Need a tip on bolt removal.
Basically the only thing keeping me from finishing the clutch job on my car is one stupid snapped bolt. One of the lower control arm bolts (the inner one) snapped during “removal.” so the threaded bit is still in there. it’s only accessable from one side. It’s a grade 10 bolt, so it’s pretty well hardened. we’ve drilled straight through it, and it won’t budge. we’ve tried screwing smaller bolts into the hole and coaxing it out that way, but we end up[ fux0ring the threads o nthe bolts we try screing in there. they’re all like grade 4 at best. not nearly as hard. so I’ve got this centimeter or so of broken bolt with a big fucking hole in it. what can I stick in there to get it out (hmm… sounds bad out of context)? cause, as I mentioned before, it’s kinda tough to drive around without your control arm secured.
other than that, the engine is in the car, the passenger side hub and halfshaft are all in place. I’ve hooked back up the fuel, water, vacuum, and electrical lines. all that’s left is the header, shift linkages, a few misc wires, and the drivers side hub/halfshaft assy. w00t!
-IggDawg
What about welding a nut onto the end of the broken bolt so you can get more leverage? Is the bolt stuck inside the control arm or inside the knuckle on the car? If it’s stuck in the control arm maybe it would be better to scrounge another control arm from a scrap yard.
it’s snapped flush with the nut that’s welded in place. I’d hacksaw it off, but I can’t get at the area. it’s really tight in there. picture 2 metal plates with a hole through the center of each. the welded nut is on the outside of one, and the bolt comes in from the outside of the other one. and the structural support for the control arm prevents access from the outside of the nut.
-Igg
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=00952156000
never used them, but maybe they work…
I’ve used ‘easy outs’ and they do work. Try that one (if the bolt is small enough for that one to work, or try the bigger bolt removers (I think they still call them easy outs). I used it a few times for a ’39 Ford I was working on. Worked like a charm! And costs all of $15-20.
yeah, we only had small easy-outs and the hole is the better part of a centimeter across right now. but those bits on that link look good. I guess I’ll be making a trip to sears tonight. I hope it works.
The other thing I’m worried about is if I fux0r’d the threads. I may have drilled a little low into the bolt but it’s hard to tell. well, it really only needs to “be” in there anyways. it only accepts force in the “uppie downie” direction. It doesn’t see much side to side force. soif push comes to shove I’ll get the old bolt out, and JB-weld the new one in. and be sure to never attempt to take it out again :p.
-Igg
i did this with an oil feed line on my 323 block. all i did was taka flat head (i was luck cause it was a banjo bolt) and screw it out. i suppose if you can reach it, punch a flat line into the bolt and do the same.