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Easy out removal tricks anybody ???

CJ who???

Full Member
Joined
Mar 25, 2011
Messages
173
Loc.
Banning, Ca...
Does anybody have a trick to remove a broken off easy out from an aluminum intake manifold ?? The easy out is a small one, about half the size of a 1/4" bolt.

Just to explain the situation, I broke off one of the four 1/4" bolts that hold the fuel rail on an Explorer lower intake. After breaking an easy out trying to remove it, I re-drilled a new hole just below the stuck easy out and tapped it with a brand new 1/4"x20 tap that I broke off too. 100% my fault, but, I think the aluminum manifold is stronger then the crappy easy out and tap that I broke...

Thanks for your help.....
 

turbotim2

____________
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Messages
1,954
This is of no help but I think I have broken every easy out I've ever tried to use and have never had one work as advertised. Can you pull the manifold off and get ahold of the remaining bolt with pliers?
 

Rustytruck

Bronco Guru
Joined
Feb 24, 2002
Messages
10,875
Get small drill bits and drill right next to the broken Tap or easy out in a couple of places then take a good center punch and punch into the tap or easy out and break it up and dig out the pieces. Then weld up the mess you made and start over. You can also talk to a local automotive shop and they can or know someone who can edm the broken part out. For the price of a lower manifold at the pick-a part it might just be cheaper to replace it.
Next time you tap aluminium use alot of ATF on the tap if you dont have proper cutting fluid and tap a little at a time backing in and out as you go.
 

Broncobowsher

Total hack
Joined
Jun 4, 2002
Messages
34,833
This may sound a little crude, but it has worked a few times with stuck steel fasteners in aluminum parts before.
Get a bag of cheap nuts, 5/16 or 3/8". Something that the inside is as big or a little bigger then the broken fastener. set it over the breken fastener (EZ out and all) and plug weld it with the MIG welder. Try and back it out. It will break off a few times. Do a few abusive things like letting the heat soak into the aluminum for a minute then put an ice cube on the weld to try and shrink the steel while the aluminum is hot and try backing the bolt out. The neat part is the molten steel will not stick to the aluminum part, just the steel fastener in the aluminum part. Use cheap nuts, you will break the weld long before you round the corners off the nut. And they are one time use as well. I have gone through a good handful of nuts before I finally got one to stick good enough to get the bolt out. The heat cycles from failed attempts surely helps as well. Then you can go into the more destructive drilling more holes. Another benifit is the heating may kill the heat treatment of the EZ out and make it workable, maybe.
 

bmc69

Contributor
Bronco Guru
Joined
Jun 11, 2004
Messages
11,851
We routinely "weld" them out using a TIG welding procedure that has served well over many extractions (never caused by us.."easy out" thread extractors and similar are expressly forbidden in our machine shop.)

I just removed one from a Harley Davidson head a couple weeks ago. Because it was broken off a good 1/6" or more down in the hole, it took quite a while to get it tagged and pulled loose.

Then finished the extraction job properly on the milling machine, installed a helicoil insert, and charged the guy 50 bucks less than the cost of a new head.;)
 

captbo

Full Member
Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Messages
183
Loc.
Southern Maryland
I hope this is not highjacking but I have both of the large knob windshield bolts broken off flush, and ALL the door hinge bolts, so I guess this is a big learning how to remove then show,, any Ideas?? Thanks Bo
 

Timmy390

Bronco Guru
Joined
Jan 1, 2011
Messages
5,609
Loc.
Conway, AR
This is of no help but I think I have broken every easy out I've ever tried to use and have never had one work as advertised. Can you pull the manifold off and get ahold of the remaining bolt with pliers?

Gald I'm not the only one. I hate those things. There's one in my bronco now. D20 cross member bolt broken off, easy out in the middle of it and a drill bit broken inside the easy out. The only way that's moving is to torch it out and retap to a larger size....... Can't drill a drill bit........


I hope this is not highjacking but I have both of the large knob windshield bolts broken off flush, and ALL the door hinge bolts, so I guess this is a big learning how to remove then show,, any Ideas?? Thanks Bo

I don't know of any "good' ways as i've never found a method that "always" works. For the windshield knob bolts, I would drill them out and retap. If you wanted to go back and use the correct size bolt/knobs, you could add a helicoil (lock tite it in). The key is to drill the CENTER of the broken bolt. I don't know of a good way to do this but before "punching" it, use a marker to mark and remark (if needed) the center of the broken bolt.

As for the doors hinge bolts (I'm guessing the ones in the body), you can try heat, PB blaster, reverse drill bits, etc. Worst case, cut that post out and add a new one.

Tim
 

patterdale

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
1,246
I have used a small pin punch that I sharpened and a BFH to beat the snot out of broken taps and easyouts. They are hard but very brittle. Once out I try to clean the hole out with a tap and see if the bolt works. If not I go one size bigger and retap the hole if there is enough meat to go up a size. Otherwise you need to helicoil or weld and retap. In the future to avoid busted easyouts you could try smacking the bolt head with a hammer before you try taking it out. For sure use pb blaster or any penetrating oil for a couple days before attempting to remove it. If you have a torch you can heat it a bit and then spray it with wd40. (you want the heat on the bolt only) The expansion of heating and the contraction of cooling can help break the hold of galvanic corrosion. A can of "air" like you use to clean a computer key board will allow you to pinpoint the cooling also. Probably the best method is to VERY acurately center punch the bolt and then start drilling it out with a set of left hand drill bits. Start small and work up to just under the size of the bolt. If you start hitting threads pull out a tap and kind of use it to "chase the threads" a bit. A lot of times that will work things loose. More often than not if you get it punched dead center and drill it with gradually larger bits it will back right out because of the tension that is released with the center of the bolt missing. When using easy outs you want to VERY accurately center punch as well and drilll out as much material as possible so you can use the biggest easyout possible. Patience and finesse are your friends in removing broken off bolts. Beer and a heavy hand will equal frustration.
 

grant_71

Bronco Guru
Joined
Aug 6, 2002
Messages
1,933
Take it to a machine or die shop and have them use an EDM to burn it out, (bonus in the shop i work at)
 

pbwcr

Sr. Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
623
Weld or drill even with the broken ezout. Best plan is to never use the darn the darn things in the first place.
Its commonly known that an ezout will create a problem worse than the broken bolt.
I have had success drilling out a broken ezout with a masonary bit. Sure lasts longer than a regular bit.

Now days reverse drill bits can be bought, but they cannot deal with a broken ezout.
PW
 

patterdale

Bronco Guru
Joined
May 24, 2010
Messages
1,246
Weld or drill even with the broken ezout. Best plan is to never use the darn the darn things in the first place.
Its commonly known that an ezout will create a problem worse than the broken bolt.
I have had success drilling out a broken ezout with a masonary bit. Sure lasts longer than a regular bit.

Now days reverse drill bits can be bought, but they cannot deal with a broken ezout.
PW

Amen to avoiding easyouts altogether. Never thought of a masonry bit. And yes, The left handbits are the first step in avoiding the easy out. A lot of patience with a welder in building the bolt up to a point you can weld a nut on is a very good choice also. The heat and some penetrant will just about knock it loose for sure. I spent 5 yrs as a Ford mechanic an 2 as a heavy industrial mechanic. There are a lot of broken bolts in an oriented strand board plant and we needed to think and work fast when $60,000 an hour for down time was on the line.
 

707Bronk

Sr. Member
Joined
Mar 18, 2012
Messages
590
I have gotten EZ-outs to work several times. More often than not they don't work, but I always give them a try first.

I will drill a smaller pilot hole all the way through the stud/bolt. You will need to pull a similar one so you know how far to drill. I then use the recommended drill bit size and drill that bit 1/2 way down. Sometimes the taper of the EZ out will grab at both the larger and smaller hole sizes that were drilled. Several blows on the EZout will sometimes force it to grab the broken stud/bolt.

But, most of the time the EZout fail and then I useually move on to another method. Haven't tried welding nuts on, that sounds like a good one. If all else fails I just install a helicoil and be done with it.

As crappy as EZouts are, they are still one of the easiest methods. I have had the most luck with them if I drill all the way through the broken stud/bolt with a smaller bit first.
 

turbotim2

____________
Joined
Jun 26, 2003
Messages
1,954
I have had the best luck drilling through them too and usually end up increasing the drill bit size a little at a time. Many times the rusted bolt would come loose before getting into the threads so a quick thread chase and I was back in business.
 

Ranchtruck

Sr. Member
Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
766
EZ-outs are a handy tool if used within their limits. If you snap off the head of a bolt tightening it, they will usually take the remaining stud back out because there's no tension left on the threads with the head gone. If you snap the head off trying to loosen a bolt, there's no chance of the EZ-out working because the threads are still bound up by the rust.

Heat is the answer. Penetrating oil doesn't do much if you can't move the threads back and forth. Heat expands the threads so they crush the rust wedge and let the threads move.

Welding a nut to the broken off stub is a great method and I use it all the time, but drilling it, heating it till it glows, and jamming an EZ-out into it works just as often. Just don't try and twist the EZ out very hard. I've never snapped one.
 

BIG_UGLY75

Jr. Member
Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
112
Loc.
baytown
First off i worked at a bolt shop for years, and easy outs do work.. Cheap, or expensive, spiral, or straight.... It just take a shit load of oil, sometime a bit of heat, and finaly make sure you tap iy in fal enough..and the best method of removing an easy out is to drill... It sucks, its made of a tougher material, but sometes you'll get lucky and it'll break loosr... Remember use a lot of pb, or wd....good luck...
 
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