Stuck engine screws & drill bit

[newrider]

I am in the procees of taking off engine covers one by one to clean them and replace the old screws with allen heads. Many of the screws are stripped and rusted. Several are so bad that I have had to drill them out and tap them to get them out. So far this has worked very well...

Now, my problem. On one of the screw heads, my titanium drill bit snapped off in the screw as I was drilling it out. Only a small fraction of the broken off bit is sticking out, not enough to grab with anything.

What's next? What can I do to get this screw and bit out? I do not have access to a welder...


Any help would be appreciated.:-D


Thanks!

[onchiman]

Bummer! I had the same thing happen to me while drilling out a broken exhaust bolt. The bit jammed and broke off. What saved the day for me was a special bit I bought from a company called true-bite http://www.truebite.com/. It's a carbide cutting bit that I've used a lot for removing broken studs. It cut right through the old drill bit and broken bolt. My broken drill bit was high speed steel though not titanium so I don't know if it would work for you but it might be worth a try. It costs 12 bucks but mine has paid for itself over and over. Just be patient with it , let the tool do the work and be extra careful around aluminum. It'll go through aluminum like butter. Broken exhaust bolts are no match anymore. It's a really great little dremel bit to have!

[newrider]

Thanks.

Ill give it a shot. If that doesn't work, I suppose it is off to the machine shop.....

[ddaum]

How about a little more information. Which engine cover is it? Is it really hard to get to with a dremel tool?
If this is one screw on an engine case cover couldn't you just remove the remaining screws, dremel off the broken screw head; then remove the cover and get the last screw out using a pair of vise grips?

[newrider]

Thanks for the advice, ddaum. That's exactly what I did, and it worked like a charm.

I guess I'll have to find another use for the carbide cutting bit I ordered....Oh well, a new tool - darn:-D

[Plasterdog]

Ari, maybe I'll borrow that carbide bit, to drill out my engine mount bolt. :-D

[onchiman]

Today I found yet another use for my carbide "true bite" cutting bit. I used it to cut through the lower steering stem race on my '79 GS850! Then just popped the race out easily. This race is notoriously difficult to remove because the stem flares around it making it darn near impossible to get a drift on it or even a puller. I cut the race parallel to the tube working from the top edge down (because it's thicker towards the top). Only took a few minutes. That bit is great!