broken bolt on side of engine block...

[fLyPiNoY7]

im not really sure where to put this but last week while i was trying to redo my groundwiring, i was attempting to attach a part of the wires to the engine block by attaching a bolt to that big bolt hole in the front of it...nothing was attached to it before so i just attached the groundwires to it...somehow, i guess the bolt was too short so when i tried to tighten it down, the head snapped off, leaving the bolt body itself in the block...whats the best way to remove this?...damn home depot bolts r weak...

 

[alexlitov]

how far did it break? If it's too far, I would just leave it there...you dont' want to drill it out or anything like that..

 

[dominoy2k1]

you can get some of those drill bits to remove broken bolts...

 

[MikeBlueP5]

if there is nothing left sticking out then your only options would be to drill it out, and the other would be to melt it out with an acetylene torch.

 

[alexlitov]

or just leave it there...

 

[fLyPiNoY7]

well, it broke flush with the hole so its not really easy to get out...wont melting it mess with the rest of the block?

 

[alexlitov]

1. It would be hard to melt it all
2. You might damage more than intended

 

[MikeBlueP5]

generally it takes less heat to melt out a bolt, than to heat the block enough to mess anything up. you dont have to melt it all out, all you have to do is melt the middle, or the bulk of it. Then you follow up with a tap to rethread the hole. I used to do this on a daily basis when i worked for a machine shop rebuilding cylinder heads.

 

[fLyPiNoY7]

so i guess drilling it out would be the best way...whats that hole there for anyway?...and how deep does it go so i dont end up drilling too deep?

 

[MikeBlueP5]

not exactly sure which bolt you are talking about, can you be more specific, or take a pic?

 

[fLyPiNoY7]

lemme try to find a pic...the best description i can give is the bolt hole on top of the heat shield which covers the header/pre-cat...when i got the car, that hole was open...

 

[fLyPiNoY7]

heres a pic: (taken from groundwiring how-to)
its the circled 5/16th bolt hole...

 

[MikeBlueP5]

if the thread body isnt too tight then you might be able to get some type of remover in there. I would go to the local auto parts store and ask them what all they carry. I would assume since the bolt didnt bottom out in the hole that it isnt in there tight.

 

[ozz]

if you need to just go to a automotive or sears or any wheir else that sells tools and get an extracter(all you do is drill a little to start a hole then use the extracter to take it out and a tap to clean up the threads

 

[Heathen23]

honestly, I would get professional help or tools on this one. Leaving a bolt in and waiting until you can get it out right is the smart move versus potentially messing up the aluminum.

 

[LowMileLude]

the extractor is called an easy out... Get a small titanium drill bit and drill a small hole in the center. Then put the easy out in the drill and it should back the bolt out.