Well after finally getting off whole exhaust (y-pipe manifolds muffler etc.) I had a chance to look at the passenger side bolt that I feared I broke off.

Unfortunately, the bolt closest to the firewall on the passenger side has sheared off into the heads...

I tried drilling a hole into the bolt with the drill I had and using a bolt extractor to get it out, but I could not drill deep enough into the bolt and the bolt extractor wouldn't stick. There was barely any room to get the drill in there but it could fit after taking off a few things, but I don't know if it was my drill bit that wasn't strong enough or that I just couldn't push hard enough on the drill at the angle I had.. When hammering the bolt extractor into the small hold I did make, it would stick, but grip well enough to actually get the bolt out. I had soaked all the bolts with PB blaster a few times over the period of a week before I tried extracting them, and a few hours again before trying to remove the bolt.

What are my best options from here? I don't have the time or probably knowledge to take off my heads to get the bolt removed, and I don't have the money (nor do I think I would pay a shop 1100+ if I did) to have them do it, but this truck is my daily driver. As of now, I am going to put the headers and everything back up, but I'm afraid I am going to have a leak.

I have access to a MIG welder with a partially messed up ground cable (it still works though) but I don't know how to weld, and don't know if I can weld something onto the bolt that is slightly depressed in the head....

If anyone has any advice I'd greatly appreciate it! And thanks Opossum for the advice so far!

 

I am running a set of percys gaskets with my headers and have that very same bolt missing from the mix with zero leak issues. If you are installing good quality headers like jba, bbk, edelbrock or another brand with a thick exhaust flange you should be fine. get yourself some good locking header bolts and make sure they are at least 1" long this way you have plenty of bolt threaded.

otherwise pulling the head and taking it to a machine shop.

 

Well if you have had zero leak issues that's excellent news for me. Pulling the head is not something I'd be up to do for a long time. I bought Bassani Headers and am using the gasket they came with as well as the bolts they provided. I don't know how great the bolts they have are, but swapping out the bolts for some locking bolts doesn't sound like it will be that hard of a task, especially compared to what I have been doing with my exhaust the past few days. If percy gaskets are better quality then then Bassani ones I may swap to those also if I do have a leak.

 

i would run the percy's. go to any parts store and compare i think you will see why. they are a thick gasket. as for the header bolts measure them out from end of bolt to the flange. if they are less than 1" i would get something else that is 12 point also. this way you can torque them down easier or myself i got allen head header bolts.

 

I'll probably buy some nicer bolts then because I don't think mine are over 1". I already bolted everything up since I will need to be driving it a little bit pretty soon. I'll probably go ahead and buy the percys gaskets too if they are that much better. Changing the gaskets out will be a little harder then the bolts, but at least the headers will be roughly in the area where I need them and I won't have to unbolt the starter or bend the oil dipstick if I have to change the gaskets.

I'm just waiting on getting more money because I need to buy 3 new O2 sensors also since I couldn't get any of my old ones out... but I was planning on buying them soon, just not right away since I didn't have the money.. the Bassani Y-pipe seems about 1/2" too thin when I bolted it to the headers so I hope that when I tightened everything down it managed to properly seat itself... I don't want to deal with two trouble spots! I can't really tell if I have any leaks since there are three big holes in the Y-pipe where the sensors will go, but I'll know later this week! I'll give an update when I have everything later this week.

Thank you Kemicalburns for the information, it really helps give me a better idea on what I should do and makes me not feel so depressed about one broken bolt.