broken stud with an broken ez out in it

How does that work for a guy who's block is in a car, or trying to fix it so he can get to work tomorrow ?

Car won't start - buy a new one
Broke a bolt - stick the part back in the machine
Same same

 

I had this happen to me years ago on my '65 Falcon rear axle diff cover.

Snapped the bolt off CLEAN to the gasket surface....and the Easy-Out we bought to get it out. Dad and I pulled the cover off, stuffed the diff with rags then used a Dremel tool with a cut-off wheel to cut a slot in the end of the broken Easy-Out and got it out with a big ol' screw driver. Worked REALLY well actually.

After we got the "Not So Easy-Out"..well "out" We drilled the center out of the bolt a bit more and collapsed the "shell" of the bolt in on itself...then chased the original threads out with a tap. All was well.

 

x2 wedgehead done this alot with good results.

 

A good source for the liquid nitrogen is at the pharmacy. get the dr. schols wart remover. It has a canister of liguid nitrogen with the kit.You can use the tip provided with the kit.

 

I like the JB Weld remedy, I'll have to try that one sometime.
Try a good quality center drill. Center drills are really hard, not carbide but next to it.
Worked for me.
Frozen or bottomed bolts that break, save yourself some aggravation. Drill it out and run a tap through it.
Eze-outs work great for bolts that are loose. They also can swell the bolts making them tighter.

 

A good man with an acetylene torch can blow the bolt out and never even melt the threads. No kidding, when I worked in a muffler shop I did dozens of them. Whenever an exhaust stud broke off in a manifold we would heat it red and blow it out. There is a knack to it, and you need a steady hand but it can be done. The trick is to heat the bolt, or EZ out without heating the surrounding steel then blow it out the instant it turns red, before the surrounding steel gets too hot.

Take it to a muffler shop and I bet they can fix it in a few minutes.

 

I have never had an EZ out break. Never!

For a start I only use the straight square ones with the sharpened edges. They will not jam like the screw ones and if they do you can pull them out.

Then, I never force it. I like to drill the bolt, heat it red, tap the easy out in just enough to get a grip and turn the bolt out. If it will not come without excessive force you have to think of something else. Like drill the bolt out in stages until nothing is left but the threads and pull the threads out like a spring. I've gotten away with that one but it's hard to start the hole that accurate if the part is still on the car.

A broken bolt in aluminum is hardest.

 

Here is trophy of mine from work last week, I had 6 broken studs in a newer ford v10 head, if you have tried to drill these out you know they are hard as hell. This was the worst one as it was broken of about 3/8 inch below the surface. I just used my mig to put a small tack on the end of it, then let it cool and repeated until I had built a shaft all the way out of the hole then slipped a 3/8 nut on it (flat against the head) and welded it on. With all the heating and cooling it had a very small amount of wiggle to it and I started working it with penetrating oil until it was free to spin out. did the same on the rest of the broken studs but this was the worst.

here is the pudding

 

Never broke one ? Pay attention here because you will eventually.
Suppose you've never busted a tap or drill bit either.

I know guys who've never broken them, but that because they have no idea what one is or how to use it.

 

Forget about drilling the ez out, it'll never work. I do the same type procedure Rocky does. It's never failed as long as there is some of the stud sticking out. I don't use a washer, just the nut but it might work better the way Rocky does it. The heat cycle from welding really helps to break the bond of rust between the threads in the stud and the threads in the head.

 

Lots of good info here and some outright bad advice. And some false advice and info too.

The best way to renmove a broken bolt or stud is as Rottenleonard posted, building up the bolt with weld and then welding a nut onto it.

I will go one step further and weld a flat washer to the top of the weld and then weld the nut to that.

I have done hundreds of them this way over the years from small to large.

It doesn't matter if they are well below the surface, recessed into the hole you can build the weld out because if you are careful the weld will not bond to or even touch the threads.

For larger bolts I used stick welding with a 7018 electrode, you weld and keep welding till the hole is full, the slag will gather to the outside of the hole and protect the threads, the weld comes up the middle.

For small bolts, short shots with the MIG work fine.

You don't need to remove the broken EZ out either, just weld away.

Contrary to what was posted above, the heat does not break and loosen the rust etc.

How it actually works is a process of restrained expansion and contraction called upset.

When the bolt is heated, it wants to expand. Since it is not able to it expands in length rather than diameter.

As it cools the extra length remains but it shrinks (contracts) in diameter and becomes loose in the threads.

This can take several attempts to loosen a really tight or stubbornly rusted bolt before the upset is really effective.

And seriously, don't even mess with the liquid nitrogen nonsense.

 

They are no harder than a tap, and I've drilled several of those out.

 

I have used a torch in the past and that works well to just blow the bolt out. It is somewhat tricky at first but once you get going it works well.

The welded nut method i have had work and not work. I think the biggest thing with welding a nut on is you need a welder that will put some serious heat/penetration into the stud, especially if it has a lot of thread engagement.

 

Yes, I've seen this done on exhaust manifolds. Another thing you might try first is to heat up the broken stud real good, then spray penetrating oil into the threads till it cools. Keep pouring the coals to the oil, smoke and all. It will siphon down into the threads real well as long as you keep the oil supplied to it. You'll be suprised how easy the threads will let go afterwards.

 

I saw most of that information, including the washer, in the first response, lol.

 

Ok thanks could it be possible to use a arc welder and build up the stud and then weld a nut to it? Or will the welds have a chance of sticking to the cast iron? How low will the amps have to be if it can be done this way?

 

You can reach down into the hole with a wire welder thru a washer and weld the washer to the broken stud but what I do is weld a 3/8 bolt to the washer and then use an impact wrench to back it out. Some times with old cast iron manifolds that are really rusty Ive had to heat the manifold red before the stud will release but I havent lost one yet.

Big Jim

 

I won't bother with the how to as that's been overdone already but will add that center drills and EZ outs are made of high speed steel which can be machined with carbide (taps also). The correct type of drill for the application is known as a die drill or hard cut drill.


http://www2.coromant.sandvik.com/coromant/pdf/metalworking_products_061/main_e_7.pdf

 

I just did this 2 weeks ago with a broken EZ stuck inside of another broken EZ out.

Get a Dremel with a small Tungsten Carbide deburring bit and it will cut into the EZ out. Then soak the part with penetrating oil. Then use a square extractor to remove the bolt.

 

Welding and heat is if what i posted above does not work.

 

Don't break easy outs or taps because I know how to use them. Very seldom do I break a drill bit anymore because I know how to use them too. (Tip: slow down the drill).

 

If you knew how to use an easy out you wouldn't attempt removal with this posters problem would you??

T

 

Thanks bro, so have I

Watched a welding rod saleslady demonstrate these rods, never tried them myself. See stud extractor at the bottom of the page;
http://www.stoodyind.com/Catalogs/FISC/current/05catpg355.pdf

 

If he does head for a machine shop it should be one with an EDM . An EDM can burn out the easy out and or stud.

 

If you mean what I think you mean, no. I wouldn't attempt removal with a problem. I would do it with an answer (mine).

 

Just fucking WOW.

It's not like the guys wants to split atoms in his kitchen.


Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean it can't be done.
Those who say they can't do it, might learn from those
who have done it themselves. 1st hand knowledge.

 

I have rescued a few for folks. Using a punch I bust up the easyout. They are quite brittle so it isnt as impossible as it sounds. Blow the broken pieces out. It may take a while but what are the alternatives? When you get it out take the rest of the easyouts on put them in the trash along wth the broken pieces of this one. Then drill the proper size for the original thread just like you were drilling it for the first time and retap the hole to its original thread.
BTW frozen bolts or studs can be easily removed (I mean it. Easily) by heating them to a dull red and pushing a birthday cake candle onto the hot stud allowing the parafin to run down to the base of the theads. Often they come out so easy it is scary. And I learned that from my nephew Davy. Where he learned it I dont know. I do know though it sure works. Also works well on siezed spark plugs.
Don

 

I learned the deal on them by age 17 during my boat days, followed by helicoil 101....

Bob

 

EDM is the way to go if whatever you have will fit into the dielectric tank. I've removed more than a few busted taps and bolts with one we had in a shop I used to work at. It was convient and we had plenty of tungsten-carbide electrode stock on hand. The going rate in 1989 or so was $65 per hole, gotta be double that now.

Bob

 

Hotrodderhagg is right. The Snap On bolt remover set is way over-priced, but some times one just has to bite the bullet, and spend the green.
The set consists of hollow round guides, that come in different diameters, both OD, and ID. you find the one that fits snuggly into the shallow hole left by the missing part of the ehxaust bolt-stud. Then, align it as well as you can to the original bolt-stud angle. Now use a toarch to heat the easy out a few times to ruin the hardness as best as you can. Again, go back to quenching the hot metal with frozen Blaster. Now drill with the best drill bit you can find, at the correct speed and pressure. Don't forget the cooling lube. Measure the depth of one identical hole to determine when you are through the bolt-stud. BUT, be sure you do not drill into the cast head. It helps to get through the bolt, to allow Blaster to work from both ends.
Another trick I have seen done is to fabricate a drilling guide to align the drill by welding a hollow tube to a steel flange, and aligning it with a square, then bolting it firmly to the head. If the exhaust manifold is not too thick, you can use it as a drilling guide, by fabricating bushings for the drill bit to keep it aligned in the bolt hole of the exhaust manifold.
I would suggest that you get the large size package of patience, and unplug the clocks. And unless the replacement head is cheap, and readily available, do not loose faith in the integrity of the cast iron cylinder head. Good luck.