broken bolt on oil pan (1 Viewer)

[BlueBoxFJ60]

broken bolt on oil pan NIGHTMARE PROBLEM

long frustrating story behind it but no time to explain.

had a bolt brake off while putting in the new oil pan. it is the front driver side corner one. if it was any of the side one i wouldn't worry but being a corner one it seems a little more important.

to compound the problem my dad thought he could be a hero with some extractor bit of his but he broke that off in the broken bolt.

tried drilling it out but very little progress is being made.

its been one hell of a weekend.

 

[RockDoc]

Sounds familiar, only difference is for me it WAS a side one. One broken extractor and a wasted effort of drilling later, I am still down one bolt. Any possibility of drilling it out from the top? (doubt there is room)

 

[2mbb]

You will need to find a drill bit that is harder than the extractor--not easily done. When something similar happened to me (I don't remember what part it was on), I brought the part to a machine shop and had them remove the broken bolt and extractor and re-thread. But that doesn't seem feasible in your situation.

Maybe a carbide dremel bit will work.

 

[Wile E Coyote]

X2 Carbide drill bit ( I once used a carbide burr I had on hand) would be about the only thing short of a torch to get after a broken extractor/easy-out. I've learned to hard way to just not even use the dern things (easy-outs and such). If there was enough room, I'd suggest welding another bolt to the broken one, then just wrenching it out. I agree that coming from the top likely won't cut it either.

 

[clongacre]

you might laugh but try mighty putty I know ha ha ha but my buddy used it on a SBC for the starter block broke and he used mighty putty drilled it, tapped it and still in use today

 

[Michael Hanson]

Yes,a harder bit ,find a mine supply store,they will have what you need. I have a 4 wheeler that needed many drilled out.It still took time but did the job. Mike

 

[grant5127]

Unless its one of end ones next to the main cap I wouldn't worry about it, just add some extra sealant in that area........

I saw one where 2 were broke next to each other and someone had a pair of vise-grips clamped on securing the area....riding there for 6 years now

 

[slcfj62]

So breaking off pan bolts is a common problem? Since I am soon to be replacing my pan gasket I am now worried. Are they breaking off because of corrosion, or something? Are they breaking off coming out or going in? Do I need to run a thread chaser up in the holes before I put it back together? Was a torque wrench used? Help me avoid the problem.

 

[BlueBoxFJ60]

i have had several shops tell me there is no way to get it out and i had one attempt it with no luck.

This is fastly becoming a nightmare issue

does anyone see a solution

Here is a pic of the location

 

[slcfj62]

i have had several shops tell me there is no way to get it out and i had one attempt it with no luck.

This is fastly becoming a nightmare issue

does anyone see a solution

I don't have a solution other than what has been offered. But, your desparation move is to tow it to a machine shop and have them drill it out, even if you wind up with a larger bolt hole than you have now.

And I'm still curious if it was broken off coming out or going back in?

 

[BlueBoxFJ60]

I don't have a solution other than what has been offered. But, your desparation move is to tow it to a machine shop and have them drill it out, even if you wind up with a larger bolt hole than you have now.

And I'm still curious if it was broken off coming out or going back in?

going in

 

[Wile E Coyote]

BS there's no way. That easy-out is a real PIA, but not diamond, either. I personally have used carbide bits (and the burr mentioned above) to get one out of a head on a Mopar 360. The guys you spoke to didn't want to be bothered, and the guy that tried...did he use hardened bits? Post up in your local TLCA chapter here on Mud for some local Mudder help, if needed. Good luck.

Edit: I'll add one thing, I'm stubborn enough to try forgoing the stock cork gasket, and just use 'The Right Stuff' gasket maker. You can make that area with addtl thickness in the bolt area, and all along the saddle. It has decent adhesion once set up, and a perfectly reasonable substitute for cork applications otherwise.

 

[Mace]

Have you tried the carbide drill yet?

You really bound up the bolt badly enough going in that it broke??


Wow..
Drill it out larger and put a sleeve in there. The bolt hole itself should center the new bit fairly well.

Is there any room at all around the ez out? Commonly there is a slight gap around the "teeth" that you can get a pick into.

 

[slcfj62]

going in

OK, I'll run a tap up every hole and torque to spec when I change mine. Good luck.

 

[BlueBoxFJ60]

Have you tried the carbide drill yet?

You really bound up the bolt badly enough going in that it broke??


Wow..
Drill it out larger and put a sleeve in there. The bolt hole itself should center the new bit fairly well.

Is there any room at all around the ez out? Commonly there is a slight gap around the "teeth" that you can get a pick into.

he over tightened it

never heard of Ex Out..........school me

 

[Mace]

EZ out is the hard ass piece of metal that is lodged in the bolt itself..

 

[grant5127]

Someone that's good with a welder can hit the target with a dab, let it cool,hit it again and keep it going till there's enough dab exposed to weld on a flat washer then follow up with a nut.......then
The heat~cool process will help loosen the objective.........

 

[Sherpa 60]

Similar response to welding dab with a slightly different approach.

Get a piece of steel bar. Say 1/8 X 3/4 X 6". Drill a hole slightly smaller than the bolt dia. Plug weld through the hole to the exposed portion of the bolt. Patience..a few tries are often required (need to get enough weld in it...but not too much)...and you may need to put slight bend in the bar to allow it to clear when you rotate it. Spin off as you would with a spanner. Once loose you are home free. Get it with vise grips. '

 

[mmw68]

X2 on Grants Idea, I've had this done before and it will work.

I've also drilled out a snapped a bolt on my brakes once and use a Heli-coil. Heli-Coil | Helicoil | Helicoil Insert | Helicoil Tap | Helicoil Inserts | Helicoil Gauge | Helicoil Kit

Good luck! -Mark

 

[Elbert]

yeah boy what a pain in the @$$... I broke a bolt and then a hardned eaze-out in the bolt that I had gotten lucky and had drilled exaclty through the center to give the eaze-out something to work against. My fault was putting too much pressure on a small diameter eaze-out. It was on an aluminium intake and (crappy stock 5.7 TBI intake) and I gave to another guy....don't think he was ever able to get it out. I broke the eaze-out clean with the top of what was left of the bolt. Impossile to drill out by hand...might have worked in a drill press (but I never tired it. It was cheaper and less aggrivating to just buy another intake. Of course no easy solution here.

I too would try the welding idea.... also when you get ready to try and put some force on the bolt you might want to heat up the bolt with a torch to get it nice and hot. I've see the power of the "torch" and it's impressive. Stuff I thought would never move....comes cleanly out.

I think there are some tricks with welding where you use some type of special metal bars (maybe brass or something) to shield where you don't want to weld but leaves open where you do. The bars keep you from welding on something you don't want to splatter or screw up the surface. Poor description...but maybe someone knows what I'm referring to.