FlyB0y Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 :banghead::banghead: This pretty much describes the last TWO days trying to remove a broken 12mm bolt from the rear drivers side strut tower mount (where you bolt into the brat) I was having a hellova time just getting it to move, and when it did move it made that lovely popping sound, then suddenly sheared off flush with the inside of the rear fender. I bought Aero Kroil, CRC Freeze Off and have used a Nap Gas torch to heat the bolt, using the penatraiting oils to shock the bolt as well when it's really hot, and allowing the oil to soak in over-night. the bolt now has 5/16 hole down the middle, and I have pushed a easy-out(one of the WORST named tools known to man:drunk:) to the point of snapping trying to get it to move. I have removed 1/8th of the bolt piece by piece with chisle and hammer, no movement. I am currently drilling a 5/32 bit into the line where the bolt meets the captured threads in the unibody, and got about 1/2 way in and it caught and snapped before I could even curse! I think the bit will come out pretty easy, but at 9:50pm I had pushed my luck at getting neigbors angry (I'm working outside) and I will try again tomarrow. I'm hoping to finish the hole started with the 5/32 bit and this should take a chunk out of the bolt's 1/8" thick remains allowing me to crack the bolt with a chisel (I hope!) Anyone have any other suggestions should this plan fail? (I do have a 3/8" bit too, but I fear that my hole might not be aligned well enough not to risk a good portion of the threads if I'm off) Oh and hello again, hope to see you all at the WCSS (IF I can get this bolt out lol ... the other side looks like it has annother nightmare bolt in the making too!zzz) P.S. I could also drill on through the fender into the bed, and then I could drill from the opposite side, which would turn the bolt counterclockwise, possibly unscrewing it too. Just not sure how doable this is, and again I suspect the hole drilled isn't correctly aligned, in the middle but wrong angle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 At this point I think your best bet is to drill it oversized and heli-coil it. If you hadn't done all that drilling and chiseling you could have got it out by welding a nut to it and working it out. Sometimes takes half a dozen tries but it's by far the easiest way to do it. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 (edited) EZ outs are worthless. any time someone says "they worked", the bolt would have come out with any number of simpler and less dangerous methods. avoid ezouts all the time and save yourself the hassle of supporting crap tools. i know the temptation of having a busted, annoying, time-sucking bolt...and that ezout sounds tempting, avoid it at all costs. i can't see what yo'ure looking at and haven't done hardly any EA81 stuff, but here's what i've done before. you won't likely have good luck drilling the stupid-OUT, so drill a hole adjacent to the EZout to the point where you can "knock it out sideways" so to speak. then you can fix the mangled mess when you're done. usually you can leave plenty of material to work with, but even if you didn't, an insert or fix could be fabricated easy enough. as you have found out the hard way, EZouts are very brittle and will break rather easily. so if you can get a chisel or something on it, pound the snot out of it...should be easy enough to muster that motivation ehh?? get some good metal drilling cobalt bits and use lots of cutting oil and don't let the bit overheat. take breaks if you have to in order for it to cool down. if it quits drilling or cutting, don't force it (more breakage). Let it cool down, oil it, or get a new bit. if you aren't getting annoyed oiling it, you're not doing it enough. commercial machines have a steady stream of fluid to cool the bits, constantly spraying. the oil will make it cut much better, your bit will last longer too. good luck, this indeed sucks. Edited June 28, 2009 by grossgary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted June 28, 2009 Share Posted June 28, 2009 There *are* some easy-out type products that do work. Especially on larger stuff - good examples are broken off pipe nipple threads - they work excelent in that application. These are the style I'm talking about: And you HAVE to buy high quality ones. The cheap ones will break every time - as grossgary says. Mostly the useful ones are in the top row in that picture. Also the left-hand drill bits will often spin a broken bolt out just drilling the hole in them. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted June 28, 2009 Author Share Posted June 28, 2009 Great advice! Thanks! I had already started doing what Gary recommended with a dewalt bit and it worked great 2/3 of the way till I wasn't pushing straight and SNAP! Fortunately I have a multi-speed drill (old craftsman 3/8") that is perfect for going slow and steady, and yes your right on the oil, I drill only as long as nice long chips are falling and if I see/hear any sign things are going harder/getting hot I dip in the cutting oil, so every few seconds I get more oil on it. Oh well, I was thinking I might have to drill straight through anyway. I hope autozone has some of the colbalt/carbide bits, if not I have a home depot near me that I can get more of the dewalts. What do you think of drilling through into the bed and just tapping to the next size up? The captured nuts are really beefy, and if my drill holes are off too much, would it be a bad idea to just make a big enough hole in the sheet-metal of the bed to be able to get a socket on the back side and just put a nut in there? In-fact, I could put the bolt in from the bed side, have the nut on the tower side and worse comes to worse next time, just crack off the nut! zzz What do you think? Oh and P.S. my neighbor gave me an easyout of the bottom left variety like in that snapon set you posted, it hasn't broken, but I have put the hurt on it enough to see it flex! But like you say, if it's REALLY stuck in the first place an easyout isn't going to move it. Just wish me luck as I attempt to put a perfectly dead-center AND straight hole into the bolt with a hand drill (like that's going to happen) Also gonna switch to the big 1/2" hand drill once I go up to the 3/8"+ size bits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo'J Posted June 29, 2009 Share Posted June 29, 2009 I've had luck with a torch and a can of airless air turned upside down. Heat the area hot and then freeze the bolt. If you dont have a thing to grab it wont work as easy outs expand the metal slightly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 Well, the second side came out much better. Got a nice straight hole through the second bolt and saved the threads. Now that I know I was wrong on the angle of the first bolt, I guess I will fill with JB weld and drill the right angle this time .. DOH!zzz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted July 3, 2009 Author Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) Well, as some may have guessed already, the JB isn't the best to hold the threads, but I think it should do until I can get the BIGGER problem resolved. Being back in Oregon, I am reminded how muck more quickly things rust than in MT. Going to have new pieces of strut mount/bed side fender welded. On the right side pic you can see 2 1/2" holes that opened up just from a few passes with a 2" wire brush. Might have to put a nut on the JW welded side to keep things strong for now. Hopefully I can make it about a year before this causes real trouble. For now I am using POR 15 to halt the rust. Edited July 3, 2009 by FlyB0y Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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