Broken bolts in blocks, winches etc.

[dabtl]

OK, I have three broken bolts in my winch housing. Two have some thread still above the housing line. One may have been spot welded at one point.

How do I remove them?

 

[garp]

For the two with exposed threads. I would clean em up good, wire wheel etc. make sure there is no piece of thread or weld that will impede it from coming out. find a washer that will just fit over the stud sticking out and weld it to the stud, really focus the heat of the weld to the center. let it cool just til the color is gone and pound it really hard so it starts to flatten the weld metal out. set a nut of sufficent size over the washer and stud. weld the nut to the washer down the center of the nut, let it cool just till the color is gone again. If an air wrench is handy, use it. the vibration should help bring her out along with the heat from the welding. Sometimes a good soaking with penetrating oil while hot will help, as the oil cools the material it wicks down the threads.

The one that is below the surface can be done the same way if you can keep the weld from getting to the surrounding metal. If its a larger bolt, ie . 5/8 or bigger a short piece of copper pipe placed over the bolt will allow you to weld through it and not stick to the parnet material and build up the stud to get it above the surface so attaching a washer is easier.

Or drill it dead center all the way through, sometimes you can feel the bit pass through the bottom. Again some heat and pentrating oil. If its really rusted in and wount budge I have drilled them to the point the threads are about all thats left and peel em out with a pick. or take a torch and heat the remaining threads red hot, they will heat fast as they are not part of the parent materila. let em cool/shrink and pick em out.

 

[dabtl]

I wonder if a propane hardware torch can heat them enough?

 

[K10A]

probly not , you want them red hot them soak them in WD40 or a better product. repeat a few times and if they arent rust welded in they might come out with vise grips if there is enough to grab. try to find a LH drill bit also , sometime they come right out.

 

[WillWagner]

Keep in mind that if the welding thing doesn't work, you just capped the broken bolt with a nice hard weld. Not very easy to drill through. I'd do the drill down the center. Start with a regular rotation bit 1/8 in. or so, then use LH bits. Worst case, you drill to the edge of the threads and then use a tap to clean the hole.

 

[NDT]

Were talking about a steel bolt in an aluminum housing, right? EZ Out is your first try, soak with penetrating oil for a long while, then use the largest EZ out you can, drill as large a hole as possible. This may still not get the bolt to budge in the corroded aluminum. Then, you may have to drill the bolt out completely, and retap the hole and rethread using a heli-coil.

 

[Fat Jack]

This is pretty good stuff too, in case the threads get gimped and you can't find a helicoil or recoil that will work.
http://www.aluminumrepair.com/?src=google&gclid=CJfsz6KjupgCFRwwawodCjhfaw

 

[m16ty]

Be carefull with heat on the AL winch housing. You can tell when steel gets too hot but you won't know with AL untill it's puddled up on the floor . This is a common problem because steel bolts in AL will alot of times corrode really bad. When you do get the out be sure to use anti-sieze on the threads to keep this from happening again .

 

[Armada]

Be carefull with heat on the AL winch housing. You can tell when steel gets too hot but you won't know with AL untill it's puddled up on the floor . This is a common problem because steel bolts in AL will alot of times corrode really bad. When you do get the out be sure to use anti-sieze on the threads to keep this from happening again .

Ditto. Over time, AL and steel will chemically react to each other. Ever have an aluminum intake leak coolant on an older engine? And for sure use anti-sieze on the bolts when reassembling.

 

[dabtl]

I have been soaking the bolts with PB Blaster. I have had good luck with that product over the years. I will soak the bolts for a few days, tapping with each application and see what happens with a little heat. If I am bored, I may drill on them some also.

You learn a lot fooling around with old Army stuff.

 

[cranetruck]

Keep in mind that if the welding thing doesn't work, you just capped the broken bolt with a nice hard weld. Not very easy to drill through. I'd do the drill down the center. Start with a regular rotation bit 1/8 in. or so, then use LH bits. Worst case, you drill to the edge of the threads and then use a tap to clean the hole.

I had a similar problem a couple of years ago (?!!) and with a set of left handed bits from Will, I was able to clean out the broken bolt.
Bottom line, use LH bits at all times for this, starting with 1/8" or so, every turn of the bit applies pressure in correct direction.

 

[dabtl]

I am on my way to Northern Tool now. Left hand drills. Never heard of them before today.

 

[rmgill]

If you're not a good welder, I'd carefully drill the hole out a good bit and try to extract the bolt. You need to drill it out a good bit first.

Worse comes to worse, you can over drill the holes and then put in a helicoil.

 

[m16ty]

If you drill it out make sure you get your hole in the center. I have drilled bolts completely out without damaging the threads but you've got to have your bit perfectly centered and take your time. Once you get to the threads just take a pick and pull out the bolt threads.

 

[KaiserPower]

As far as a good penetrating oil goes, give "Kroil" a try for removing rusted or stuck bolts. Napa or Eastwood carries the stuff in pint or 1 gallon cans... the pint goes a long way. Mechanic friends down at the beach used this stuff to loosen nuts and bolts on marine applications. Some of the stuck hardware had been soaking in saltwater for more then a year and "Kroil" managed to break it free. As with any penetrating oil, a few applications the day before really helps things come loose fast, but I've already freed up stuff after 1 hour or less after applying it.

 

[KaiserPower]

Here you go...

 

[SmokeyDod]

I may have missed it, but I would suggest using "EZ OUTS
" There's a mfg "IRWIN" that a very good and strong. Based on the size of the broken bolt first you drill a hole as close to center as possible then use the ez out that will start to drop in your drilled hole about 1/4". Since these have LH twist the more you turn the ez out the tighter it gets and most of time it will come out. Of course use penetrating oil "PB" Blaster is good but smells like xxxx. Longer you leave it on it and repeated use the easier it will loosen.

 

[OldDominionIron]

A lot of good info, here's my $.02. Soak the broken off bolt/stud with a penetrant such as Kroil or PB blaster and let it soak overnight. If there is enough bolt/stud sticking out to get a pipe wrench on it, use that. If is broken off flush, use a extractor from a company called Greenlee. These extractors are square, not a LH spiral like EZ Outs. In my experience, EZ Outs are poor comparison to the greenlee extractors. If the extractor doesn't work, find the correct tap drill size and drill out the bolt, then use a tap of the correct size to clean the threads out.
I worked with a guy one time, we drilled out a 1 1/2" broken stud and he pulled the threads out with a pair of pliers, it looked like a spring.

 

[stumps]

What I do is take a piece of bar, and using a drill press, drill a hole in it at the tap drill size for the original bolt/stud. Then while the bar is still clamped in the drill press, I drill a hole at the clearance size for the bolt/stud, just as deep as the remains of the bolt/stud is sticking up. Stick the enlarged hole in the bar over the threaded part of the bolt/stud that is sticking up, and if possible, clamp the bar in place. Next, put the tap drill in your drill motor, and using the hole in the bar as a guide, drill out the stud.

Never misses!

-Chuck

 

[poppop]

I have had good luck with the welded nut deal but have never done it on aluminum. On stubborn ones that won't come loose and the nut breaks off, after a couple trys I will weld the nut good and hot which swells the bolt and throw cold water on it which in turn shrinks it and most times it will come out.