Valve Cover Hell

What started out as an easy fix has gone South fast on me.
Always seems the easy stuff gets side ways.

I was replacing a leaking valve cover gasket.
I snapped off a bolt......

I cut a groove in the small piece that was above the head, but the groove was not deep enough for a screw driver to get a bite.

I tried an "easy-out" drill bit.....can't get it to bite when I reverse it out.

I need some help here.
Any ideas.....

I need to get this taken care of and get rolling ....

Thanks
Matt

What's this on?
Sounds like you might have to drill it out and re tap

easy out drill bit?

Not sure what that is, an easy out is a tapered left hand flute device, not a drill bit.

Some people use a left hand thread drill bit as an easy out like device though it isn't one and doesn't always work.

Try a real easy out. If you have some small square stock you can grind a taper on it and use it as a removal tool in a pinch. Sometimes you can use a torx screwdriver as a removal tool.

Sometimes with stuck bolts I heat it and touch some wax to it to melt around the threads. Then usually the bolt comes out pretty easy with a reverse left handed drill bit.

If you have a welder you can weld the end of an allen wrench or something similar to it & back it out.

i sorta did this on a garden tractor starter bolt that snapped off. JB Weld to another bolt and 2 days of waiting...

I think he was referring to one of those drill bits that you drill it CCW with a reverseing drill & they work occaisionally on softer material but I'd say the odds ain't good here. As said I'd just drill it out (normally) & corral the shavings (greaseing the bit helps)

do a google search ( picture of easy out tool )

I did this with the same problem.
I used an 1/8" drill bit -
drilling to the bottom - apx 1 1/4" max.
then I used an 3/16" -1/4" drill bit same thing.
using the easy out tool after torching to warm it up,
brought it right out.

-

Thanks for all the replies
I spoke to a friend
He told me the same thing as pictured " a real bolt puller"

Hopefully I will get it out this week and be rolling in my U code Challenger.

Thanks Matt

Victim

I've had some success welding a nut to a broken bolt and turning it out with a normal wrench. Got to have enough to weld to though. Pretty frustrating - good luck.

Sharp lookin' car, Matt!

Is that B5 blue?

Thanks

Yes B5 with B5 Interior.

A little update here.

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.............

Man that thing was IN there.
Welder only option now or drill deep.

Beautiful Challenger!

I have done that same thing in the past and that is the worse possible outcome.

My first duty station in the Navy was overhauling various antennas. I learned the hard way about broken bolts, extractors and corrosion.

They make an extractor remover, never tried one though. I usually used a punch to fracture the broken extractor, cause you ain't drilling it out. I understand that some machine shops can burn it out with a fancy machine, never used that either. But it'll cost at least a head gasket as well.

I never tried heating the broken extractor up red hot and hitting it with a freeze spray, but some have had success.

Not sure next course action.

If there is a member in Tampa FL with some experience with this
kind of issue that wants to make some $ and drink some cold beer
let me know.

I think this project may have hit terminal velocity for me....LOL

Whereabouts in Tampa?

PM sent

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

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..

Guys

Thanks for all the ideas.

Matt

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.

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.

Did you end up drilling it off center? If that was the case your extractor was more than likely gripping the head ...

Good luck with the fix , hopefully you don't have to pull the head off.

"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.

very slick

Will my skill level, more than likely what happened with the extractor.

I think I am going to turn this over to a professional.

thanks for all the help and comments

You need to pull the head and have someone with a EDM get it out. If you keep going you will only make it worse. See this every day.

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 ! !

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.

This is the perfect excuse for a new set of heads, maybe something in aluminum?

R.

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