Simple option
The first thing to do is not to panic. At all. A broken bolt can almost always be removed, the main thing is to do it correctly.
Secondly, inspect the “scene of the incident.” If it breaks when unscrewing it, fill it with WD40, brilliant green or brake fluid - it is required that the broken piece is slid along the threads. You can try to anneal the threads with a blowtorch - you need to look at the circumstances. Let's see where it broke. When a broken piece sticks out above the part, you are very lucky - you can try to unscrew it. If this is possible, screw on two nuts, fixing the lower one with the upper one. We unscrew it by the bottom nut - if the broken bolt left the thread intact, it should come out. There is not enough space for two nuts - we try to unscrew them by the thread with pliers. Another way is to make a slot in the middle with a grinder. As a result, we get a screw that you can try to unscrew with a screwdriver. If it works, the problem is solved. But more often the bolt breaks either flush with the part or inside it.
Removing a Broken Bolt
If it is broken at the part level, try unscrewing it with your finger. In fact, when a broken bolt is inside the hole along the thread, it is clean, and the screw simply broke due to metal fatigue or because it was pulled earlier - it can simply come from a finger. Or we pay attention to the chip - when a piece breaks off, a edge always forms on the fracture plane - we substitute a chisel, a screwdriver - we try to unscrew it with light blows.
Such cases often occur when a non-threaded part is attached with a pin or bolt - for example, a manifold to a cylinder block.
Let's sum it up
As you can see, there are several ways to unscrew a broken bolt or stud. Moreover, in each case, it is necessary to separately take into account in advance the nature of the broken body, the location of the fragment itself, the possibility of access to the problem area, the possible consequences of heating the remains of the bolt, etc.
Finally, we note that before unscrewing the bolts, it is advisable to carry out treatment to remove dirt and soften rust before starting the procedure. Moreover, if various standard methods of unscrewing do not give the desired result (the bolt does not fit), then it is optimal not to make much effort so as not to break the stud.
The same can be said about tightening studs or bolts. The fact is that fasteners must be tightened with a strictly defined force and in the specified order (for example, covering the cylinder head). Ignoring this rule often leads to studs or bolts breaking, stretching, deforming, etc.
If such problems arise, it is better to contact experienced specialists who, in many cases, will unscrew the problematic broken or soured bolt. If it is not possible to avoid breaking the bolt, then qualified craftsmen will remove the residue from the hole with minimal risk, and, if necessary, restore the damaged thread.
Complex option
If you can't unscrew it using these methods, we'll drill it. The main thing is that the broken bolt is not hardened. There are several methods to try before attempting to drill out a broken bolt. The most basic thing is to take a drill with reverse and a drill bit. Sometimes this trick can be done with a regular metal screw with a drill at the end. We press on the broken part, try to unscrew it with small turns, accuracy is needed here - you need to twist it “tightly”. If these methods fail, we move on to serious action. When the diameter of the pin is small, you need to determine how to remove the fragment - there is not enough space for two options.
Method one. Using a small diameter drill, we make two holes in the fragment. Against each other. We drill shallowly - about 5 - 10 mm, preferably away from the center. Then we take a lock ring remover, narrow-nose pliers, or simply insert two nails, clamp them with pliers and try to unscrew them.
Bolt Removal Technology
Method two. You need a special tool - an extractor. It is sold in tool stores. It is something like a cone drill, has a reverse thread, very hard hardened metal. First, we select a drill according to its diameter. Carefully mark the center of the stud with a core; we need it to drill the hole. It is not necessary to go deep - just drill a little deeper than the length of the extractor. Then we wrap the extractor and try to unscrew the broken piece.
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When none of the methods help, the most difficult option remains - drilling. To do this you need several sharp drills of different diameters and a strong hand. The most important thing is to catch the center of the fragment. We mark the center as accurately as possible with a core; the accuracy of drilling depends on this. Then, using the smallest drill, we drill through the broken one.
It is important to drill exactly along the rest, parallel to the wall, so that the alignment of the holes on both sides is maintained. Then we take the next diameter of the drill and so on until we reach the wall of the hole. If you slightly miss the center of the hole, it happens. The main thing is to stop in time, leaving the thread intact. We take a chisel, screwdriver or nail, and crush the rest of the wall of the fragment inward. Then we simply pull the resulting lump out.
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A situation where a bolt breaks during tightening and the broken piece remains in the part is not uncommon. But not many people know that there are quite a few effective ways to drill out a broken bolt.
A situation where a bolt breaks during tightening and the broken piece remains in the part is not uncommon. But not many people know that there are quite a few effective ways to drill out a broken bolt. The main thing is not to panic, but to carefully read this information material to the end.
Extractors
An extractor is a special device that allows you to remove the remains of faulty fasteners or unscrew a broken pin. The device is very simple and at the same time ingenious. In order to remove a stuck or broken part, you need to somehow hook it and then unscrew it. And all this is done very simply. You need to drill a hole in the center of the stud, wedge some tool in the shape of a cone or cylinder into it, then use this tool to remove the bolt. This is the extractor. These devices make it much easier to resolve issues such as unscrewing a broken pin from a manifold or from any other places.
There are several types of extractors:
Now these devices can be purchased in sets, but they are also available for sale individually. Experts recommend using these tools. They make solving difficult situations such as broken bolts much easier.
The most typical failure situations
A bolt can break in different ways. The easiest case is when it breaks flush with the part. In this case, there will be no special problems in how to drill the bolt. But, nevertheless, it will be necessary to carry out some preparatory measures that will allow you to extract the remaining part without much difficulty. And they are as follows:
- The most important thing is to prepare yourself for the fact that you can only drill out a broken bolt without damaging the thread if you apply maximum patience and calm. Haste in this case is the main enemy
- First of all, you need to use a tool to quickly unscrew rusty bolted joints. There are a great many of them in the markets. But the overwhelming majority of such funds are absolutely useless. A self-respecting car enthusiast and mechanic should always have in stock a penetrating agent for loosening nuts and bolts, which contains substances that have the ability to penetrate any joint. Recommendations for choosing can be obtained from any well-known car service center. The most effective lubricants are those based on molybdenum disulfide and graphite.
- Next, you can try one of the simplest options on how to drill out a broken bolt without any problems. To do this, you need to use a thin drill and a low-speed drill to drill a slot for a screwdriver.
- You can purchase a gas torch for loosening bolts at any hardware store. If there is such a burner, then with its help it is necessary to slightly warm up the part itself in such a way that the remaining piece does not heat up. In this case, there should be a fire extinguisher nearby.
- Then try using a screwdriver with a wrench to slowly loosen the rest of the bolt. If the bolted connection is not old, then the piece should come off.
But not many people know how to drill a bolt correctly if it breaks inside the socket. Typically, such breakdowns occur when tightening the cylinder head studs of a car engine. In this case, some skills are needed when using a drill and tap.
Preparatory activities are the same as in the previous version. Then, before drilling out the broken bolt, you need to pour liquid into the hole for quick unscrewing and leave until completely penetrated into the joint for 2-3 hours.
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Then, using a low-speed drill and a drill with a diameter half as big as the bolt, carefully drill a hole in the center, without tilting and at low speeds, to a depth of one-third of the total length of the fragment. Using a left-hand thread tap, cut a thread to the full depth of the hole. Then a high-strength bolt with the same thread is screwed in. Using a spanner wrench, lightly tapping and rotating the bolt, remove the remaining part of the bolt.
Replace the old fasteners with new ones: https://avselectro.ru/catalog/4976-bolty - excellent quality bolts from global manufacturers in a large assortment.
Rusted nut
Another problem that is familiar to car enthusiasts (and not only) is a rusted nut and/or thread. In this case, you should not make heroic efforts to unscrew the fasteners. Your edges will simply “stick together” and another problem will be added to the boiling thread. If after a couple of attempts you can’t unscrew it, try the following methods one by one:
- Tap the bolt with a wrench. There is a chance that the rust will crack and the nut will be unscrewed.
- Fill the connection with kerosene and wait. It will eat away the rust, after which it will be easier to unscrew the rusted nut. But during this operation you cannot smoke, turn on welding, or be near an open flame.
Not the most elegant, but effective solution - Warm up the nut. The metal will expand, making it possible to unscrew it. The trick is to get the nut to heat up while the bolt shank stays cold, so heating up must be fast. To do this, use a hair dryer or an open fire (be careful with this). If the screw is small, you can take a powerful soldering iron, heat it to maximum temperature, then quickly heat the joint.
- This method will (almost) destroy the nut, so it should only be used in hopeless situations. Grooves are made on the edges (using a metal saw, grinder, or file). A flat screwdriver is pressed into this groove, giving it a direction in the direction of unscrewing. The handle is hit with a hammer. If there is at least a couple of movements, it may be possible to unscrew it.
Removers for broken nuts - Use a special puller (pictured above). Using a bolt, the pin rests on one of the faces, after which you can try to move it from its place. Due to the fact that the lever can be attached, it can work even in very difficult situations.
You can also fight rust with lubricant. Try filling the joint with fluid universal lubricant (available in WD40 cans). After waiting a couple of hours, we try to work with the key. If it doesn’t work, we try other methods one by one.
How to drill out a high strength bolt?
The sequence of actions is the same until the thread is cut in the drilled hole. In this case, before drilling the hardened bolt, it is necessary to make the following part: a bolt with a wrench head is machined from carbon steel. The end of the bolt is given a tetrahedral conical shape using a forging hammer.
Next, the bolt is driven into the drilled hole to the full depth where it should jam. Using a spanner wrench, loosen and gradually unscrew the broken piece of the bolt.
But how to drill out a broken bolt if no other method helps? In this case, the only drastic way is to completely drill out the rest of the part. This is the most difficult and responsible way to drill a bolt without damaging the threads in the mechanism parts.
To begin with, a hole is drilled in the fragment using a thin drill. Then thicker. And so on until most of the remaining piece is drilled out. This is one of the most effective ways to drill a bolt from a car hub.
Left-hand thread in stud
The second method is more complicated. It is used when it is impossible to unscrew a broken pin using any of the available methods. In this case, the measures taken will be even more drastic. This method will require an electric drill, a tap and a lot of time. First of all, a hole is drilled in the stud - right in the center. Then carefully cut the thread in the hole with a tap.
Let us note an important point: before unscrewing the broken pin from the head, make sure that the thread is “left-handed”. When a new bolt with the same thread is screwed into the newly cut part, the moment it reaches the end, the broken pin will begin to turn out.
Other “folk” methods
Craftsmen in various videos offer other more radical ways of how to properly drill out a broken bolt. One of the popular methods is when, using an electric welding machine, they weld a piece of metal in the form of a handle to a fragment and try to unscrew it.
Sometimes this works, but this usually damages the threads and fades the paint on the mechanism. And if the handle breaks off, then drilling a hole will be very difficult. Therefore, if you don’t have a basic idea of how to drill a bolt without damaging the thread, it’s better not to try it, as the consequences can be very sad.
Video description
How to unscrew a rusty nut?
Penetrating liquid test. Interestingly, phosphoric acid is included in the Coca-Cola drink in very low concentrations. As a result, in simple cases it can be used as a weak reagent. Please remember that processing may take longer.
To unscrew the nut, rubbing with kerosene will help Source 7vaz.ru
How to drill out a broken bolt from an aluminum block?
It happens quite often that a small diameter bolt in an aluminum car engine block breaks. It is not easy to drill out such a remaining bolt. The Internet offers a lot of options on how to drill out a broken M6 bolt from aluminum without much difficulty.
In fact, the most reliable method is classic drilling followed by tapping. In this case, all the preparatory operations discussed above must be carried out very carefully.
All sorts of Chinese extractors are advertised, but they very often break inside the hole, which greatly aggravates the situation. In addition, this tool, with its conical shape, creates additional friction between the walls of the bolt and the block, which makes extraction difficult.
Drilling
And finally, the third and most radical way. It is used to remove broken bolts and studs from the hole. This is drilling. The method is very difficult. It is much more complex than all of the above and is the most dangerous. There is a risk of damaging the threads in the bore of the engine block or cylinder head. The drill should be held securely, as if it is a cylinder block, there is a serious risk of damaging an expensive part. The stud is often made of harder grades of steel, and the head is made of aluminum. The commutator body is cast iron, so it is also softer than a steel stud. The drill will definitely move away from the hard stud and towards the softer metal. This happens especially often if the work is carried out in a confined space and the drill is installed at a slight angle. The principle of drilling is as follows: you need to make a hole strictly in the center of the stud with a thin drill, having previously cored it, then install a thicker one in the drill and repeat the entire procedure.
The main thing here is to drill strictly in the center. When practically nothing remains of the stud body, the wall will become thin. It can be broken. You should very carefully break off the remaining pins using pre-sharpened wire or tweezers. It must be remembered that any action is carried out as slowly and carefully as possible. If you act rashly, you will need to think not about how to unscrew the broken block stud, but also about how to restore the cylinder head itself. And these are significant costs.
Conclusion
In any case, a bolt breaking in the most inopportune place is a rather unpleasant and unusual situation. It is best to have an experienced specialist remove the remaining part. Otherwise, you can completely ruin an expensive part, which will lead to unexpected expenses.
For clarity, how to drill a bolt without damaging the thread, you can watch the video here:
Very often when repairing a car and not only you have to deal with such a problem as a broken bolt. Let's figure out how to unscrew a broken bolt , how to unscrew it and in what ways. Usually a bolt breaks because it has become stuck or rusted, this especially happens with older cars. There can be two situations of a broken bolt: the head of the bolt has broken, but the bolt has managed to come out of the seat a little, or the bolt has broken flush with the surface. There are several ways to unscrew a broken bolt, let's look at each of them in detail. The main thing in any case is to first fill the bolt with a liquid such as WD-40 or machine oil (to help the liquid penetrate the thread better, tap the bolt a little with a hammer). Moreover, if desired, any broken bolt can be unscrewed, even if the valve cover bolt is broken or the bolt on the wheel is broken.
Alternative Methods
One such method is to weld a nut onto the broken part of the rod. It is quite effective if part of the bolt is located above the surface of the part. To implement this method, you will need a hammer, a welding machine, a grinding tool (manual or mechanical), and a nut of the required size.
At the initial stage, preparatory work is carried out. They consist of processing the remaining part: cleaning, removing traces of corrosion and degreasing. Using a tool, fix the nut in the center of the rod. It is welded to the top using a welding machine. The assembled structure is carefully unscrewed from the hole.
The simplest and least labor-intensive method is the preliminary chemical treatment of a threaded connection.
This method is used if the reason for the bolt not being unscrewed is accumulated corrosion or the so-called welding of the bolt to the body of the part. To implement this method, various solutions are used. They consist of acid (for example, sulfuric) and various additives. Recently, a special composition of WD-40 has gained wide popularity. In many cases, it becomes a good assistant for solving the problem of unscrewing “difficult” or broken bolts. It is advisable to use this composition with all the methods considered, except thermal, since it is quite flammable.
If the bolt breaks above the surface
In this situation, you can first try to unscrew the bolt with pliers or an adjustable wrench. If you can’t unscrew it this way, you can use a grinder to cut the bolt a little so that you get a hole for a flat-head screwdriver and then use a screwdriver to unscrew the bolt; sometimes you can make a hole for the screwdriver with a chisel.
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Also, if possible, you can weld another bolt or some kind of curved metal rod to the protruding piece of the bolt and unscrew it. Some do not even weld, but glue with aggressive glue, but this option does not always work.
Flat head screwdriver and hammer
An accessible method, effective if the fracture occurs above the thread and the surface has an uneven edge. Then for extraction you will need a simple set of tools, which can be found in any garage.
We carefully examine the cleaned surface and find the largest protrusion on the fracture area. We place a flat-head screwdriver at an angle, pressing into the selected location. For more reliable support, you can use a core, with which the unevenness deepens. After this, using gentle blows, we carefully try to turn the thread. If you can’t do this right away, you need to gradually increase the strength.
However, you should be extremely careful with this method, since, firstly, the surface must be accessible enough for the hammer to work. And secondly, you need to carefully calculate the force of the impact to prevent damage to adjacent parts.
Flat head screwdriver and hammer
An accessible method, effective if the fracture occurs above the thread and the surface has an uneven edge. Then for extraction you will need a simple set of tools, which can be found in any garage.
We carefully examine the cleaned surface and find the largest protrusion on the fracture area. We place a flat-head screwdriver at an angle, pressing into the selected location. For more reliable support, you can use a core, with which the unevenness deepens. After this, using gentle blows, we carefully try to turn the thread. If you can’t do this right away, you need to gradually increase the strength.
However, you should be extremely careful with this method, since, firstly, the surface must be accessible enough for the hammer to work. And secondly, you need to carefully calculate the force of the impact to prevent damage to adjacent parts.
Surface cliff
This type of failure includes the option when part of the hardware protrudes above the surface. We can assume that such a problem is easiest to solve without using radical measures. However, before any unscrewing of the broken bolt, it is worth treating the area with kerosene to remove carbon deposits and loosen the contact of the surfaces.
- If the protrusion is quite large, then the easiest way is to use tools such as pliers, pliers or a clamp, with which you can grab the part and unscrew it along the threads.
- Some experts, answering the question of what to do if a bolt that fits very tightly in the hole breaks, recommend using a welding machine. With its help, you can weld a lever to the hardware, which will result in a large arm for rotational movement.
- You can also use a drill with a diameter slightly smaller than the bolt itself. Using a drill, make a hole along the central axis of the bolt to the full depth. After this, the remaining fasteners are removed using a hook, trying to unscrew the thread from the very bottom.
Flush break
This type of failure is considered the most difficult to repair, since it is very difficult to determine the diameter of the hole, especially when cutting fasteners. Therefore, in order to drill out a broken bolt of a certain type, it is necessary to clean the surface. This will allow us to determine the gaps we need.
The following unpleasant situation often occurs:
the break point has curved shapes that are very difficult to process and straighten. And it is categorically not recommended to drill a product in such a state, because there is a risk of completely ruining the structure. Therefore, you first need to use a core, which is used to prepare a place in the center of the drill.
The further procedure for drilling
a bolt broken in one way or another is similar to the option for a surface break. After creating the hole, the remaining threads are removed using a hook.
A torn hat can be reattached
This is a method from the “need for invention is cunning” category. We take a nut whose diameter is at least 1 millimeter larger than the diameter of the rod and simply weld it to the fragment. During welding, the metal must warm up properly and expand. We connect the rod and the nut, we get a knot that needs to be watered. When the assembly has cooled, you can carefully unscrew the fragment.
Thus, we learned what methods exist for removing broken fasteners. We hope that they will help you solve this small but annoying problem that sometimes arises in the practice of home craftsmen. But it is better that you get strong and unbreakable bolts, studs and screws.
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