Hollywood D

So, as I was just trying to remove the bolts for the rear mount on the control arms, I snapped one of them in half. There's about 6 or 7 threads left on the part of the bolt that came out. It was pretty rusted. The rest of it is still up in the frame. I soaked the rest of them down with PB blaster and will let them sit until tomorrow or Thursday. Is that a simple drill out? Hopefully if the other one comes out unbroken, if I'm lucky, the broken one will have enough left onto it to grab onto with some vise grips.

They aren't very thick, I don't know if an easy out will have enough to grab onto.

V2Rocket

i have drilled out smaller bolts before with an ez-out..go for it

mytrplseven

got a propane torch? Soak, heat, hammer, twist if you can get vise grips on the end. If not then the same process before using the EZ out.

Hollywood D

Yea I have a small handheld one for sweating plumbing joints. I left it for today, need to let that pb blaster soak. Sounds like I need to apply more ignorance on Thursday.

Is there a place to source new bolts for those? I can't find any online, I guess I have to call the dealer.

951Saga

From what I’ve read, correct me if need be, the threaded portion for that mount is welded to the inside of the frame, so be careful about hammering on the remainder of the bolt. Some have stripped or broken the threads loose from the frame.

Please no EZ-Out for that rusted bolt. If the EZ-Out snaps inside the rusted bolt you’ll be lucky if you can dig it out with a carbide bit dremel.

Heat is tricky too. You want to heat the surrounding area more than the bolt itself. And if this is on the passenger’s side be cautious of the fuel lines. MAPP gas is much better for this exercise than Propane.

Best bet would be to cut the remainder of the bolt flush then carefully center punch. Gradually increase the drill bit size until you can tap it out for the new bolt.

If you know the specs for the bolt try McMaster Carr or Fastenal.

Good luck with this!

Hollywood D

Its the passenger side one. I'm afraid the other one is damaged too, I was torquing on it pretty hard and it started to make a creaking noise.

MAGK944

This is where a LH or reverse drill bit set really shines. Spend the money on a set and it will be the best investment you made for working on older cars. Took care of 3 broken bolts in 3 minutes on my recent belt/roller/water pump change.

Hollywood D

I was just reading an article on this. So, did you just gradually increase drill bit size until it just came out?

I was reading this article:
http://www.madelectrical.com/worksho...en-bolts.shtml

MAGK944

That's a good write up. I select two sizes of drill bit, the larger size matches the easy-out that would fit the bolt.

1. Reverse drill using the small drill bit, the bolt should come out, if not,

2. Reverse drill using the larger drill bit, if the bolt still doesn't come out,

3. Use the easy-out that matches the hole you just drilled.

The LH drill bit usually gets it out first time but I like to have a back-up plan

Hollywood D

So that I'm sure I'm doing this right, you use left handed drill bits with the drills transmission set to reverse?

ritzblitz

I would try to make sure the end of the bolt is flat or concave so you get good purchase with the bit. Definitely use a left handed bit like suggested, drill in reverse.

MAGK944 summed it up in his last sentence, the reverse drill usually gets it out. I broke one of these caster block bolts too, and with the reverse drill it came right out.

MAGK944

Correct. Drill slowly, a high-torque is what you are trying to achieve. You are not trying to drill a hole as fast as possible. The heat from the bit cutting helps to loosen the threads, the cutting edges dig into the bolt and turn it lefty-loosey.

Hollywood D

Cool, thanks guys. This makes me feel better. I was wondering how the hell I was going to do this.

Hollywood D

Well good news is, I went out to have another look and the other bolt came out no problem after soaking for a few hours. Bushings are completely shot, most of the rubber is worn down to the rubber sleeves. Ball joints are original too. Ouch.

The bolt that broke, broke flush with the frame, and to my luck, broke off pretty square.

dirtyTurbo

My friend did the same thing on my car. I just took the mount off, whacked it with a hammer a few times and got it out with an ez out. It was much easier than I thought it would be.

I got a replacement bolt at autozone along with the ez out