Got the extractor in nice and tight. as I attempted to reverse it out.......
SNAP, broken extractor.
Big breath, close the hood, walk in the house grab a beer.
The adventure continues.............
BTDT, I hate extractors for the above reason. I have found that a 2 or 3.00 carbide tipper masonry bit will drill the hardened extractor. No kidding. Found the idea somewhere online and it works. I usually buy 3 or 4 bits, sometimes small and work my way up, center the bit as best as possible, Approach with extreme caution and VIOLA, retap or helicoil.
Best bet is the prior mentioned welding of a nut to the remaining bit of bolt if you have any, best success with gas/solid wire not so much with flux core wire....feel your pain
Re: Valve Cover Hell
[Re: TJP]
#2002392 01/31/1612:44 AM01/31/1612:44 AM
put a small washer on the stud first. weld it to the broken stud - even if it is below the surface. place a nut on top of the washer and weld it through the inside of the nut until it is near full to the top . let it cool a few seconds [ like 10-15 ] then while it is still very hot, turn the nut out and it will bring the stud with it with ease .
Re: Valve Cover Hell
[Re: ek3]
#2002398 01/31/1612:48 AM01/31/1612:48 AM
put a small washer on the stud first. weld it to the broken stud - even if it is below the surface. place a nut on top of the washer and weld it through the inside of the nut until it is near full to the top . let it cool a few seconds [ like 10-15 ] then while it is still very hot, turn the nut out and it will bring the stud with it with ease .
Yup. Problem is that you now need to weld to the original stud. Since the extractor is hard, it will just break (shatter) if you try to put any force on it after welding (such as trying to unscrew the bolt).
yep... take a punch and knock the center out . set the temp up 10-20 amps and burn it deep.. may take 2 trips but it should come out anyhow.... I prefer a stick welder my self.@90 amps I can push the rod tip in to get a deep burn with it..
I hate those extractors for small stuff. They almost always break!
At this point I'd buy some 1/8" shank carbide burrs and a use a dremel or small die grinder to remove the middle of the broken extractor/bolt and work until you can pick the thread out of the head. Anything else might cause collateral damage. If the engine was out of the car I might try the welder but with all of that nice blue paint I'd avoid anything like that.
I broke the rear-most passenger side valve cover bolt on one of my charger and had to remove the hood and hood hinge to get a good working angle. It was that or remove the cylinder head.
Got the extractor in nice and tight. as I attempted to reverse it out.......
SNAP, broken extractor.
Big breath, close the hood, walk in the house grab a beer.
The adventure continues.............
I wish I had caught this thread a bit earlier.
Reading through it, I expected this to be the case.
Throw the EZ Outs in the trash. If a left handed drill won't get it out, and EZ Out won't do it either. Those things are really hard so they will drive into a bolt. That makes them rather fragile and they'll snap before a nicely seized bolt will release.
A left handed drill bit will be constantly digging into the broken stud and often catches well enough to start turning the bolt out.
No doubt I'll catch grief for this post but I make good money on the side by removing broken EZ Outs and snapped taps.
Now you're down to drilling the bolt but you have to be on center or things can get ugly.
The valve cover bolt bosses go over the water passages. If you punch through the bottom you'll have a wet valve cover bolt.
Any time the broken bolt is too short to grab and near the surface of the work piece I'll weld a nut to it and spin it out. That works in two ways. 1) It gives you something to grab. 2) Constrained expansion.
When you heat metal it expands in all directions. When it cools it shrinks in all directions. Heating a bolt stuck in a hole (through a torch or welding) will expand the bolt. Since it is tight in the work piece (cylinder head) the bolt can't expand that way. Instead, it expands lengthwise. When it cools it will still shrink in all directions. That is what breaks the bond and makes it easier to remove.
As for the broken EZ Out you can use a sharp punch and hammer to get it out. It'll break easily but you'll have to keep dressing the point on the punch. Use a stick magnet or magnetized pointy tool to retrieve the broken pieces. Don't let them fall into the engine.
Here's a broken head bolt I did not too long ago.
We are brothers and sisters doing time on the planet for better or worse. I'll take the better, if you don't mind. - Stu Harmon
"No doubt I'll catch grief for this post but I make good money on the side by removing broken EZ Outs and snapped taps"
Sounds like you are providing a needed service. Removing broken bolts and ez outs is a skill that takes time to learn. You have seem the damage folks can do to parts.
Re: Valve Cover Hell
[Re: feets]
#2003860 02/02/1612:08 AM02/02/1612:08 AM
Got the extractor in nice and tight. as I attempted to reverse it out.......
SNAP, broken extractor.
Big breath, close the hood, walk in the house grab a beer.
The adventure continues.............
I wish I had caught this thread a bit earlier.
Reading through it, I expected this to be the case.
Throw the EZ Outs in the trash. If a left handed drill won't get it out, and EZ Out won't do it either. Those things are really hard so they will drive into a bolt. That makes them rather fragile and they'll snap before a nicely seized bolt will release.
A left handed drill bit will be constantly digging into the broken stud and often catches well enough to start turning the bolt out.
No doubt I'll catch grief for this post but I make good money on the side by removing broken EZ Outs and snapped taps.
Now you're down to drilling the bolt but you have to be on center or things can get ugly.
The valve cover bolt bosses go over the water passages. If you punch through the bottom you'll have a wet valve cover bolt.
Any time the broken bolt is too short to grab and near the surface of the work piece I'll weld a nut to it and spin it out. That works in two ways. 1) It gives you something to grab. 2) Constrained expansion.
When you heat metal it expands in all directions. When it cools it shrinks in all directions. Heating a bolt stuck in a hole (through a torch or welding) will expand the bolt. Since it is tight in the work piece (cylinder head) the bolt can't expand that way. Instead, it expands lengthwise. When it cools it will still shrink in all directions. That is what breaks the bond and makes it easier to remove.
As for the broken EZ Out you can use a sharp punch and hammer to get it out. It'll break easily but you'll have to keep dressing the point on the punch. Use a stick magnet or magnetized pointy tool to retrieve the broken pieces. Don't let them fall into the engine.
Here's a broken head bolt I did not too long ago.
absolutely nothing beats experience !!! a bad experience is made good by a good experience !! done this to many times myself...... you should make this a permanent fix solution on this site to help those poor souls who know not how ! !
Re: Valve Cover Hell
[Re: ek3]
#2004690 02/03/1610:34 AM02/03/1610:34 AM
As Feets said, you can get the extractor out with a punch and hammer. Once you get it out, if the hole you drilled is on center I'd keep drilling until there is nothing left of the bolt other than the threads. Get them out with a pick. If the hole is off center, use a Dremel to grind it back on center and then drill. If all else fails HeliCoil it. But again as Feets cautioned, don't go into the water jacket.
I've done what I'm recommending a number of times so it does work.
"We live in a time when intelligent people are being silenced so that stupid people won't be offended".
If you insist on fixing it EDM it out otherwise silicone it up and forget it on the car you are going to mess up the head if you keep drilling Just my two bits
