A buddy of mine went off roading in his 90 f250 7.3 and somehow got air born, resulting in a bolt for his power brake compressor snapping off inside the block. It snapped off flush, so there's no way to get ahold of it with anything. Anyone have a suggestion of how to get it out?

 

How to Use Easy Outs | eHow.com
Any "Track Auto" sells them

 

DO NOT ATTEMPT IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD WITH WELDING.... COULD CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS THAN SOLUTIONS.

if your a pretty good welder.... you can find a nut that you have a socket for preferably a grade 8 or above. and place it over the top of the broken of bolt and weld in where the thread goes in the nut however don't do it all at once so heat doesn't build up in the stuck bolt to fuse it to the block... .weld a little stop allow to cool weld a little allow to cool... repeat until the nut is welded to the bolt and attempt to remove... however before doing the welding ect i would coat the stuck bolt with PB blaster wd 40 or john deere penetrating oil iv'e found to be very effective... (this has been done several times in the shop at JD). soak it in penetrating oil about every hour for a day and then let it sit overnight the next day try the weld nut on approach. this can be very effective for removing broken bolts.... however INDIVIDUAL RESULTS MAY VARY.

 

air born!! haha PICS PICS!!!

 

Do you mean the vacuum pump? Located on the passenger side, underneath the alternator? How the heck does getting air born break a bolt holding that on?

Yes!! Pics!! hahaha


And x2 on welding a nut on a broken bolt....IF you're a good/confident welder.
A good weld is said to be stronger than the original surrounding steel...at least that's what I was told by an old-school wrencher.

 

This is a fun topic. Getting broken bolts out is an art. Since the bolt got sheared off then you shouldn't have much trouble getting it out. Ease outs have their place but get more people in trouble then they help. Bolts that snap off will you are taking them out can get interesting. Usually I end up drilling them out and some times us inserts to fix the bolt holes.

 

Like a heli-coil?

 

Basically, There several different types and brands. Depends on how much room you have on the piece that has the broken bolt. Distance to a water jacket etc. The Helicoil brand isn't bad and will do what most people want. They would work fine in this situation. They are inserts for high torque applications. I was in town getting some endmill bits today and saw some today that are supposed to be some bad dudes. These were expensive though.

Now, I am not a machinist. Yeh, I have a lathe,surface grinder and a milling machine. Old stuff picked up at auctions. My lathe is a 1937 model Lablond. My surface grinder is a 1942 model Brown and Sharp. There are tired but I have fun with them and don't have a 1000 dollars in them both.

 

Unfortunately I don't have any pics, but he came completely off the ground about 6". I had gone before him in my f350 with street tires, slid into a rut, and with no traction in the mud, got stuck. This being his first time wheeling, he got scared and when his turn came to go through, he just floored it and BOUNCED across the rut and puddle. Jacked his alignment all up, and the next time he shut off the engine, he heard a clank. He popped the hood and there sat the brake vacuum, one bolt missing and the other in the block... and I don't have a welder, and I don't wanna try it on my buddy's truck for the first time... so drilling it out would probably be the best bet right?

 

Sounds like it had one bolt missing before the event. You may very well get it out with an ease out because it sheared off. Drill it pretty close to the size of the bolt. Like use a 5/16 bit in a 3/8 bolt. The trick is getting it centered. If it isn't flat then you want to try to get it that way so you can center punch it dead in the middle. Take your time with a small bit and get your center. Sometimes you may have to start at a slight angle and straighten it up. Once you have your center or real close. Gradually go up in size as big as you can go with out getting the bolt to thin to try an ease out . You can drill out 3/4 of the bolt material and still be ok as far as that goes. The bolt shouldn't be bottomed out so go all the way so drill through it if at all possible. That lets some of the tension off the bolt. You shouldn't need heat. Remember this. When you run into this again. Don't ever heat a bolt up and then decide you have to drill it. May not happen then. Heating them to the right temp can case harden them so your everyday drill bit won't even scratch them. If you think you need to heat them make sure you drill them first. DON'T break an ease out in the bolt. You don't drill them with any ole bit. You pretty much have to go carbide. Expensive and you have to be very careful with them. Those need to be used in a milling machine and a tight one at that. Very brittle and if they break in a hole then call in the family. That gets ugly. You shouldn't have to get that deep with this one. Take your time.

Left handed drill bits can be very handy for bolts like these also. Sometimes they will run the bolts out for you.

 

i did this a lot when i was in the machine shop at school for the guys in the auto shop but its easier said then done we would drill and tap the hole or use a very expensive easy out/reverse drill bit. i still have to do this at work wit the stupid *** skip plates that all toyotas have every one loves to break the bolts off

 

Doesnt the entire vac pump mount come out of the truck? cant this be done on a bench, in good lighting also?

 

No the whole bracket came off... I'll give the drilling a try though. Thanks guys!

 

I talking about the whole cast piece that the alt also bolts on, there is 3 recesed bolts in it but you have to pull the alt to get it off.

 

The bracket that the vacuum pump bolts to does come of the engine. Not for sure what bolt is broke. The bracket that the pump bolts to has three bolts going into the engine.