My best luck at seized bolts has been, soak with penetrating oil, let sit, spray again, wipe away excess drips, heat with torch. Penetrating oil will light, that’s fine, be careful of surrounding items. Once good and hot hit it with CRC Freeze-Off, many times you will hear a audible pop as the bolt loosens, immediately use wrench/extractor to remove, this has worked on severely rusted bolts on high mileage cars from the rust-belt Northeast US.
Can you break off an exhaust bolt that’s actually in a car where you don’t have the broken stud in a vice and all the room in the world to get it out? You know real life situation.
Got that on my Commodore and its L76 from prevous owner. Passenger side rear bolt on the exhaust header broken off below the surface. No access and heat is a bad idea with the fuel rails in that area. Heads off is the only way this bugger is coming out. 😢
Great ideas! BUT ! 50 + years as a mechanic on industrial equipment has its unique problems ? 1/3 of the time we had to drill out the bolt and collapse the threads or drill and tap the thread hole again ! Some bolts were broken off for years and became one with the metal! There is always a way for a repair, it’s just about the time , money and knowledge of doing it . Thanks for the video!
First! You showed us a broken stud that was broken off even with the surface. Then, when you welded your choice of a gripper to it you showed a stud that was sticking out. What's up with that!? "cheers!"
I saw the video sometime back when. Then this week it happened, the $300 pool pump I was working on sheared clean off flat to the surface. I hacked on it with the usual combination of anti-sieze, and trying to turn it with a chisel, no luck. I drilled the middle, slipping once and drilling the pump instead. After making the center hole, I used an extractor. The tip of it is still in the bolt, since it, too, sheared off nicely. I remembered I'd seen a video on this, so looked it up. The first try was to weld a nut with a circular flat. It too, sheared, but I figured that weld was not too good. The biggest problem was getting electrical contact with the motor, which took lots of wire brushing before it worked. For the second try, I used the washer method. I like that a lot better, since it allows you to get a good weld to the bolt first. Then I welded the nut on. Lots of slowly applied torque and off it came. Thanks!
Video not helpful at all. You started off with a stud broken beneath the surface and then suddenly you switch to a much easier problem-a protruding stud.
Thanks for the Tig welding method. I saw another way of putting a short bit of copper tube in the hole first before adding weld to the bolt. keep adding filler to bring it up to the surface. then do your washer method. Do you like that idea?
Your demo did not relate to the very tricky situation you presented us with (a bolt sheered off below the surface). Unless you show us your technique of welding that recessed stud to the washer and then to the nut, how can we amateurs copy what you are doing? All you showed us was you welding a nut to a thread that was magically well above the surface. I’m not sure what to make of it or how to do it.
What if changing the valve (aka camshaft) cover and the bolt right next to the timing chain breaks off. You can't weld the valve cover bolts stuck down in there can you? Thanks
It's much more challenging when you live somewhere they salt the roads in winter and the bolt/stud has been broken for a few winters, like an exhaust manifold stud
You obviously haven't had to remove the 8 exhaust studs on a suzuki bandit . On an average 3 snap . I've tried the weld method and had partial success . Ive started with about 10 mm above the surface and ended up below the surface and a bucket full of welded washers and nuts . I'm not peeing on ya bonfire but some methods work most of the time but not all the time ..
I've got a bolt broken off in the aluminum head of one of my cars. I've tried welding to it, and not it has broken off so many times it's below the surface with a hardened drill bit broken off in the hole I drilled in it when I was going to try a bolt extractor. So, I'm pretty much to step 6 now. lol
You might need to use a carbide tipped masonry bit if you have an ezeout or stud extractor stuck in it to drill it out. They are the only drill bits that will drill that type of hardened steel
These are great videos Broomy! Plenty of good know how on 'we've all been there' shed moments i.e. Breaking a bolt, 5 beers in on a Saturday night, before a planned cruise on Sunday morning. I'd love to have the gear to give the welding method a crack - but will stick with my run of the mill Bunnings kits (for the not so serious stuff) and your final method for now. Cheers!
He didn't actually show how to weld a washer and nut onto a stud broken inside the hole like he said he would, all he did was weld a nut onto a stud/ bolt sticking out from the hole 6:07. Anyone with a welder could do that.
I've just removed a bolt from an old cast iron motorcycle block, I did it with the welding method using a mig welder, I put on a washer with a neat fitting hole and a big outside diameter to protect the surface and it worked a treat, thanks for the advice.
Alright, 2 things to have on hand you say? OK Lube and Plenty of Hate you say? That's a big "Can Do" here on this side a the globe Mate! I got plenty a candle wax for the lube part a your plan and bein I'm a 60 year old Boomer, I gotta gawdamn surplus a hate to keep me goin so (it keeps me warm) I shouldn't ever have a busted bolt ever again, a right?
And I keep telling my pendejo friend to do that, fucking dude don't listen man!!!! I bought the extension and bits but,thick head bro!!!! Yes it's a tight squeeze it's on a 2008 town and country Chrysler van smh this gets me mad cause he's one of them people that want your help yet you tell them and it's a no won't work work. Thanks man I'll show him this maybe he'll be convinced.
Keep the videos coming. They are super handy and really well shot/edited. This ones timely as I'm about to try to replace a BMW exhaust manifold with some broken studs.
why didn't you scream at it after you got it out? things like, "thought so" or "why did you put me through this" or "you stupid little bit*h" or "i hate you" flipping it off is good too. plus if your neighbor see you in that mode, they'll give you space and go inside. but, if you want to keep it going you can ask, "what are you looking at"
As someone who works on stuff about everyday and broke more bolts than I can remember. I can’t remember an extractor tool ever working for me. Least not as described. 99% of the time I go right to the welding. Usually the heat alone loosens it. But I use a mig for that so I can get down in there and step it up in nut size if needed.
Use your grinder to make a large flat head screwdriver notch in the stuck bolt. Yes you will notch a small amount of metal around the thread. If this still works for your situation you go ahead and heat up the stud and then use your large flat head to unscrew the hot bolt.
As a mechanic , retired, we use to heat the broken bolt with a torch to red hot and cool with water right away. Most would just turn out easy because the rust holding it was broken free.
I'm trying to learn, but what I see in the welding example is a stud going through the nut.... That's not what your supposed to be showing me. Where's the example where the bolt is broken off
Easy outs never worked for me not once and if they break they are not soft metal so your not drilling through those....The fluted ones worked for me to get a broken spark plug out of a cylinder. The best method that actually works for me everytime is the weld the nut to the stud method.
Woah, wtf happened between 6.08 and 6.09 ?! I take it another bolt body or threaded rod was cut and inserted into nut then conductive heat welded it together? Or was entire piece rendered molten? I'm not a welder obvs. Was the washer tacked on first?
First thing I try is to heat up (if it’s allowed) and then quickly cooling it off. Then I dill a hole all the way through the bolt if possible to release pressure. Then depends on the size of the bolt welding, drilling bigger hole and breaking threads inside, going for helicoil. Really there is no right answer, depends on place you have, your stress level etc. I know one thing when bolt goes off it can take 5 min. to take it out or several hours.
If you have a bolt stuck up like the one he showed, chuck up your drill and put heat in it bolt. Reverse it straight out. If have to drill the bolt, drive a torque bit into the hole and then use it in a drill or wrench to back it out after heat. You can drill it and use a soldering iron to heat it if it is in magnesium. I specifically use these methods for my work. I’m a pneumatic tool technician and the official broke fastener extraction engineer. The tools that I work on are aluminum or magnesium bodies with socket head bolts. Some of the tools are $500 for an empty body.
