Broken bolt - help

[vthomley]

My son has a '97 Polaris XC 700.

He managed to break off a bolt and I need to extract it. I drilled into and through the bolt then I could not find my easy out(I only have one). Yesterday I borrowed one from work and it was bigger than the hole I drilled so last night I drilled the hole bigger and.......of course I broke the drill bit off in the hole... So now I have a broken drill bit inside a broken bolt. Now how do I get this out?

Bolt is approx a 5-16x18, drill bit is smaller. Frustration level was much higher... Darn snowmobile.

Please help!

 

[kmcconaughey]

Vince, I know it's not much help, but, he should have bought an Arctic Cat.

Just curious, where is the bolt? Engine, suspension, chassis?

 

[vthomley]

yeah, I think at Arctic Cat would have been better.

This is a 3 cylindar he took off the cover on the motor. The coolant flows over the top of the motor and he took this cover off, and broke a bolt, the broken stud is in the aluminum head of the motor. he did not take the head off, just a cover, this broken bolt is on the head. I might now have to take the head off.

 

[dfrisk]

VINCE - Steel bolt threaded into aluminum is the worst, the alum. oxidizes a bit and that bolt is STUCK.
Try to use a small punch, nail set, etc. to try to break up the drill bit, or if You can get a needle nose pliers on it try to turn it out backwards. If You get it to break up use compressed air to try to blow the pieces out of the hole. Be careful You don't break the easy-out. Then chase the threads and apply something like anti-sieze on the replacement bolt/stud. Seriously, I've even read in Hot Rod magazine that tooth paste on the threads is better thasn nothing!

Also, I've never tried them but many people say a reverse rotation drill bit used to drill out the hole in the broken stud will back the broken part right out also. If Your starter hole is centered in the stud really well drilling the hole larger just short of getting into the threads in the head makes the removal of the stud easier also.

 

[vthomley]

Dennis, Thanks I was wondering about a reverse rotation drill bit.

How about heating up this, does heat help un STUCK the bolt?

I need to rewind last night, should not have went out to the garage.... I had just gotten done with Parent Teacher conferences and they did not go as well as I'd hoped. Then I go out to the shed and work on a Polaris....

 

[bbrigham]

It will help to heat it around the bolt with a propane torch then spray some Kroil on it. The aluminum will expand faster than the bolt so the penetrating fluid will get in there fast.

Ya know, if it were a Yamaha ya wouldn't be having these problems

 

[proessler]

Vince you don't have Snow up your way do U? We might get a tease overnite in southern WI.Upper 20's for a low...

 

[vthomley]

Brendan, thanks. I'll be attempting this repair again later tonight or tomorrow.

No snow here, the sun just peeked out through the clouds.

I think it is in the mid 30s, supposed to be around 30 tonight with a 50% chance of rain - yea rain...and 30 degrees...Oh maybe some of that other stuff...

 

[thoffman]

Drilling a hole in a drill bit might a PITA. Try the small punch set or home mad to fit "picks". Lastly <u>take your time.</u> You done want a stud, drill,and a punch to get out.

 

[jlarsen]

I broke a sq punch in a hole in the 149 . Took a small grinding wheel on my dremel grinder. Ground in little circles ground it right out. Worked for me ,take your time and stay away from the theads good luck

 

[rpalmer]

This is borrowed information with credit to the author:
Removing Snapped off Bolts and Studs"To remove a stud or bolt that has snapped off flush with the surface, place a washer and nut of the same size as the stud, over the broken end, and fill the nut with weld. Use arc or mig, so that it gets good penetraton in the stud end. Leave it to cool for a few seconds, then unscrew it as normal. No damage. The heat also helps unstick the stud." ([email protected])

This might help. I don't know.

 

[dfrisk]

RICHARD - SON got hold of a blown-up 460 Ford engine about 5-6 yrs ago. We pulled it apart one morning in about an hour using impact guns. Needless to say We twisted off several bolts, mostly exh. manifold bolts. We used the "Weld a washer & nut to the bolt" method and it worked pretty well, ARC welding works better than MIG, and large fasteners better than small. You need to get LOTS of heat into the broken bolt.

Problem with Vince's situation is the steel bolt in the alum. head, too get the head hot enough to break the grip of the alum. oxide in the threads You could easily exceed the melting temp of the alum. The melting temp of the alum. is about the same as the steel. The whole process works better on cast iron. Plus the head should probably be removed from the engine.

Couple years ago I broke one of the 3/8" bolts holding the S/G mounting bracket to the block of a K181 in the CC 70. I removed the other bolt and then proceeded to remove the broken end of the busted bolt with my FINGERS.
Gotta love working on Quality old iron!

 

[aaytay]

Vince-
Sorry to hear about your troubles with the Polaris <font size="-2">(...and the parent/teacher conferences, but that's a different story.)</font>

Feel free to bring that part (or the whole Polaris) over if you decide to go with the "weld a nut" route. I'd be happy to help..

While you're over, I'll show you how some jerk plowed up my back-yard while I was out of town this weekend.

 

[kide]

Vince:
Results???

 

[vthomley]

Results........Its snowing!

Oh, nothing with the Polaris Engine, we tried and failed. I think my neighbor is bringing his welder over later this week, or we are hauling the sled to him to weld a nut on the top and hopefully remove this.

I tried to loosen the stuck broken bit without any luck.

Thanks for all the advise.

Art, sorry to hear about the back yard....

 

[dfrisk]

ART -

I bet the guilty tractor looked like this:

 

[aschumacher]

Art, ya think the person who plowed your yard was also ploughed?

 

[aaytay]

Allen-
I don't know..

Just because the furrows weren't straight doesn't mean much. I mean, we're talking Vince and Kraig here right?

 

[kmcconaughey]

Art, I believe you mean Vince and Brian. I was with my daughter hunting remember...

View from the ground blind 7:03am Saturday:

 

[vthomley]

Kraig, were you ploughed when we met at Art's to plow...?