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broken screw and extractor Please Help!

  • Thread starter Thread starter zodeo
  • Start date Start date
Z

zodeo

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I am at my end. One thing after another.
Took the day off from work just to try and finish my 79 GS550.
Got all the intake boots off exept for one pesky screw. tried every trick in the book( I read every link there is to brocken/ stripped screws). Head broke off, tried vice grips yada yada yada, got down to the screw extractor and it broke off inside. Now I am screwed!
I have no way of taking the bike to a shop so that's out. I have already spent way to much money on this thing so the mobil mechanic is out.
the one "GOOD" thing is that it's an outside screw so easy to get to.
Please, does anyone have any ideas?
 
Extractors are hard... damn difficult to do anything with it now.

Take the head of & give it to a machine shop to spark it out with an EDM machine might be the only way.

Dan
 
I might soak it for a day in lot's of penetrating oil and then try to heat the area around the screw. Heat may not only release some of the corrosion but will also slightly expand the area around the screw. Of course, don't melt the intake boot if it is still on. Let it cool, you could even push an ice cube against the screw to cool it inside the head. Ideally you want a cold screw inside a hot part. Do this a couple times and then take a good vise grips to it. You could use a heat gun or hair dryer but again use caution around the boot. If the boots are all off you can go hotter, of course, but not too hot because the head can warp from uneven heating and cooling. There's nothing worse than broken bolts, good luck.
 
the boot is off and the screw and extractor are perfectly flush with the surface So there is no way to grab a piece of it.
I am willing to try about anything that will not cost a bunch of money.
 
Any way to take and post a picture so we can see where and what it looks like?
 
I would try to drill it and retap the hole.Head off on a drillpres verry slowly whit a verry small bit at first.
 
didn't know it was flush at this point. Do you have access to a mig welder? You could either weld a nut to it and try to continue to try to remove it. Or if your desperate/can't spend/don't care what it looks like, you could weld a small threaded rod to it, and then use a nut to hold the boot on. This is not SOP.
 
Extractors are made of hard steel, they have to be able to cut into and grip the screw in which they are trying to remove. That said, it could be possible to drill it out using a carbide drill, a standard drill is not hard enough and will dull instantly. The entire extractor would not have to be drilled out, only about 1/3 of it which should eliminate enough pressure and might even pull it out in the process.
If care is taken you will not break the drill, which is very hard itself. If the extractor does not come out by itself, a small drift punch to the edges of the extractor should collapse them and allow you to remove it.
Care should be taken to drill the extractor in the center.

Once the extractor is removed, drill the appropriate sized Tap hole and re tap the hole. Set the depth on the drill by inserting it in one of the other boot holes and placing a piece of tape around the drill flush with the head.
Take care when tapping the hole, use oil and remove the tap frequently and clean out the steel threads that remain. If you have patience and take your time, you should be successful.
 
like SMAGNUSEN said it would be easy to have someone come over with a welder and weld a washer to the bolt and then a nut onto it. I have done this many, many times and had great success. the heat from the welding expands the bolt and when it cools it shrinks a bit and should come out easy. you may have to weld a nut on a couple of times but it will work.
 
well i will tell you what you will have to do. and your not gonna like it.

take the head off, and take it to a machine shop so they can drill it out and put a helicoil in it. it sucks but thats your only choice.

i had to do it with three bolts. i tried every trick in the book, had a drill bit broken off in one, and an easy out in another.... i really messed it up good.

good luck man. i hope you can get it out, but its not looking good
 
You can also try a carbide cutting bit. I've used one to grind through a broken hardened steel drill bit before. This company makes a really good one http://www.truebite.com/ and it comes in diameters from 1/8 down to 1/16 for use in a Dremel. $12 bucks plus shipping. If you go slow you might be able to do it. I've used it for many such things and it's never failed yet!
 
Well the carbid bit route seems to be the only realistic option at this time.
removing the heads and taking them to a shop is WAY out of the question, if it comes to that then I would have to junk the bike. I just finished my first carb job, and that took 2 weeks (I work 12+) wife, 3 year old......
I don't mind tinkering but full time mechanics just aren't in the cards right now. I was lucky enough to find a few hours a week to ride when it was working.
I paid to much for the bike to begin with, plus many new parts, and have spent more time fixing it then riding it.
I don't know anyone that welds (for free) so my options are limited.
Things happen.
All said "You all are wonderful, It's fantastic to see that there is still people willing to take the time to help a complete stranger"
 
Been there, done that. As mentioned, you want to get a carbide bit. I actually went through two of them before I got the sucker out. What a pain!
 
Get a small solid carbide drill bit and drill through the easy-out. Go slow and easy it should work ok.
 
I agree with the welding option. I have done it dozens (literally) of times.

I have a series of old screwdrivers that I keep for this purpose. You need to weld the tip of the screwdriver to the end of the bolt with a good HOT blast of the mig. Allow it to cool for quite a while (20 mins or more) and it should come free. Just gently jiggle the screwdriver initially back and forth (clockwise/anticlockwise) 1 or 2 degrees until it starts to work loose. By gently teasing it back and forth (with the old screwdriver attached) it will come out. In over 20 years of working on vintage cars, trucks and bikes this routine has worked every single time.

Make sure you weld the screwdriver (a long old bolt will do) on at a bit of an angle so you can get good leverage. Just make sure it will spin within the work area.
 
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The welding idea makes perfect sense and I am sure that it would work, however I don't have the resources for that endeavor(no Mig welder).
Anybody in the LA SFV area have a mobile welding machine that would want to give it a try?
If not, I will try the drill and see what happens. I will let you know.
 
Quite often after I've broken an easy out (not sure if I've ever had one actually do it's job), when I start to drill at slow speed it will extract itself, because it's backwards threaded and you're drilling clockwise. Alternately, you can try putting a slot in the easy out with a dremel and screwing it out. Your main objective is to get the easy-out removed. If you can accomplish that, then you have a good shot at removing the original bolt as the easy-out will have compromised it. I like a torch. Nothing like a couple of good heating/cooling cycles to loosen a stuck fastener. You can also try slotting what's left of the screw with a narrow chisel or just go ham-fisted and pound your non-favourite flat screwdriver in there. Then heat with the torch and see if you're lucky. Everything I said about a torch is at your own risk. It's your engine. Oh, and it's the area around the bolt that you want to heat. You want the bolt to stay as cool as possible. Screwdriver or whatnot may help as a heatsink. Ideally you don't want to heat the bolt at all. And of course if this doesn't work and/or you trash the threads, you'll need to drill/tap anyway. Main obstacle is the easy-out. A good habit with aluminum heads or cases is a dab of anti-seize on your bolts to prevent this mess in the future.
 
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One more option I can think of: the easy outs are hard but brittle. You may be able to break it up with a few good punch strikes. If you can you might be able to pick out the pieces - dental tool etc . I seem to remember doing this once.

You can then drill and retap. If these are 6mil bolts you may consider tapping quarter 28. This is very close in size and the bolt should even make it through the boot hole.

When you do put this back together, don't overtighten. Pay attention to the torque specs. These bolts don't go on as hard as you may think.
 
smagnusen said:
One more option I can think of: the easy outs are hard but brittle. You may be able to break it up with a few good punch strikes. If you can you might be able to pick out the pieces - dental tool etc . I seem to remember doing this once.
Click to expand...

I tried that once and then also broke the tip of the punch off in the hole. :shock:
 
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