Least favorite repair task...drilling broken bolts

[Missourian]

Good news, bad news story... unbeknownst to me, I had the socket to remove these reverse Torx head bolts...still don't know the actual name, but the head of the bolt looks like a Torx head driver.



So I don't have to drive to Springfield for a tool. I have a Torx and Allen head socket set from Kobolt that included these E type socket drivers. The E14 fit perfectly.





Unfortunately, these fastener bolt were stuck fast and I broke them both off.

May times this is a welcome development. Nuts and bolts are cheap. But these the threads were machined into the part. Luckily they were through bolts and not blind.











Drilling them out damaged the old threads so they received a retapping and some extra-long Allen head fasteners with locknut backing just in case.

 

[Concerned American]

Good news, bad news story... unbeknownst to me, I had the socket to remove these reverse Torx head bolts...still don't know the actual name, but the head of the bolt looks like a Torx head driver.

View attachment 743603

So I don't have to drive to Springfield for a tool. I have a Torx and Allen head socket set from Kobolt that included these E type socket drivers. The E14 fit perfectly.

View attachment 743601

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Unfortunately, these fastener bolt were stuck fast and I broke them both off.

May times this is a welcome development. Nuts and bolts are cheap. But these the threads were machined into the part. Luckily they were through bolts and not blind.

View attachment 743605

View attachment 743606

View attachment 743607

View attachment 743609View attachment 743610

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Drilling them out damaged the old threads so they received a retapping and some extra-long Allen head fasteners with locknut backing just in case.

View attachment 743612

No EZ outs? I usually drill them and then let them soak with some penetrating oil. A lot of times the broken bolt will back right out with an EZ out.

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

Nice work.
Yep.
Even more fun when they're grade 8 or higher (and blind)

 

[Missourian]

No EZ outs?

Honestly I've never gotten an extractor to work.

 

[Missourian]

Nice work.
Yep.
Even more fun when they're grade 8 or higher (and blind)

Ugggh, that would really suck.

 

[Concerned American]

Honestly I've never gotten an extractor to work.

Yeah, they are hit and miss, but when they work correctly, they save a lot of work.

 

[miketx]

The most joy I ever had was drilling out broken bolts in an exhaust manifold.

 

[Missourian]

The most joy I ever had was drilling out broken bolts in an exhaust manifold.

I don't even try to remove exhaust manifolds anymore. That is one job I leave to the professionals.

 

[BasicHumanUnit]

I don't even try to remove exhaust manifolds anymore. That is one job I leave to the professionals.

If I get one that looks like it's going to be a real booger....I split the nut.
But by then I've sometimes had to remove the head and a bunch of chit <headache>

 

[Missourian]

If I get one that looks like it's going to be a real booger....I split the nut.
But by then I've sometimes had to remove the head and a bunch of chit <headache>

I'm going to remember that.

As a backyard mechanic it would never occur to me to start with a nut splitter.

I go through the same ritual every time.

Standard force
Penetrating oil (repeated use between all other steps)
Tappy tap tap
Cheater bar
Heat
Differential heat.

Usually before I get to differential heat, it either breaks loose...or breaks off.

 

[miketx]

I don't even try to remove exhaust manifolds anymore. That is one job I leave to the professionals.

I had to do it a few times at my shop. One was impossible to get to without taking the manifold off so I sent to another shop to do it. I had too much tranny work to do.

 

[Yarddog]

I'm going to remember that.

As a backyard mechanic it would never occur to me to start with a nut splitter.

I go through the same ritual every time.

Standard force
Penetrating oil (repeated use between all other steps)
Tappy tap tap
Cheater bar
Heat
Differential heat.

Usually before I get to differential heat, it either breaks loose...or breaks off.

on some smaller bolts, i was lucky to be able to spin them out just using a left hand drill bit, and on some of the larger ones, depending on how they broke and the location, i could weld an extension of some sort to put a wrench on , and that worked a couple times

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

No EZ outs? I usually drill them and then let them soak with some penetrating oil. A lot of times the broken bolt will back right out with an EZ out.

Sometimes being the key word.
A lot of times screwing the easy out into the bolt will cause the bolt to expand making it even tighter.

 

[Concerned American]

Sometimes being the key word.
A lot of times screwing the easy out into the bolt will cause the bolt to expand making it even tighter.

And that my friend is why we are mechanics--we fix things. The fix isn't always the same.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

And that my friend is why we are mechanics--we fix things. The fix isn't always the same.

My favorite way is having someone else do it that has EDM machine.

 

[Grumblenuts]

Freeze spray isn't just for diagnosing electronics. Expand the outer part with heat. Freeze the inner part. Seldom room to mount a nut splitter in reality. A hammer and chisel works more often. I've extracted a lot of nasty things with just a spring loaded center punch.

 

[Likkmee]

Just put a nut over the broken off bolt and zap it with your mig welder...sheesh

 

[Natural Citizen]

Well you got it out anyway. Having to tap it is kind of a downer, though.

Last time I snapped a bolt, I welded a nut to it and backed it out that way after hitting it with a torch to heat it up.

 

[Natural Citizen]

Just put a nut over the broken off bolt and zap it with your mig welder...sheesh

Ha. You beat me by a second, man.

But, yeah. That's the ticket...

 

[Concerned American]

I'm going to remember that.

As a backyard mechanic it would never occur to me to start with a nut splitter.

I go through the same ritual every time.

Standard force
Penetrating oil (repeated use between all other steps)
Tappy tap tap
Cheater bar
Heat
Differential heat.

Usually before I get to differential heat, it either breaks loose...or breaks off.

I hate it when it happens. I used to work on bottle fillers and had a broken bolt as a result of corrosion in the front table of the machine--after all the attendant cussing at every step, we finally ended up putting a helicoil in the hole.