Doh! I pulled a Homer when I was changing the rear differential fluid; I tightened two of the bolts when I was taking them off breaking the bolts in the diff housing. This is probably the worst thing I have ever done to any vehicle. Anyone have good ideas on how to get them out? A couple of buddies offered to come over with an easy out.

Good news is that I did get the cover off , cleaned and painted--no more rust!

 

use your buddys easy out. we all worry about that, you just did it for us.

 

lefty-loosey, righty-tighty

 

hey would also suggest a torque wrench in the future.

 

Thanks for the comments--and Cartmanea, thanks for the reminder; I'm thinking about painting that on the diff cover!

 

If that's the worst you've done, you're not trying hard enough!

But seriously..
Did the bolt turned before it snapped? If so, it is not seized and will take very little effort to back out.

I've done many, many life-saving extractions on my vehicles and many others.

Personally, I hate the screw type easy outs, ESPECIALLY cheap versions. They are hardened steel, which also means two things:
- They are quite brittle and easy to snap/shatter if you bend them even a little
- They are virtually impossible to remove if broken off.
Instead, I use the following techniques:

* If it is sticking out of the housing any amount, grab with vice grips and unscrew it.

* If it is barely sticking out or flush, cut a slot in the end using a Dremel type tool with a cut off wheel and unscrew with a screw driver. Most of the time, cutting a little bit into the surrounding surface is no big deal. On a differential surface, it is very low risk. The sealing surface is very wide and not under much pressure.

* If below the surface, work wisely to avoid screwing it up worse.
1) Use ONLY name brand, ultra high quality tools! The best you can find! Go to a professional tool store and get their best LEFT HAND fluted drill bit and square type extractor. Use the el cheapo off brand "far east" made drills or screw extractors from Harbor Freight or discount auto parts stores and you are almost guaranteed many, many tears of disappointment and pain....
2) Soak the fastener with PB Blaster for a couple hours.
3) Get a drift punch and give the end of the screw a couple sharp raps with a hammer (this helps break corrosion loose)
4) Soak again
5) CAREFULLY center punch the dead center of the bolt.
6) Using a LEFT HAND fluted drill, carefully drill out at very low speed.
(Note, 9 times out of 10, the bit will snag the bolt and back it out during this step, resulting in 0 thread damage and great sighs of relief!)
7) If it didn't come out, insert the HIGH QUALITY square, tap in kind of extractor. Tap in a bit, try backing out. If it twists, tap a bit harder and try again. Increment force carefully. Whacking the heck out of it may break extractor (see shedding of tears comment above) or expand the bolt, making your job that much harder. Just enough is perfect.

 

mwsf250--Thanks for the tutorial. For being as old as I am, I had a big brother who did all my mechanical work--until recently. Finally, at 42, I'm learning. the good news is that one of my freinds is a master mechanic--I called him to tell him I needed help because I was a burro. His first words were "It's simple..." Good news is that both friends have offered to fix my error...without laughing too hard! And they are bringing good quality tools. I'm personally hoping for the sign of relief followed by the opening of beer cans.

 

If they are broken off below the surface, there are center punches with different diameters so that you can really center-punch the remnants of the bolt. My machinist had a set. I just looked around and couldn't find anything quick.

Anyway, sounds like you are in good hands.

 

Good call, Krewat. I think you're referring to a "transfer punch". They usually come in sets and are quite handy!
Snap-on Tools

Originally intended to mark the second piece to get holes to line up when fabricating parts that need to line up perfectly, but they would be good for marking the center of a broken bolt as well.

 

THOSE are the ones! Now I know what they're called

And yes, they were for taking a piece of plate with holes drilled and transferring the holes to a second plate without screwing it up

 

Not sure how my friends did it; but, I got home and the broken bolts were out. He said it wasn't too hard, just a pain in the butt. Anywoo, thanks for the help!