I have a bolt on my motorcycle which seized so thoroughly that I ripped the head off trying to remove it. How can I get the bolt out of the hole? I don’t think I can easily remove the piece of the frame it is stuck in. (The bolt is the one that holds the passenger’s foot pegs on, if that makes a difference.)
The bike is a 1983 Kawasaki KZ-750 LTD.
You can (carefully) drill a hole in the bolt and use an “easy-out” extractor. These are available at any auto parts store, and are special reverse-thread hardened screws. When you do this, use penetrating oil (like “Kroil”) and let it soak for a while first.
I was going to mention something like that as well. The problem I see is that if the bolt is so tight it ripped the head off, this might not work either. It’s worth a try and it probably won’t make anything worse. If that doesn’t work, you may want/have to drill it out and re-tap the hole. I would assume a mechanic could help you with that.
Would a blow torch help? Could you use that to heat and expand the metal around the bold?
If the bolt is large enough, you can drill into the center and use an easy out to remove it. Easy outs, male and female, are available at a hardware, or home improvement center.
You have a couple of choices
A.) Only carry one legged passengers, or no passengers at all. Cost? zero.
B.) If the bolt is 12mm or less shaft size drilling and using an easy out is one way. Several warnings here:
[ol]
[li]Use the right size easy-out. If you use too small and easy-out, and it breaks you are truly fucked.[/li][li]The hole you drill has to be absolutely straight. if you drill at an angle and get outside the bolt, see the bad things listed in #1 above[/li][li]There are several different types of extractors. Some are more effective than others. I like the this style for busted bolts [/li][/ol]
C.) Starting at about 12-14mm shaft size (I think) you can have a bolt removed by a process called EDM. Contact an automotive machine shop for prices. I had a big bolt break off in the nose of a crankshaft once, and had it removed this way. Probably cost me $25 bucks 25 years ago.
D.) If all else fails, drill the hole out and install some type of thread insert like a time-sert or a Heli-coil
As suggested, try an Easy Out.
I operate and maintain a steam locomotive, and when we have bolts (admittedly much larger ones) that we break the heads off of, that are still too stubborn for an Easy Out, we take a torch and heat the bolt, then let it cool. Heat, then let it cool. Repeat as needed. Often times, the expansion/contraction will break the threads loose and allow us to then use the Easy Out. I’m not sure whether or not that’d work for you (you might not want to melt something, for instance) but I thought I’d mention it. You probably don’t even need a big torch, sometimes those little propane ones work for us.
Hubby (a mechanic) reports that brake fluid (I know) also works as a last resort for seized bolts. Let the fluid sink in a while, then do the drill/easy out thiing. Good luck!
Using a Dremel Tool™ with a reinforced cutoff wheel, create a narrow slot across the end of the broken bolt shaft. Then, after applying heat via the torch method, described above, turn out the broken bolt with a standard blade screwdriver.
My favorite torch for this is air/acetylene with a #2 or #3 tip. The pencil point flame affords heat concentration on the bolt to be removed.
Take it to a mechanic to have it removed with the correct tools. It can get worse, if you try to do it.
I’ll go with the easy-out crowd. My preferred type is this.
The only thing I would add would be if possible, to drill a hole large enough that you can use a jigsaw to cut completely through the threads on one side. I don’t believe this bolt was retaining any sort of fluid so the slight damage to the thread in the hole won’t affect anything.
The type of bolt is reasonably obvious in this application, but I just want to throw out the caution of make sure you’re turning the wrench in the correct direction.
I once saw the aftermath of a neighbor shearing off a stud on a car that had left-hand threads on the left side of the car. (Think it was a Dodge Dart) They didn’t know about Chrysler’s odd nuts in the 60’s and they really spoiled their afternoon while trying to get a wheel off using a “cheater” pipe on the lug wrench.
Ha!
I once spent a long time trying to get the damn nut off of the radiator fan on a Ranger…until I looked down and saw the note on the frame which said that it had left-hand threads.
Been there. Done that.
Was trying to pull the wheel off a trailer one time and the blasted nut just would not move. After trying just about everything except a cheater pipe I decided to try the other direction just to see if I could get some wiggle room. Durned if it didn’t spin right on off.
I just want to say that I had the same bike several years ago and the phillips head (Nice bit of engineering there!) screws on the clutch cover were pre-stripped by the previous owner and I used easy-outs on two of them. At least with phillips head bolts you already have the center of the bolt marked so it makes drilling it out to fit the easy-out very idiot proof.
I bought an easy-out recommended by the well-trained shop clerk in my local Canadian Tire.
… so now that it’s broken off in the bolt (which didn’t turn at all), what should I do?
If there is any of the original head showing, you can try old fashioned vise grips. A small hint, try tightening the bolt an eigth or quarter turn before trying to loosen it, that sometimes breaks it loose. [del]When[/del] If that doesn’t work, take it to a machine shop. You are well and truly f*cked trying to drill through that easy out.
Arrgh…
That sucks. If the vice-grip suggestion doesn’t work, you can probably remove the easy-out with a Dremel tool using a carbide burr and a lot of time. Once you do that, try carefully grinding the remaining bolt right to the threads on one side. Then, you can use a screwdriver or chisel to deform the bolt enough to remove it. Be prepared to spend some time on this. Good luck.
Unless you can get behind the bolt to knock the easy out out, you’re pretty well hosed. That is hardened steel at least as hard as your average drill bit. You might be able to drill down beside it to loosen it enough to remove it.
Nothing smaller than 1/8 and very slowly. You don’t want two pieces of hardened steel embedded in it.
Missed the edit window.
How big is the bolt and how larve of a hole did you drill?
Cry.
Once you’re done, start drilling the bolt out, preferably from the back. Go slowly, be patient, use sharp bits and try somehow to avoid the extractor (which will break bits and cause the ones that don’t break to go off course.) Once you’re done, use a helicoil to replace the chewed up thread.
You might be able to drill from the back and knock out the broken extractor. If that works, then just try to drill out the body of the stud.
It sounds like the threads are siezed in the hole. If so, you won’t be able to unscrew the stud. It will have to be drilled out.