Warp70

I apologize if I am bothering anyone today, but darn it Murphy's law is kicking my (BEEP)!! :smash: :smash: :smash: One of those cheap Chrome valve cover bolts that I bought from JEGS, just broke in half while I was tightening it. Appearently I am suppose to know that a 1 In bolt is too long for my application.....yeah right! Why the hell do the sell em if you can't use them. Anyway, I need to know what to do to get the bolt out. I have heard of drilling out bolts, but don't know what I am doing. Once I drill down into the bolt whole, how will I be able to get whats left out???? or is there a better way????

trw

If you cann't get plyers on it, try using a small chisel and putting a notch in it and getting it out with a screwdriver.

Hope it helps.

Terry

lbell101

I did the same thing with the same bolt from the same place about 6 months ago!
I used an easy out and it came out easier than I expected. Any harware or tool store should have an easy out. You need a small one as it's a small bolt. Basically, you drill a hole in the center of the bolt smaller than the threads so you don't damage it. Then you twist in the easy out which binds in the hole while turning CCW. Then the bolt just turns out.
Put down some rags to catch the metal fragments while drilling.

paso

Start with a small drill bit making sure you are in the exact center of the bolt (critical) then take a piece of tape and put the drill bit in one of the other holes (that the valve cover bolts to ) wrap the tape around the drill bit. this will tell you how deep too drill with out drilling too deep. Then progessivly drill with a larger drill bit till you can pick the last threads out with a dental pick. good luck take your time and it is easy.

Smokehouse69

BE CAREFUL of an Ez-out. They have a bad habit of snaping off inside of bolt holes. The idea of grinding a slot in the bolt is a good one, in fact if you have enough of the bolt sticking out do that. I'd use a dremel tool with one of those little cutoff wheels. I use those all the time to freshen up boogered up screws.
If it is broken off level with the head then try to find a reverse twist drill bit a little smaller than the bolt. Get a center punch and ping a dent in the top of the busted off bolt. Then with the reverse twist drill bit (and your drill in reverse) start trying to drill the bolt out. With any luck the drill will unscrew the broken off bolt as it drills down into the bolt.
I think you can get reverse drill bits from Sears, if not any well supplied hardware store or machine shop should have them.
Good luck!

Larry B.

Having a bad day are you? Take the valve cover off and see if there is enough of the bolt to grab with vise grips. I have some drills and taps if you can't get it. I am off tomorrow and can help. Don't mess the bolt up too badly trying or we will have a tough time.
Larry :cry

R. Bruno

Ditto on caution with the "easy out". I don't doubt that they work, but the inexperienced can break it off and it is very difficult to get out (I know). Try vise grips first, then the drill out method. If you go slow, drilling it out can't make things any worse, which for me is the litmus test.

I think careful planning to overcome a problem, especially for relative beginners such as myself, is really important. Take your time, think it through carefully before proceding or small problems tend to turn into bigger ones that are difficult to reverse. Good luck! :cheers:

Warp70

Aaaaaaaaaa I think I've messed the bolt up too bad at this point :rolleyes: :rolleyes: I couldn't center the drill bit so the first hole went in at an angle. The I recentered the drill bit and drilled another hole in the middle. Now I have two holes and the bolts still stuck in there. I suck at this mechanic stuff :yesnod: I don't know if I am going to mess with it any more tonight. Maybe I'll work on routing the spark plug wires....I couldn't possibly mess that up..... :rolleyes: ....or could I........enquiring minds want to know. I sure do appreciate all of the advise everyone has been so kind to give me. It has helped me keep my sanity :jester

lbell101

Geez guys - I've used the easy outs alot and I've broken a couple. But I always knew I was pushing it! I seriously doubt it would break with a brand new bolt in this application. I like the pliers and notch ideas better - unless it's broken below the head surface like mine was.

JIM

Hers is a tip for the future. "Use a 1/4" drive ratchet when tightening valve cover bolts."

jerryp58

"I couldn't center the drill bit so the first hole went in at an angle. The I recentered the drill bit and drilled another hole in the middle."

Even though I've broken one of two of them myself, I still vote for the easy out. Go to any auto store and get a set (or single) for the specific size bolt you're trying to remove. A new bolt should not be that difficult to get out. The last time I was getting a "new" (probably less than 1 year) broken bolt out, I was drilling the center and the bit stuck, so I put the drill in reverse and the bolt came out :D . I think that for a valve cover bolt, even if you snap the easy out off, it won't be that difficult for a shop (and shouldn't be that expensive) for them to get it out by welding a new bolt head onto it. Just remember that you don't want to put as much pressure trying to get the thing out as you did trying to put it in. Jim's 1/4" rachet is a good idea.

Also, you can pick up a Craftsman bar style torque wrench from Sears for less than $20. It may not be the best or most accurate, but it's better than guessing (like I used to do). Torquing is a good idea in general, but it's especially important when gaskets are concerned. If they're compressed too much, they're not as effective.

My $0.02 Good Luck!


[Modified by jerryp58, 10:39 PM 1/20/2002]

SevenT1Shark

It is all good advice thats been posted but one more important thing is to walk away when things get tough. :seeya

Jughead

I've had sucess using the reverse drill bits, but on much larger bolts. 5 so far, just on my '70! One thing I've learned over the years is that the valve cover bolts don't need super torque applied to seal properly.

Warp70

Just to let everyone know, although I am a novice, and sometimes and idiot......I did not over torque the bolt. What happened is that I bought some chrome valve cover bolts from Jegs. They were 1'long, which I thought would be fine, but ended up being too long. The valve covers wasn't even being pushed down on that bolt yet when the bolt broke off. It was simply a matter of the bolt being too long and me not having the experience to know it. I still can't get the darn bolt out, so I think I am Screwed!!!!!! Maybe I'll throw a shout out to Silvervetteman to see if he can lend a hand!!!!!