Broken Valve Cover Stud - tried everything what to do now? (1 Viewer)

[MYSHERPA]

With almost no force, the head of the valve cover bolt closest to firewall (passenger side) broke off while I was removing my valve cover. I tried soaking it with PB blaster overnight, I tried heating it up with a torch, but vice grips just keep slipping on it and it wont turn. I tried welding a nut to the end of it, and that just broke off too. I thought about just cutting it off flush and drilling it out, but the firewall is in the way and I can't get a straight drill at it. All this over a little M6 bolt. I'm getting super frustrated that what was supposed to be an hour job is going on two days now...Any ideas of what I should do next are appreciated.

 

[Bowling4$]

Weld a nut to it and then back out.

 

[retlaw]

Try filing some flat edges on it, torch it and try square jaw vice-grips. A bolt/stud extractor might work.

 

[clx16]

You might be able to find a tapered reverse threaded socket that will clamp in while you are unscrewing. I've used them on security lugnuts that have broken.

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[Pierce]

I can recommend the Irwin/Hanson extractor kit as well. Worked like a charm on my O2 sensor nuts/studs. No drama.

 

[scottryana]

put penetrating oil on it and hit it with a hammer. Cut a slot in the top with a dremel and try and back it out with a flat bladed screw driver.

 

[Azca]

Handheld induction heater?

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[baldilocks]

Or just forget about it until the head comes off one day. I’m pretty sure the thick, cast valve cover would be secured satisfactorily and leak free without that one fastener. You don’t want to damage the head once frustration escalates and then tunnel vision on the finish line sets in.

 

[Comet]

Kroil (atf and kerosene) for a few rounds. MAPP gas the snot out of the bolt. Smack the bolt with a hammer. More kroil and heat. Cut a slice in it for a standard screwdriver with a dremel. Use a square shank screwdriver with a crescent wrench to get some torque. Go nice and easy turning it out.

 

[Comet]

Don’t forget to stuff something in the valve area to catch all the bits of steel. Clean out before MAPP gas.
And have a fire extinguisher handy (halon if possible so you don’t put all the white powder into the head.

 

[JeepinPete]

Weld another nut on. When that breaks off, weld on another. I've gotten broken stud out of rusty exhaust manifolds that way, and on one it did take six tries to finally get it loose. But it did come out. You do need to weld it long enough that the nut is bright red/orange.

 

[MYSHERPA]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I went and tried some suggested approaches, and ended up just breaking the stud off, more or less flush with the head. So at that point I tried drilling a hole through it to use an easy-out, but since I couldn't get a straight shot at it withe the drill bit due to the firewall the hole wasn't as straight as I would have liked. Anyway, I put the easy out in there and then it broke off. SO I've gone from bad to worse. Pretty sure I won't be able to drill another hole through the stuck easy-out since it is hardened. I swear someone at some point must have epoxied this thing in. There is no way a little M6 should be this hard, especially since the other bolts for the valve cove came out with ease. I'm at a loss as to what to do at this point. Maybe I should just pull the whole head and have a machine shop fix it. I'm at 120K miles, so maybe a preemptive head gasket replacement wouldn't be a bad idea while I'm at this anyway. All this over a f'n valve cover bolt...

Here's a photo of it now with the broken easy out jammed in it for what it's worth...

 

[bigredmachine]

you can use a carbide bur to grind out the extractor, ask me how I know. right angle drill with stubby drill bits or get some cheaper ones from home depot and cut them down to stubby size to drill out. oversize it and use an m8 bolt. I think taking the head out to remove the bolt is way more work than necessary, drill it out and be done with it

speaking from experience and not to throw salt in the wound but extractors are only good if the bolt broke due to over torqueing on the way in, if their seized or wont move for some unknown reason they are an absolute last resort and even then not really recommended.

 

[clx16]

Lesson learned for you. easy outs are not good luck for me or you. I broke one in a head when i was 16, so I haven't used one since. You likely can't get the easyout out by tapping clockwise to get it to unscrew, mostly because easyouts really jam in, and in this case it actually probably expanded the screw even more in to the head.

I don't have any experience but does that threaded hole go all the way through and is accessible from the under side?

Like what was mentioned above by @baldilocks maybe just run it and worry about it later IF it leaks.

 

[flintknapper]

I swear someone at some point must have epoxied this thing in. There is no way a little M6 should be this hard, especially since the other bolts for the valve cove came out with ease.

View attachment 2339146

Galvanic Corrosion. Until you break the corrosive bond between the threads of the bolt and the threads in the head....the bolt shaft will continue to break off....regardless the technique used to turn it. Quite predictable.

At this juncture you can 'try' to use a burr to remove the EZ-out...but I'd hate to be you. Or you could simply use RTV in that area until such time as you need to pull the head, then repair it at that time. Or slot the ear on the valve cover, drill and tap a M6 x 1.0 hole just outboard of the broken off bolt, then fix it all later when the head comes off.

At least you are in the part of the head where all the threaded holes are 'thru-holes'. If it had been one of the four up front, those are blind holes (especially fun). I use Stainless steel bolts on mine. The factory bolts are just too soft IMO.

 

[baldilocks]

Thanks for all the tips everyone. I went and tried some suggested approaches, and ended up just breaking the stud off, more or less flush with the head. So at that point I tried drilling a hole through it to use an easy-out, but since I couldn't get a straight shot at it withe the drill bit due to the firewall the hole wasn't as straight as I would have liked. Anyway, I put the easy out in there and then it broke off. SO I've gone from bad to worse. Pretty sure I won't be able to drill another hole through the stuck easy-out since it is hardened. I swear someone at some point must have epoxied this thing in. There is no way a little M6 should be this hard, especially since the other bolts for the valve cove came out with ease. I'm at a loss as to what to do at this point. Maybe I should just pull the whole head and have a machine shop fix it. I'm at 120K miles, so maybe a preemptive head gasket replacement wouldn't be a bad idea while I'm at this anyway. All this over a f'n valve cover bolt...

Here's a photo of it now with the broken easy out jammed in it for what it's worth...

View attachment 2339146

I tried to stop you before this happened and doing the HG now would be more of the same. I’m sure yours won’t be the only 1fz tramping around minus one VC bolt.

 

[BILT4ME]

To get the easy out out, try a small hammer (tiny) and do lots of tiny taps from the top and bottom of that area. Try to be as flat as possible because you're hitting aluminium.

Use can use a pick to dig around in the hole while tapping from the bottom to dislodge it.

Did you drill all the way through to the bottom? If so, you can run something up from the bottom.

Once the easy out is out, pour Coke on it. Do this multiple times. The Coke will eat the corrosion. Hit it with a hammer, again, lightly.

You can drill all the way through it and rethread to an oversized screw and drill the VC accordingly.

 

[JeepinPete]

Break out the welder. Seriously. Stick a nut over the hole and weld away. It will not stick to the aluminum. Whether it will bind well to the EZ out is questionable though.

 

[MYSHERPA]

Well, I'm pretty traumatized, but I got the stud out. I went to HF and bought up everything I could think of tho help; 90 degree drill attachment, stubby drill bits, a "dentist" drill attachment, punches, taps, you name it. And it took damn near all of it in some level or the other to get it out. I used some of your tips above to get the broken easy out out, and I also had to snap one of my needle files in half to get it in there and spent about 2 hours filing the walls of the stud thin enough to remove once I got a straight hole through it.

The problem now is, the thread in there are pretty messed up. I ran a tap through it and its grabbing, but just barely. So I figure I can (1) Retap with a bigger stud size, say M7 instead of the current M6 (2) Tap it bigger and put in a helecoil for M6, or (3) Just get a longer stud and put a nut on the end of it from underneath.

Thoughts?

 

[mmajsw]

To keep all the valve cover bolts the same size, I would use the Helicoil. Also add anti-sieze to the bolts when you put them back in to prevent this from happening again.
Second choice and cheapest would be to use a longer M6 bolt with a nut. It is in a fairly accessible location.