Broken bolt non corvette
09-13-2018, 09:31 AM
#1
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Broken bolt non corvette
I was removing the water pump and timing case cover on a 66 389 gto I bought. The 2 top 3/8s bolts that hold the timing case cover on snapped in the engine block when removing. About a 1/4 inch is sticking out. Any good ideas how to remove these. I don't have torches.
Last edited by prestige6; 09-13-2018 at 01:13 PM.
Popular Reply
09-13-2018, 06:51 PM
Melting Slicks
By coincidence I happened across the following video last week. I learned some new stuff from it. Perhaps there's something in it that might help.
09-13-2018, 09:48 AM
#2
Team Owner
Soak in PB-Blaster for several hours -- go to Ace Hardware and buy an inexpensive propane torch and heat the area (have a fire extinguisher handy) get a good beefy set of vice grips and clamp down HARD on the bolt remnants....rock the nub carefully back and forth and you may get lucky.
If that doesn't work you've got a bigger problem...
If that doesn't work you've got a bigger problem...
09-13-2018, 09:56 AM
#5
Safety Car
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There are drill bits that might grab the stud but I would try to get a pair of Visegrips on them....JMO!
Good luck!
Last edited by dcamick; 09-13-2018 at 09:20 PM.
09-13-2018, 10:07 AM
#6
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
Soak in PB-Blaster for several hours -- go to Ace Hardware and buy an inexpensive propane torch and heat the area (have a fire extinguisher handy) get a good beefy set of vice grips and clamp down HARD on the bolt remnants....rock the nub carefully back and forth and you may get lucky.
If that doesn't work you've got a bigger problem...
If that doesn't work you've got a bigger problem...
09-13-2018, 10:11 AM
#7
Team Owner
You might be surprised what you can do with a good set of vice grips with pristine jaws....
IMO there is about zero chance of channel locks working in this case
If that doesn't work you need help beyond your expertise.
I don't recommend a novice trying to use an easy out on an expensive engine block...but its your car....
IMO there is about zero chance of channel locks working in this case
If that doesn't work you need help beyond your expertise.
I don't recommend a novice trying to use an easy out on an expensive engine block...but its your car....
09-13-2018, 10:14 AM
#8
Safety Car
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I would soak it with AeroKroil for a few days successively. PB Blaster and WD-40 are a joke compared to AK. That is as loose as it will get. Then drill out the center and use stud extractors to back the broken piece out....
09-13-2018, 11:30 AM
#11
Team Owner
09-13-2018, 11:49 AM
#15
Drifting
If you have 1/4 of the bolt left, some penetrating fluid and good vice grips, not channel locks, a little heat from a propane torch and you will get those bolts out.
09-13-2018, 12:04 PM
#16
Le Mans Master
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Pop’s suggestion of the mig welder (weld a nut to the remaining bolt threads) is a good one. You introduce heat and get a surface to crank on. Those aren’t 3/8” bolts, they are 1/4” bolts and fairly easy to break the heads off. It’s not because they were torqued, it’s because they are corroded. You have to break the bond of corrosion, so heat and a good penetration solution are your friend. Given the small diameter of the threads, easy outs are very difficult to use with success. If you haven’t broken the corrosive bond, the easy out tends to break causing an even bigger problem. Plus, it is very difficult to drill the required pilot hole in the remaining stud without damaging the block. Do this right and do it once!
09-13-2018, 12:14 PM
#17
Race Director
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Pics? Have owned 9 GTO's, -----still own two---- over the past 40 years....and have never, ever, seen one of the timing cover- to -block studs or bolts break off. They are as strong as motor mount bolts, and are in an oily area of the engine. Yours must have been underwater outside for years? The only bolt everybody breaks is the long 7/16" headed one that ties the intake to the back of the timing cover at the '0'ring.
09-13-2018, 12:22 PM
#18
Le Mans Master
If all else fails I have had luck in this type of situation with left handed drill bits. Warning - be sure you have the hole centered it the bolt and drill straight or you will be doing an insert. Now having said that, do the penetrating solvent and heating first also. Sometimes the heat from drilling left hand will back the broken fastener out as you are drilling. good luck
09-13-2018, 12:22 PM
#19
I would weld a nut to the remaining 1/4 of the bolt. Get somebody who can weld do it for you. A lot of the Mig welders operate on 110/120 volts. Clean the remaining portion of the
bolt real well to insure a good weld. I would use the PB Blaster or similar product after I got the nut welded to the remaining portion of the bolt while the weld is still hot. The heat will
help draw the PB Blaster or similar product to the broken off portion. I don't believe drilling a hole and trying to use a ez-out will work. Trying to remove a broker ez-out is not for the faint
of heart. It might be time to consider towing it to a machine shop or pulling the engine and taking it to them.
bolt real well to insure a good weld. I would use the PB Blaster or similar product after I got the nut welded to the remaining portion of the bolt while the weld is still hot. The heat will
help draw the PB Blaster or similar product to the broken off portion. I don't believe drilling a hole and trying to use a ez-out will work. Trying to remove a broker ez-out is not for the faint
of heart. It might be time to consider towing it to a machine shop or pulling the engine and taking it to them.
09-13-2018, 12:27 PM
#20
Melting Slicks
Thread Starter
This is the best advice for a good penetrating solution. Heat first, then Penetrating oil. The heat helps it get into the threads.
Pop’s suggestion of the mig welder (weld a nut to the remaining bolt threads) is a good one. You introduce heat and get a surface to crank on. Those aren’t 3/8” bolts, they are 1/4” bolts and fairly easy to break the heads off. It’s not because they were torqued, it’s because they are corroded. You have to break the bond of corrosion, so heat and a good penetration solution are your friend. Given the small diameter of the threads, easy outs are very difficult to use with success. If you haven’t broken the corrosive bond, the easy out tends to break causing an even bigger problem. Plus, it is very difficult to drill the required pilot hole in the remaining stud without damaging the block. Do this right and do it once!
