How to repair broke bolts in aluminum

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brian6pac

brian6pac

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A guy brought me this intake with a broke bolt, then he drilled it and broke off a EZOut in it.

Sense we got a lot of good guys on this site I'm just curious who can tell me how to fix this Hemi intake and keep the original threads. I already fixed it and at the end I will show you how I did it. This is a Grade 2 bolt bottomed out and broke off. Then EZ out broke off in it, it's a coil bolt in a 69 Hemi Intake.

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There is a lot to be said for centering the drilled hole.
Bet you can knock that easy out loose with some patience and a punch by tapping it side to side.
The hardened metal of the tap should work loose in the bolt metal.
Just try and not knock it down in tighter.

You could also drill real small holes right next to the easy out and eventually work the metal out by drilling and collapsing the bolt metal in on itself.

Either way patience is your friend here.

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I'd grind the top clean, silver braze a nut to it and let it cool. then heat around it and unscrew it
 
No drilling was involved with the repair or welding. The way I did it I have never seen anyone do, I just want to see if anyone here can tell me how I did it. I have more pictures and the finished picture of the original threads untouched.
 
Seal a container around it, dissolve some alum (a seasoning found in bulk food aisle) in water and let it chooch...adding heat speeds the process.
 
Lotsa ways.

Chuck it in a mill, mill it out with carbide.

Heat it with a VERY tight tip on oxy acetylene. The sleazyout will usually crack up and fall out before the aluminum gets hot, or you can at least anneal and then drill it out.

You can burn it out with oxyacetylene.

you can drop a bead in it with a mig welder. as it cools, it'll fall out, and you can carefully drill the remainder bolt away.

You can drill a hole angling under it, pack the hole with heavy grease, and use a punch to hydraulically punch it out.

You can heat with a propane torch and hit it with candle wax. sometimes they squirt out. (Turn the manifold upside down if you do this)

You can weld a nut to it and turn it out.

You can dremel it out.

Hell, if you try long enough you might be able to talk it out.

Besides beating the person that broke the EZ out off in a Hemi intake, what was the actual solution? Did they learn to throw the EZ outs away?
 
I have had to plunge mill (possibly incorrect wording as I am not a machinist) bolts out then pull their threads out with a pick and needle nose pliers. Not the funnest but ya gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes.
 
Why do you need to retain original threads?
Have a machine shop mill it out, TIG it and drill/retap the hole.. Or better yet helicoil it.
 
Blast it with something really cold, nitrous oxide or liquid nitrogen, and hit it with a center punch to fracture it.
 
O.K. tooljunkie and JDPdart were close I used a mixture of acids that attack carbon, I used a eye dropper and clay to build a dam around it. It took the EZout out in no time but the bolt was low carbon so it took longer but time was on my side so no big deal. Acid wont hurt aluminum but I have heard that it can mark it so I wouldn't just through it in a bucket if it's something that looks nice plus I used caustic soda to neutralize it when I was done. Also nitric acid is very hazardous to you and you need to be very careful with it.

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I guess its the choice of acid. Muriatic acid is commonly used to remove aluminum from cylinder walls after a piston smears. Two stroke engine trick.
 
i would have shot it with a pistol...ive seen that in a movie once

:poke:
 
Muriatic is for cleaning the floor (concrete) hydrochloric is the same. never tried it on aluminum
 
Tooljunkie said:
I guess its the choice of acid. Muriatic acid is commonly used to remove aluminum from cylinder walls after a piston smears. Two stroke engine trick.
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Muriatic acid also works good for removing smeared aluminum rod off the crankshaft journal on a one cylinder. I've used it on an old Kohler and it left a nice slick journal after the alum was gone.
 
brian6pac said:
Muriatic is for cleaning the floor (concrete) hydrochloric is the same. never tried it on aluminum
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Used to clean brass radiators as well. I use it to clean prior to soldering.
 
67Dart273 said:
Uh, no!!
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Done it a couple times myself, and it was very common years ago.

The tip size is critical and it works better on through holes, but the aluminum pulls heat out faster and the steel will burn out.
 
Ah.... This was a test....
Looks like I failed this class.

Good info and science!
 
mbaird said:
Ah.... This was a test....
Looks like I failed this class.

Good info and science!
Click to expand...
before I would go buy any acid, I`d do what trailbeast suggested, you`d have it out before u could get home w/ the acid, "IF" u could buy it !
 
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