bolts snapped off. what now?
- Thread starter Stephen Trapani
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He's like my brother, so, YEAH, I'M MAD AT HIM! :cussing: But it was mostly frustration and disappointment. Hard to stay mad at Mike for a number of reasons. One is that he is the one who has been spraying it with the PB Blaster every other day, every day this week because I live five hours away. He is a hard working guy who after a long day has to go down a 60' drop stairway, paddle out in a canoe, squeeze into the engine compartment, spray, paddle back and then the hard part, climb back up the stairs.Still friends with Mike?
Good luck, thanks for reporting back.
He tried to talk me into the "two out of three ain't bad" perspective, but I didn't feel it.:cry:
If there is bolt you can get your vice grips on then
Conan the vice grips onto the bolt and alternatly tighten and loosen the bolt a little. Once it starts to move either way loosen it about a 1/8 of a turn then return it to its starting point. Loosen it again going a little further but not more than 1/4 turn. Return to start. Repeat till the bolt is out. Don't do that again
If there is no bolt to get vice grips on:
Well you need to get yourself an easy-out from Home Depot. Some sets come with the right size drill bit some do not so if not you need to read the instructions and get the right bit. Drill a hole EXACTLY (I said EXACTLY) in the center of what is left of the bolt. A center punch is recommended to get this right. Remembering that you are working with a hardened metal tool that is BRITTLE and not TOUGH like a bolt CAREFULLY start the easy-out in the hole and begin to "work" the bolt out.
If you break the easy-out off in the hole you are a goner as you can not just drill it out again and start over. It is hard as a barrel of owl shit and the drill bit will just slide right off and ruin the casting the bolt is rusted into.
"working" a bolt out is something of a black art so you might not want to take the risk.
For those who are more risk averse, take a small (1/4 the bolt diameter) drill bit and drill (again EXACTLY in the center) completely through the bolt. make sure you don't drill into the casting. Take the next larger drill and repeat making the hole larger. Repeat till there are just threads left then take a pick and pry the spiral of threads out. Don't do that again.
Conan the vice grips onto the bolt and alternatly tighten and loosen the bolt a little. Once it starts to move either way loosen it about a 1/8 of a turn then return it to its starting point. Loosen it again going a little further but not more than 1/4 turn. Return to start. Repeat till the bolt is out. Don't do that again
If there is no bolt to get vice grips on:
Well you need to get yourself an easy-out from Home Depot. Some sets come with the right size drill bit some do not so if not you need to read the instructions and get the right bit. Drill a hole EXACTLY (I said EXACTLY) in the center of what is left of the bolt. A center punch is recommended to get this right. Remembering that you are working with a hardened metal tool that is BRITTLE and not TOUGH like a bolt CAREFULLY start the easy-out in the hole and begin to "work" the bolt out.
If you break the easy-out off in the hole you are a goner as you can not just drill it out again and start over. It is hard as a barrel of owl shit and the drill bit will just slide right off and ruin the casting the bolt is rusted into.
"working" a bolt out is something of a black art so you might not want to take the risk.
For those who are more risk averse, take a small (1/4 the bolt diameter) drill bit and drill (again EXACTLY in the center) completely through the bolt. make sure you don't drill into the casting. Take the next larger drill and repeat making the hole larger. Repeat till there are just threads left then take a pick and pry the spiral of threads out. Don't do that again.
You have received a lot of good information such as applying heat, PB Blaster, HeliCoils, etc.
In my business I often encounter broken or damaged bolts and studs that must be removed. Unfortunately I don't have the luxury of time because my customers want me to repair the damaged machine so they can put it back into production.
My advice is to heat the broken bolt if you can but if not it's still possible to remove it. First, apply PB Blaster, Kroil, or something similar (forget about WD40). Then, if it won't turn using either a Vicegrip or something similar, be prepared to use a removal tool such as an EZ Out.
Personally I prefer the bolt/stud removal tools offered by Irwin. They are short spiral-shaped devices that are designed to be driven into a predisignated size hole. They have a hex head on the opposite end which should be turned using a socket (put away the adjustable wrench).
Use only a HSS drill bit or better yet, a cobalt bit which doesn't cost that much more money. You may want to enlarge the hole using more than one size bit.
The bolt removal tools really work, especially since they are shorter than EZ Outs and less apt to flex and snap. Thankfully they are relatively inexpensive and can be purchased at Menards and other similar outlets. I purchased an entire set which I seem to recall cost less than $30.
If the bolt/stud comes out okay and the thread is undamaged you're in good shape. If the thread is damaged then purchase the appropriately-sized HeliCoil and insert it per the enclosed directions. I purchased mine from O'Reilly's Auto Parts.
Again, enlarge the hole in increments and use the special tap to product a special thread that's compatible with the outside of the HeliCoil.
The new thread will be made from stainless steel and will be stronger than the original which was probably tapped into cast iron. Also the stainless steel thread will not rust, although I suggest that you use a lubricant when inserting the new bolt.
Final Update: Success!
The Moonraker continues it's charmed life. Once again, a major disaster has been downgraded to a past major inconvenience .
I won't recap since the gory details are right here in this thread. Mike had been applying PB Blaster daily all week.
Arrived Sunday morning armed with a bigger needle nose vice grip and a vague plan to torch at a different angle. After practicing my fast-vice-gripping with the new vice grip, I started heating around the broken bolt, which was still protruding only 1/4 inch. Torch torch torch, wax, grip, twist...THE BOLT MOVED! Praise cheeses!!! The 5 degrees of movement was as good as a hundred miles. I had reached the twist limit in the constricted area and decided to now use the regular vice grip head on. I resisted the urge to call and text "VICTORY!" to everyone. Let's wait until the bolt was all the way out.
With the head on vice grab instead of sideways I realized I could attach the big vice grip first and torch with the vice grip attached so I wouldn't have to do the fast grip move. I changed the torching angle slightly and started torching. Just about had it hot enough and suddenly FIRE! Apparently the different angle of torching hit a puddle of lubricant in the aluminum foil I had coated heat sensitive parts with! I immediately grab the flaming aluminum foil, pulled it back and started patting the fire out with my bare hand. Luckily that worked.
The ten seconds of terror did not distract me. Even though I thought too much time had passed I decided to wax and then try a twist on the vice grips. It turned!!!! Twenty more seconds of twisting and the frikken-assed bolt is out!!! A month of worry and planning ends in sweet success. After babysitting the fire site for five minutes to make sure another one doesn't break out I text and call the good news. In another hour the motor is back together and running as sweet as ever. In another hour four of us go for a nice little motor-sail. Now I can sleep soundly again.
The Moonraker continues it's charmed life. Once again, a major disaster has been downgraded to a past major inconvenience .
I won't recap since the gory details are right here in this thread. Mike had been applying PB Blaster daily all week.Arrived Sunday morning armed with a bigger needle nose vice grip and a vague plan to torch at a different angle. After practicing my fast-vice-gripping with the new vice grip, I started heating around the broken bolt, which was still protruding only 1/4 inch. Torch torch torch, wax, grip, twist...THE BOLT MOVED! Praise cheeses!!! The 5 degrees of movement was as good as a hundred miles. I had reached the twist limit in the constricted area and decided to now use the regular vice grip head on. I resisted the urge to call and text "VICTORY!" to everyone. Let's wait until the bolt was all the way out.
With the head on vice grab instead of sideways I realized I could attach the big vice grip first and torch with the vice grip attached so I wouldn't have to do the fast grip move. I changed the torching angle slightly and started torching. Just about had it hot enough and suddenly FIRE! Apparently the different angle of torching hit a puddle of lubricant in the aluminum foil I had coated heat sensitive parts with! I immediately grab the flaming aluminum foil, pulled it back and started patting the fire out with my bare hand. Luckily that worked.
The ten seconds of terror did not distract me. Even though I thought too much time had passed I decided to wax and then try a twist on the vice grips. It turned!!!! Twenty more seconds of twisting and the frikken-assed bolt is out!!! A month of worry and planning ends in sweet success. After babysitting the fire site for five minutes to make sure another one doesn't break out I text and call the good news. In another hour the motor is back together and running as sweet as ever. In another hour four of us go for a nice little motor-sail. Now I can sleep soundly again.
Woohoo!
Thank you! Just spent the first $20 of it on a case to stock the icebox for this weekend!
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