Broken bolt in rear differential

[t6_man]

I put my trust in my torque wrench while changing the rear differential oil and it failed me; twisted one of the bolts right off. I tried using a center punch to tap it out (unscrew it),but had no luck. To top it off, I used medium strength lock-tite on the bolt. I've heard horror stories regarding EZ-outs. Does anybody have any words of wisdom on removing the bolt? The ez-out I have is the spiral type. I never used one before. If this is the route I need to go, any advice on its use?



All help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Prairie Dog]

E-Z outs work great, Just make sure you drill into the center of the bolt and don't get into the threads. Good luck!



Scotty

 

[klenger]

It might help if you can heat up the bolt with a torch. I think this softenens the lock-tite up a bit. If this is bad advice, someone else please chime in.

 

[JHardwick]

That depends on the LocTite being used. The green stuff can be softened with heat.



As for the bolt, use a left handed drill bit and a reversable drill! Works like a charm and you don't have to worry about drilling sideways through the "good" part!

 

[SRadke]

Medium Loctite lets go at about 300° F. If you don't heat it up to that temp first you'll play hell getting it out.



-Scott

 

[DPKetchum]

Reversible drill bit also some bolts while drilling the hole for the easy out will come out this way. Drill in reverse with a reversible bit.

 

[JHardwick]

I think I heard that somewhere DP :-laf :-laf

 

[bighammer]

Use a high quality oil (like virgin olive oil) and weld the cover on.



I think the reverse drill is the ticket. Maybe the heat of drilling might be enough to soften the locktite. If that doesn't get it the EZ out will. You should, of course, center punch or grind flat then punch (depending on how it broke) so you can see the center of the bolt and stay close to there. It can always be drilled and tapped to the next larger size or welded shut and re-drilled/tapped. Full speed ahead. You CAN do it.

 

[MLee]

You can buy a reversable EZ-outit. has a short drill section and graduates to the spiral. Watched a guy on rebuilt tranys, the coolest thing i've ever seen since melted butter.

Good Luck



Marv.

 

[Joseph Donnelly]

Be careful not to overheat. 300 deg is enough, and medium loctite doesn't hold too well anyway. There is no need to loctite cover bolts anyway.

 

[CATCRACKER]

when i changed my rearend fluid out i sucked it out just a thought. i know i did not get all the oil out but i did get the oil warm to suspendas much metal as i could sucked it out. it took jsut under 4 quarts of royal purple to refill. the reason i did this is it was so easy that i will probably do this every 35K. you can get the oil extractor for 13. 00 from napa

 

[JHardwick]

Originally posted by bighammer

I think the reverse drill is the ticket. Maybe the heat of drilling might be enough to soften the locktite. If that doesn't get it the EZ out will. You should, of course, center punch or grind flat then punch (depending on how it broke) so you can see the center of the bolt and stay close to there. It can always be drilled and tapped to the next larger size or welded shut and re-drilled/tapped. Full speed ahead. You CAN do it.

That is very good advice, being a machinist, I assume certain things i guess.



Also, if we are talking blue LocTite, no heat is needed. Heat helps to remove the red and is a must with the green.

 

[t6_man]

Thanks to all for the good info!



I've never heard of a reverse drill bit. Where can I get one? Obviously, I'm pretty ignorant on this, so I'm assuming the groove is just reversed from a normal bit, but since the drill will be reversed, it will work similarly as a normal bit???



Also, I now notice the broken bolt has a 10. 9 rating. Will I have trouble drilling into that strength bolt? Should I use a cutting oil when drilling?



Thanks again for all your help!

 

[khorinek]

If the bolt is super hard, go to a good hardware store and buy a cobalt drill bit. They will drill through about anything. I would also reccomend the square type EZ outs over the spiral type. In my experience they are alot stronger and I've never busted one as opposed too many sprial ones. If you have a little stub protruding from the case, you might try using a small pair of vise grips if you can get on the projection.

 

[Fireman]

My $0.02

Heat and left hand drill bit, I concur. E Z out would be the last resort. Since they are tapered they get tighter and tighter, and being VERY hard they are brittle and can easily break off in the bolt. And there you are with a real mess! If you think getting a broken bolt out is difficult, try removing a broken e z out.



Left hand drill bits aren't easy to come by since few have a need for them, try NAPA, and I know Snap-On carries them if you can find a S-O man. That is the problem with putting wheels on a tool store they're never in the same place long



Sonething to think about

Fireman

 

[HEYBOSS]

Usually when a bolt brakes during installation it comes out pretty easy, providing no lock tite was used. Lock tite doesn't dry very fast so if bolt removed immediately should come out.



One very successful way I've removed a lot of broken bolts even rusted broken bleeders and wheel locks when people loose their locks is to mig weld a nut on the broken bolt. Even if the broken bolt is below the surface I first build it up with weld and weld the nut on it, it beats any extracting tool I've ever tried. The combination of heat and strength of the weld works very well, good luck.



Definitely don't brake an easy out, you'll for sure have a night mare.

 

[draymorris]

I agree with Hayboss. I have been welding since I was 15 so I don't mind doing this procedure. But the person doing the welding needs to know what they are doing, or you will get in more trouble. It is not that hard with a steady hand, correct machine settings, and an eye for the welding arc. In ten years, I have only foung one bolt that I could not remove this way - it does work.

 

[JHardwick]

If you can't find a left handed drill bit, this will work too.



Practice sharpening the correct size bit a couple of times on a bench grinder or belt sander ... ... ... ... . and then reverse the angle and grind a left handed cutting edge on the right handed bit.



For a right handed sharpen, your left hand will be on the shank and your right hand on the flutes near the cutting edge.



For a left handed sharpen, your right hand will be on the shank and your left hand will be on the flutes near the cutting edge.



As you are reading this, grab a pencil and imagine your screen being a belt sander :-laf



This actually works amazingly well, the bit will not cut as free and will tend to grab, which is exactly what you want.

 

[smartineau]

My idea was already mentioned on how to get the bolt out.



Now for the torque wrench either do:

a) recalibrate

b) toss it in the nearest garbage can



steve

 

[t6_man]

Well, this chapter is now closed! Thanks to all for the great advice!!!



I bought a set of left hand drill bits, and this morning, I started with the smallest bit (1/8") in the bunch after starting a pilot hole with a regular, smaller bit. Then I proceeded to the next larger bit. I used penetrating oil the whole time while drilling. I think the broken bolt really wanted to come out with the bit, but just wouldn't quite do it, so then I proceeded to the easy out. It lived up to its name! Came right out!



As far as the torque wrench that caused all this, it's history! I'm going back to trusting my own gut feeling when tightening bolts...