69gaugeman

The biggest problem with easy outs is that it is tapered. As you drive it harder it actually expands the bolt making it even harder to remove.

It is fine to heat the bolt up only. Heat cycle it a few times as it will want to expand the surrounding material.

I alway suggest drilling out the bolt (using progressively larger drills until the parent material is exposed. then use the dremel to get the material cleaned out)

If you have a mig welder you can actually build up the bolt until you get it high enough to weld a nut on the end. then wait for it to cool and use a wrench

Big Dave

The first of the two busted bolts is hanging tough. Using progressively larger bits, I've made a center hole clean through, but the bolt isn't budging. I tried the easyout for a few minutes but I'm having trouble getting a wrench to grip it tightly enough. The hole is roughly 60% of the total diameter of the bolt.

I'm off to Harbor Freight at lunch today to pick up some larger diameter left hand bits. The bolt's been soaking (again) overnight in PB Blaster, so hopefully it'll come loose with the larger reverse bits tonight. You guys have scared me away from putting any significant turning power into the easyout. I busted two drill bits, and I don't want to break an easyout!

marton

larger diameter left hand bits

I would definitely go this route

Marton

cdbtx

Two years mandatory prison sentence for the guys that use Loctite on cam cover bolts!


Chuck


83 Kiln Red 928S

Gretch

Now is the time to use heat, Dave. Drill out as much meat as you can without hurting the threads. Apply heat to the area, and then (little secret) fire compressed air right at what use to be the center of the bolt. Then drop the easy out in the hole, clamped in a vise grip, and work that little bugger back and fourth. The compressed air blast will quickly cool off the steel threads of the bolt remains and that may break them loose from the head threads.

Go easy with the easy out, you can feel (like a torsion bar spring) if you are torqueing it, you want to limit the amount of torque.

I wish I was there, I love these little challenges.

Kevin in Atlanta

[QUOTE=cdbtx]Two years mandatory prison sentence for the guys that use Loctite on cam cover bolts!


That might be factory.

Big Dave

I'm getting frustrated.

I've drilled 100% through the bolt.
If I go with a wider bit, I'll start eating the threads on the hole itself.
The easyout won't budge...in fact it stripped the teeth on my vise-grip.
Heating with a propane torch didn't make a difference.

What next? Go wider and just use a helicoil???

AO

Sorry Dave, I have no suggestions for you.

the flyin' scotsman

More heat, some tapping around the threads and LH drill.........not a big fan of easy outs.

GUMBALL

Rather than use an "Ez-e-out", I much prefer to use an extractor....
.like this:http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....&group_ID=1254
(69gaugeman is right, an ez-e-out only expands the bolt)

Judging from the photo, what I would try next, is a small punch. Start tapping around the perimeter of the bolt, aiming towards the center. What you are trying to achieve, is to break the bolt away from the walls of the block. If you can get it to move, even the tiniest bit, then you can try to rotate the bolt by using a small chisel (gently)
If that still doesn't work, then you have no alternative but to keep drilling larger and larger, until you get too close to the block threads. At that point, you can probably get the bolt out with a small, pointed pick - try to break the bolt into small pieces.

jon928se

Dave if it is that obstinate (It really is difficult to judge how obstinate a bolt is from both pics and text and I can't spare the time to cross the pacific at the moment to try for myself) I'ld plan on a viable solution that should work. In this case drill it out and helicoil or timecert back to the original thread diameter.

Trying to get out the original bolt and retain the original thread carries the risk that you stuff up so much of the original hole that it is too large for a helicoil.

M. Requin

What GUMBALL said. The Snap-On type of extractor works a lot better in my experience (and a lot of it, on motorcycle heads), and you use a box end wrench to turn it, not vise grips, so you can apply more torque. I have only ever broken one of these- the smallest size - and when they break you just pull out the stub that's left. No staring at the now broken stud plus easyout and muttering WTF over and over. Good luck with this, it is often a real PITA.

Big Dave

Here's some more fun news. The drilled hole on the second bolt is slightly off-center (@#$@#) since the last attempt with a larger diameter bit drifted to the side. I'm already into the threads in the wall on this one. Should I use a Dremel to grind out the remainder of the bolt? This one's a Helicoil for sure. I hate Loctite.

Gretch

Dave, you are now to the point where I would want to be there to give you advice.......

"course, that won't stop me from trying to help.

I would probably try the next size drill bit, even at the risk of hurting the threads in the block. As long as you don't over do it, you can always tap out the threads with a larger tap and use a larger bolt on the reinstall as the ultimate fall back position.

At some point in drilling out the bolt you will breach the core of the bolt and only the threads will remain. If you have centered your drilling of the bolt, that will allow the most material removal.

Using a strong, sharp pic, you can start working it at the edge of what remains of the bolt thread. If you can get enough of the threads in the head cleared, you can use the proper size tap to carefully clean out the remainder of the bolt threads. This is because the tap is tapered, and if the back end of the tap seats in the head threads, the front tapered part will go at the remaining bolt threads gradually.

It is a PITA, but be patient........ you will get it done.

Kevin in Atlanta

I would avoid Helicoils in favor of Timecerts. Helicoils can end up being a temporary solution.