, and came out with no resistance with the tips of my fingers. I don't know why it broke, the torque wrench was set for 10 ft-lbs (out of calibration, but it does not overtorque enough to shear a bolt), and the other two bolts and one stud easily withstood the force on them. That is the thing: the bolt that broke was not even all the way in yet, it had not started to provide resistance to my tightening it up with the torque wrench, it just suddenly sheared off with very little force applied. I'd guess under 5 ft-lbs.


I have calmed down about the car, but the faith and trust I had in it is broken forever. It is just another car, not something special anymore. Perhaps most other cars would not even be running at 18+ years (18th birthday was back in March), and over 330,000 miles, but it sure has been a rough 5 years. It is likely that I have yet to adjust to the difference between the usual 2.5 years with a car, then throw it away, and the involvement and commitment of keeping a car, albeit a very well built one, in tip-top and reliable shape for a long time. And, there is no doubt that this car, if properly kept, could keep running for a very long time yet.

Even if I adjust for the chain of events and repairs that stemmed from the failed heater control valve, and it was considerable due to a shitty repair job by a half-assed shop, it still has had many more problems than I want to deal with. And, the transmission is getting ready to need a rebuild. More than I want to do, and the cost of having someone else do it is probably huge.

Thing is, I absolutely hate working on cars. Further fueling my anger and rage today is the fact that bending over the fender and grille/bumper to work on the water pump, using the force I was using to pry it into place resulted in a very painful back. Pain does nothing to calm or soothe my mood. Add to that all the other things going wrong in my life right now, and I really don't have the time or inclination to F about with a car that is always holding the sword of a breakdown over my head. Maybe if everything else was perfect I could laugh it off, take a day or two on the heating pad for my back, then dive back under the hood and happily fix my formerly beloved Volvo. But not with everything else going on. I need something, besides my dogs, that I can count on.
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Scott Cook - 1991 745T, 1986 Toyota Tercel (Don't laugh, it is reliable, faithful AND gets 41 mpg!)