Small bolt extraction advice

[Muzez]

Hey Guys, 

Any tips for extracting one of the small 10mm bolts for holding on the emergency brake cable? Snapped one today. Not sure if I can get an easy-out in there since it is so small. ?

 ():

[AK260]

Sorry to see this, but if any consolation we’ve all been there with one bolt or another. File / grind flat with a dreamt if access is tight, mark centre as best as you can. Start with a drill 3 sizes down - ideally a reverse action drill set.

This is what I use to good effect ...

https://www.drillallsales.com/product-page/left-handed-reverse-action-drill-bits


The heat from the drilling and some self penetrating oil, I have found releases the thread and it unscrews itself on the drill bit. But failing that you may get to one size down and use a tap and die set. On the tap I find, the thread usually comes out.

Good luck!

[Captain Obvious]

Wait! Don't cut the stub off! First thing to try would be penetrating oil, some heat, and grabbing that stub with a pair of pliers. If you cut it off, you'll lose that opportunity. Wiggle it back and forth. If you can get it to move at all, you're pretty much home free.

And you've got another advantage in that it's not a blind hole. You have access to both side. Is there any bolt length sticking out the other side?

And what is the base piece made out of? Is it steel or aluminum?

[Yarb]

Pick up some Kroil  penetrating oil from Amazon. I’ve tried many different products and have had the best luck with this product. 

https://smile.amazon.com/Kano-Kroil-Penetrating-liquid-KROIL/dp/B000F09CF4

 

[heyitsrama]

I would get some Kroil like Yarb recommended then try what captain obvious recommended.

Personally Ive had more luck welding a nut onto the stud and using a impact to taking them out. The heat helps it break out. I also have this metric stud removal tool that I've used ..... but sometimes i just look for excuses to get the welder out.

[Muzez]

Hey Guys, 

Thanks for all of the advice. No luck so far. Steps taken below.

• Tried heat & penetrating oil, and vice grips first. No luck. 
• No welding kit, but JB Cold Welded a nut head over the top of the bolt. No luck, snapped off 2-3 times. 
• Tried heat & penetrating oil again. Used a punch to mark the center and then used the left-handed drill bit. Still no luck.
• Used a speed out screw extractor. Metal was pretty soft the speed out chewed away at the top of the bolt. Filed the metal down a little bit so its more flush with the hole. 
• Going to try the left handed drill bit again tonight in a slightly larger size. If no luck, I need to drop the car off for an alignment this weekend and will try to find a shop that can tap the hole while they have the car up.

@Captain Obvious its the strut tower. Metal is steel. Nothing is poking out the back unfortunately. Was trying to figure out if I could cut the head off of a similarly sized screw put it in the other side to push the bolt out. 

[Yarb]

Did you give the Kroil oil a shot? If that didn’t work for me I ended up drilling it out and re- tapping the hole.

Irwin 6mm - 1.00 plug tap

5mm bit  Could not locate a 5mm so I used a 13/64  5,2mm

 

[Captain Obvious]

9 hours ago, Muzez said:

Was trying to figure out if I could cut the head off of a similarly sized screw put it in the other side to push the bolt out. 

You won't be able to push the bolt back out that way. You need to turn it. Pushing it straight won't do anything good, and if you push too hard, threads somewhere (either on the stub you've got stuck in there or the bolt your using to push) will give way and tear out.

However, if you do have access to the other side and there is some exposed threads on the back, you can use that hole on the back side as a guide for a drill bit to get it centered. You want something that is the minor diameter of the threads (do you know what I mean by that), and then you should be able to use a tap from that back side to clear out the threads. Are there enough threads exposed on the back for you to catch a tap on to get started properly?

[Yarb]

CO, Is the tap size Ilisted correct? 

Edited September 29, 2020 by Yarb

[Captain Obvious]

M6 x 1.0 is used extensively all over the car, and while I did not look up that bolt specifically, I believe that's what it is.

As for the official pilot drill size necessary, I'd have to look into that. There are rules for metric taps (that I never committed to memory), but it would be easier for me to instead just see what size drill bit fits snug into the threaded hole of a couple M6 x 1.0 hex nuts and just use that.

Edit - You made me look... My crib notes says I use a 3/16 (.1875) drill for my pilot when tapping M6 x 1.0. It's probably a little undersize according to the rules, but that's how I roll.

Edited September 29, 2020 by Captain Obvious

[Yarb]

I’ve used that 13/64 bit quite a few times with good results. As you mentioned centering the bit is key. 

[Muzez]

Issue resolved. Ended up having to retap it. But I now have working brakes. Thank you everyone for your help!!!!