Stuck or snapped bolt

With a rock-solid rusted-in bolt such as you describe, don't even worry about a left-handed drill. Just drill that puppy out with an ordinary bit. It's rusted solid, so it's not going anywhere. And if it does, you win.

Start by filing or grinding the stub flat, then punch a dimple in the exact center of the end for a perfect start on the drilling.

If you miss & punch the bolt off-center (by eye), grind it down and mark it again.

Once you have a starting point in the center of the bolt, start drilling with the smallest drill bit you can find. Like 1/16th of an inch, for example.

Drill deep, keeping the hole straight through the center of the bolt.

Then move up in the drill sizes a little at a time. You want to enlarge the hole as much as possible without hitting the threads of the nut the bolt is rusted into.

When you have nothing left but bolt threads on a thin cylinder of bolt body, it will flex as you try to get it out. That will break the rust-lock, and it'll come out easy-peasy.

You can get also break a drilled bolt free by turning it in a little deeper: twist a screw in until the bolt breaks loose and moves. Then just back them both out as one.

Grabbing with a vise grip will also work because it will flatten the hollow bolt, and break that perfect fit.

I've also just cut a screwdriver slot in a drilled-out bolt and backed it out with a big screwdriver. Much easier when the bolt is hollow.

Do use that PB Blaster from Home Depot. It's good stuff and dirt cheap.

I got the jugs off a Harley that had been sitting for thirty years with it: no damage.

The WD in WD-40 stands for Water Displacement. It was the 40th formula they tested.

Sadly, WD-40 has fallen to Corporate Nannyism. They took all the flammable ingredients out recently, so you can no longer use it to seat tire beads by detonating a spritz of it inside the tire.

I save up partial cans of the good stuff, now, because I want to live dangerously and I hate setting tire beads the right way. Then too, I can carry a can of the original WD-40 around a lot easier than a high volume air pump and 600 miles of extension cord.

(Watch the YouTube videos on that. Some are a real hoot.)

 

wd40 is mostly good for drying out ignition wires or the old style distributor caps. My favorite use was igniting a can like a flame thrower and chasing disrespectful apprentices out of my shop. Here are some tips from over 50 years experience. Rule 1 patience. Never heat the bolt you are trying to remove, 1st soak the area of the bolt with a small warm up of about 250f then apply diesel mixed with motor oil. All the fancy spray can stuff is completely un necessary. while bolt is warm apply the oil mix and tap lightly then let cool right off and do a couple more times. If enough of the bolt is sticking out to get a small pipe wrench that has sharp teeth on it good. Get your small pipe wrench and a cheater handle ready, then heat the metal surrounding the hole to a low cherry red and try and back it out with the small pipe wrench. If this fails, then grind the stub level and center punch, then anneal the bolt with an oxy/acet torch let cool and begin drilling it out starting wth smallest drill possible and drill straight as possible through the bolt. move up drill sizes progressively until you are as close to the hole threads as possible without damaging the threads. Then begin folding in the threads or if the hole is big enough cut the thread internally all the way down one side with a small very sharp chisel, or use a hack saw blade or if you have one and have steady hands a hi speed die grinder with a new burr. of course the hole must be big enough for the tool. If the stud or bolt is broken off below the surface, take a iron pipe fitting that just slides inside the hole and set it on top of broken bolt. sched 40 is good. then stick your electric welding rod down inside the pipe and weld the inside of the pipe end to the top of the broken off stud. use above steps of heat and oil and cooling to try and greak bond between broken stud and hole, then use pipe wrench to turn out stud/bolt. If all this fails. Drill out and re tap one size larger if you can. best of luck

 

I get lots of practice with broken bolts.

Exhaust bolts on my '85 Grand Wagoneer are hollow. This almost makes getting the broken ones out easy.

+1 on PB Blaster, Kroil, etc. In a pinch, before the bolt breaks off, melting regular candle wax around the head and then applying heat will cause the wax to wick down the threads and loosen things up.

I saved Uncle Sam a bundle with the old Roosa-Master injection pumps on our generators. A bolt in the rotating cam ring inside the aluminum housing would routinely break off. No way to hold it still for drilling, etc. The solution here was a very talented Marine in the air frames shop who could weld a rod onto the broken bolt and twist it right out with a pliers without touching the aluminum housing. There was nothing I could dream up that those guys couldn't build.

Broken brass antenna stubs in those roof top antennas that break off in the car wash will usually turn right out when an electric engraver (mini-impact hammer) is applied in a CCW direction.

Broken screws right under the windshield on Chevy Silverado dash could require windshield removal, but with a piece of sheet metal to protect the glass from pitting (windshield glass WILL be pitted by sparks from grinding/welding) I cut a slot in the screw which heats up the thread locker and allows me to spin them right out with a stubby screw driver.

Heat, impact and Kroil are always going to help. Patience is the key.

 

I think it was more towards the tailpipe area. It was his buddy's car that you can hear coming down the street. As for the bolt that is stuck, it is in the engine area so he is not forcing it afraid of breaking.

 

Did you purchase the deal in your link? Good deal for 2 13 oz aerosol cans at $20.45 including shipping.

 

I put most things back together with grease or anti seize.

Exhaust hanger bolts like to seize and snap off. Exhaust manifold bolts that go into the cylinder head are the same way.
A little copper anti-seize will fix both.

 

Just ordered some! Can not find this in this area so want to stock up on it.. Should have ordered it a month ago when they had it listed for 19.00 dollars for 16.5 ounce cans.. Dad has been using as a rust preventative on the mills and lathes..

 

Another neat-o trick is to use stainless studs and bronze lock nuts! This is a factory Mercedes Benz trick on the Diesels! Never have had a seized one, and they don't loosen up like Ford and Chevy!

 

I see the stainless bolt or stud and brass nut on other German engines too.

 

Could be, MBZ is the only one I have any experience with! Alfa Romeo doesn't, it does now! Same bolts studs and nuts as a MBZ 300 SDT! Even my Isusu 5.4 does now!

 

For all you gear headz, this is where you really learn the skilz to deal with stuck fasteners! Those who know what this is, know how valuable and highly sought after these are, and any mistake could ruin a legend!

It was rusted to hell and seized up solid! A few days soaking in tranny fluid/Jet-A got much of it un stuck, and loads of PB blaster and light heat did the rest!

 

nice

 

Hemi Porn! Little creative welding and some serious carb tuning and now it's a one of a kind power house! Haws Power is a solid 520 at the flywheel and doesn't even start to break a sweat till 3500 rpm! Now I just need to figure out what to put it in! LOL
Feast Yer Eyes!

 

Beeeeuuuutyyyful UK. And the music from tuned headers was ALMOST better than sex! And considering I was in my early twenties back then that's saying something!

 

I wish I could have gotten a good audio recording of it on the dyno with "Zoomies" what ear splitting sweet music, a Hemi grunting out full power truly is! I believe there are only 3 engines with such distinctive sound, so much so that you cam tell what it is just by hearing it at a distance, a Ferrari Colombo V-12, a Ford Flat Head V-8 on a set of blown out "Glass Packs" and an early Hemi with Zoomies, or side pipes and cut outs! Yea, i could listen to any of them all day long!

 

I have been accused of blasphemy of the highest order for even hinting at installing this in any thing but a hot rod and fully exposed to show off all its sexyness! When I told my buddies I was thinking of dropping it in the 42 PowerWagon, they threatend me with unspeakable harm! Naw, its ether going in a 38 Topolino gasser type hot rod, or under the hood of a 47-53 Chevy short bed 3 window, both with a 5 speed stick, cause a down shift sounds super awesome with a Hemi!