Disaster Struck Last Night
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 153
Likes: 19
Disaster Struck Last Night
I've got my 5.8 out of the truck to do some maintenance and upgrades. Last night, I pulled the exhaust manifolds. Of course, a couple of bolts broke off in the head. I drilled the first one, tapped in the extractor, and turned it out for a textbook removal. On the next one, I drilled it, tapped in the extractor, and turned but... the extractor broke off flush inside the bolt. So, I have a broken, seized bolt with a broken, hardened extractor inside it.
I have been searching the internet for solutions. Obviously, pulling the head and taking it to a shop that does EDM removal would be the safest way to remove it but also the most work and expense. Someone suggested taking a Dremel with a carbide bit and carefully grinding out the extractor and bolt. Another suggestion was to use a torch to anneal the extractor then use a left hand drill bit on it. What would you do?
I have been searching the internet for solutions. Obviously, pulling the head and taking it to a shop that does EDM removal would be the safest way to remove it but also the most work and expense. Someone suggested taking a Dremel with a carbide bit and carefully grinding out the extractor and bolt. Another suggestion was to use a torch to anneal the extractor then use a left hand drill bit on it. What would you do?
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 153
Likes: 19
So a couple tungsten carbide Dremel bits and a tungsten carbide drill bit slowly took care of the hardened screw extractor. After cleaning out the extractor, I drilled through the bolt with a 1/4' lefthand drill bit. Bolt still hasn't budged. I'm afraid if I go any bigger with the drill bit that I will get into the threads.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 153
Likes: 19
I've hit it pretty hard with the torch and PB Blaster already. Gonna keep it up, but this puppy is stubborn.
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Tuned
Joined: Dec 2018
Posts: 454
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From: SE WI
The heating and cooling action should break it loose. May take a few tries. Don't lose patience and do something you can't undo.
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Laughing Gas
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If i'm reading it right you have the motor out of the truck so it would be real easy to keep stepping up in size with drill bits. Just make sure your centered and if you get into the threads just tap it out.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 153
Likes: 19
Well, I'm ready to call it a failure. I drilled through the bolt with a 5/16" left hand. It just looks like you drilled through solid steel. No evidence of threads anywhere. I kept waiting for pieces of the bolt to pop loose. No such luck.
Hole is a little off center, so I know I must have messed some threads up. Tried to re-tap it, but couldn't get either of my 3/8" taps to bite. I'm just gonna stop before I actually ruin it.
Head is gonna have to come off. I'm gonna let the professionals HeliCoil or Time Sert or whatever. After screwing this up, I'm not confident I can get the proper angle when drilling for the thread repair kit.
Hole is a little off center, so I know I must have messed some threads up. Tried to re-tap it, but couldn't get either of my 3/8" taps to bite. I'm just gonna stop before I actually ruin it.
Head is gonna have to come off. I'm gonna let the professionals HeliCoil or Time Sert or whatever. After screwing this up, I'm not confident I can get the proper angle when drilling for the thread repair kit.
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 5,776
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Well, I'm ready to call it a failure. I drilled through the bolt with a 5/16" left hand. It just looks like you drilled through solid steel. No evidence of threads anywhere. I kept waiting for pieces of the bolt to pop loose. No such luck.
Hole is a little off center, so I know I must have messed some threads up. Tried to re-tap it, but couldn't get either of my 3/8" taps to bite. I'm just gonna stop before I actually ruin it.
Head is gonna have to come off. I'm gonna let the professionals HeliCoil or Time Sert or whatever. After screwing this up, I'm not confident I can get the proper angle when drilling for the thread repair kit.
Hole is a little off center, so I know I must have messed some threads up. Tried to re-tap it, but couldn't get either of my 3/8" taps to bite. I'm just gonna stop before I actually ruin it.
Head is gonna have to come off. I'm gonna let the professionals HeliCoil or Time Sert or whatever. After screwing this up, I'm not confident I can get the proper angle when drilling for the thread repair kit.
Thread Starter
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 153
Likes: 19
Drilled through it with 3/16", then 1/4" and 5/16" left hand bits. The 5/16" bit would slide into the other holes.
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Mountain Pass
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 153
Likes: 19
I could use some direction on where can I find them for cheap? 3 Bar GT-40's don't seem to be cheap on eBay. My understanding is that my JBA shorty headers won't work with GT-40P heads.