Broken bolt problems
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Broken bolt problems
So I have a 1987 Ford F-150. I was in the process of changing the water pump and I got to the last bolt and it snapped off. It is recessed into the block a bit. My plan was to use an extractor and then heat it up with a torch before unscrewing it, however I can't even make a dent on this bolt with my drills. I have tried bosch cobalt bits and dewalt cobalt bit and they don't even make a scratch in this thing. I've tried 4 different drills as well.
My little porter cable 20v cordless drill, I even bought an impact rated bit and tried with the 20v cordless porter cable impact. I tried with an old corded black and decker drill and with a chicago electric drill that has a hammer or standard option(i did not use the hammer option because I don't want to destroy the thing). Nothing, not a scratch, it has dulled my center punch to the point it no longer punches and i need to buy a new one or sharpen the one i have.
What options do I have here? I have seen a trick people do with a welder and copper pipe and I do have a welder but it's just the cheap flux core wire feed from harbor freight(the chicago electric one they used to sell several years ago) and most of the guys doing that trick are using a tig or mig welder and they're on a horizontal surface and I'm on a vertical surface so I'm not sure how I'd go about holding the copper pipe in place while I try to weld it.
Any tips, bits or extractors to buy or if I need a better drill or whatever would be greatly appreciated, I am in desperate need for my truck to be running. I'll post a picture tomorrow morning before I go to work. (Note, I posted this on another ford forum website because I thought it might be an active forum but this website looks waaay more active than that one)
My little porter cable 20v cordless drill, I even bought an impact rated bit and tried with the 20v cordless porter cable impact. I tried with an old corded black and decker drill and with a chicago electric drill that has a hammer or standard option(i did not use the hammer option because I don't want to destroy the thing). Nothing, not a scratch, it has dulled my center punch to the point it no longer punches and i need to buy a new one or sharpen the one i have.
What options do I have here? I have seen a trick people do with a welder and copper pipe and I do have a welder but it's just the cheap flux core wire feed from harbor freight(the chicago electric one they used to sell several years ago) and most of the guys doing that trick are using a tig or mig welder and they're on a horizontal surface and I'm on a vertical surface so I'm not sure how I'd go about holding the copper pipe in place while I try to weld it.
Any tips, bits or extractors to buy or if I need a better drill or whatever would be greatly appreciated, I am in desperate need for my truck to be running. I'll post a picture tomorrow morning before I go to work. (Note, I posted this on another ford forum website because I thought it might be an active forum but this website looks waaay more active than that one)
Hotshot
Joined: Nov 2017
Posts: 17,500
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From: Northern Ontario
That cobalt bit, if it is an actual cobalt bit, should have no trouble going right though that bolt. If it is some type of a cobalt tipped, or dipped, or coated etc from Amazon, or home depot etc, they are not a cobalt bit.
You should be able to find a true CO bit at a local jobber, industrial supplier that sells drill bits. They are expensive.
Any CO bit I've ever used has the drill size - fraction, letter, number - followed by, or above it, "CO".
I've tried those 'cobalt equivalent' bits from fastenal etc, and they are not even close imho.
Get a split tip bit if you can. Go slow, use oil. Don’t heat it up, it will harden the material. Carbide mentioned below is good, but more brittle, be careful.
You should be able to find a true CO bit at a local jobber, industrial supplier that sells drill bits. They are expensive.
Any CO bit I've ever used has the drill size - fraction, letter, number - followed by, or above it, "CO".
I've tried those 'cobalt equivalent' bits from fastenal etc, and they are not even close imho.
Get a split tip bit if you can. Go slow, use oil. Don’t heat it up, it will harden the material. Carbide mentioned below is good, but more brittle, be careful.
Lead Driver
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 6,185
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From: Houston/Sugar Land
Tuned
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 318
Likes: 20
From: Upstate South Carolina
Get carbide from Travers or Granger Either fluted or twist should work. If its recessed try a sleeve with the same outside dia. of the bolt, to push into the hole as a guide and an inside dia. to match the drill bit, which is a bit tricky. Left handed is even better. Then extractor.
Btw - which stud broke? Was it the one under the hose that goes to the thermostat housing, on the bottom left as you face the pump?
Btw - which stud broke? Was it the one under the hose that goes to the thermostat housing, on the bottom left as you face the pump?
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