Okay, went to remove a valve cover bolt and the head popped off. Must have been too cold when I went to remove it. know it had been removed and put back on not too long ago. So, I did the usual remove the bolt thing and barely went to move the left threaded drill bit that is with my extractor set and the thing broke off! I was shocked as I've never had one do that, and it shouldn't have as I didn't torque it or twist it to the side etc. My question: is there a bit out there that will allow me to drill out the extractor shaft thats in there so I can work on getting the bolt out? Otherwise I am up for suggestions. If there is anything lucky about all this, which there isn't at this point, the bolt that sheared off is the forward top one on the passenger side. Can a shop get it done without taking the whole thing out of there to put under a press etc. I thought about trying to cut a groove across the top, if I can that is, to make it so I could get a large screw driver on it. Frustrated as H E double L!!!!!!!! Why is it always the simplest things that do us in?? Geeeezzzzzzzzzzzz
Weld a 5/16" nut over the broken off bolt, filling the nut with weld. As soon as it cools from red to gray, unscrew the nut. The broken bolt will come out with the nut. Works everytime. And from now on, do not overtighten these bolts. Cold had nothing to do with it. 1/4" bolts are extremely sensitive to overtightening, you can twist one off with a 1/4" drive ratchet. I use this size to tighten them, but only "wrist tight", anything more tends to twist em off.
Use a small prick punch and a hammer and chip the broken bit out of the hole. (Its brittle) and will come out in pieces. Then depending on how far you managed to drill into the bolt you may be able to get your easyout into it and turn it out. Good luck!!!
Make sure to block the oil drain back hole in the head Take a small sharp punch and knock the drill bit out (it will break) Then drill the hole and retap it/helicoil
Agreed thats why I can't believe it popped off. Anyway I like the idea--now if I had a welder. What do you think it would cost to have someone do this at a shop?
Is any of the bolt sticking out past the head? How about with the valve cover removed? A pair of needle nose vice grips will work if some of the bolt sticks out. The nut being welded on works great if it's broken flush or below. As was said, these bolts do not need to be " gorilla " tight! I use only a nut driver on mine. Back in the day, these were just screws!
Most shops will charge you for a minimum one hour labor. What that cost is, I can't tell you. If you were close I'd do it for you for free. It's only going to take a few minutes at best to remove it this way. I've only had this method fail once, and I think it was because the bolt threads were left handed on it (a power miter saw) and I was trying to tighten it instead of loosening it. When you fill the hole in the nut with weld, it also welds to the broken bolt and the heat loosens the bolt to the point where it is very easy to unscrew, you could do it by hand if it weren't so hot. Trying to do this by drilling and using an EZ out, is an exercise in futility, I know, I've tried that many many times, before learning the weld method. I see you're in Iowa, hell every farmer up there's got a welding machine, go make friends with one. Maybe he'll set you up with a 427-428 irrigation pump motor while you're there
