Should I kill myself now?

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MopaR&D

MopaR&D

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While I was putting my engine back together I did the unthinkable and broke one of the rocker shaft bolts in the bolt hole. What do I have to do now? I remember hearing that there are kits you can get to remove the broken bolt by drilling and tapping a smaller hole in the bolt and un-screwing it with a left-hand thread bolt. I swear if I have to take the head off and get it machined I'm going to kill at least a few random people...
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
While I was putting my engine back together I did the unthinkable and broke one of the rocker shaft bolts in the bolt hole. What do I have to do now? I remember hearing that there are kits you can get to remove the broken bolt by drilling and tapping a smaller hole in the bolt and un-screwing it with a left-hand thread bolt. I swear if I have to take the head off and get it machined I'm going to kill at least a few random people...
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The extractor kit may be your best bet. I would try that first. You can get them at the hardware store or places like the Home Depot.
 
You can probably get it with an easy-out, as you described. Be extremely careful about those shavings... might be safer to pull the head.
 
You'd be better off to pull the head and take it some where so it can be removed properly. It wasn't long ago a member had the same problem. The head was removed and took to a machine shop. Like it was mentioned on that thread if the tap out gets broke off in there by mistake you have some carbide steel in there that you have to deal with then. Do you see what I'm saying?

The torque specs for the rockers shafts is 17 ft/lbs.... no more than that.

Hate to hear it bud!
 
Ya, that sucks. I ALWAYS USE MY TORQUE WRENCH!!!! I actually have 3 of them just in case. I've done that same thing before myself. On a set of X heads even. Take your head off and take it to get it done right. Or else you may seriously regret it.
 
Well, here's what really happened. I was chasing the threads in the head with the bolt and it got a little tight (maybe 20-25 ft-lbs.) then just twisted off.

I'm definitely going to try the other things mentioned before the machine shop. To do that I'll have to borrow my dad's car the next Thursday and drive down to the nearest machine shop 35 mins. away where I'll drop the head off then have to wait another two weeks or so for them to get around to it. This Duster is my only car and daily driver and there's NO WAY I'm waiting another month to get some stupid little machine work done. BTW I'm flat broke by now anyway so I'd have to borrow more money from my dad to get the machine work done.
 
Just went through this. If it didn't bottom out and it was a stretch break it will come out easy. I struck mine with a common screw driver to make a little slot and it just backed out. I moved it with pliers but couldn't grip it.
 
Rather than use a left hand bolt, use a left hand thread drill bit that is smaller than the bolt. Use a small bit to bore a pilot hole, then the LH. When it breaks free, it just climbs up the drill (I used a HD cord drill). Home Depot and Lowe's won't have LH bits. An old school hardware store in my area does.

Option 2 is to weld a bolt to the broken one and back out with a wrench.

If it fails to move at all, you can always leave the bolt in there and re-tap the hole
 
I got an extractor kit from Home Depot and I'll try it out tomorrow morning. It uses a small LH bit end that you use to screw a small hole into the bolt with, then you flip it around and use the LH threaded extractor end. I'll try heating up the area around the bolt with a hair dryer too to make it expand a tiny bit.
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
I got an extractor kit from Home Depot and I'll try it out tomorrow morning. It uses a small LH bit end that you use to screw a small hole into the bolt with, then you flip it around and use the LH threaded extractor end. I'll try heating up the area around the bolt with a hair dryer too to make it expand a tiny bit.
Click to expand...

Try a dental pick or needle nose pliers before you start drilling. Mine took 30 seconds to get out. Seriously, if it didn't bottom out it will come out easy.
 
MOPEkidD-3 said:
I got an extractor kit from Home Depot and I'll try it out tomorrow morning. It uses a small LH bit end that you use to screw a small hole into the bolt with, then you flip it around and use the LH threaded extractor end. I'll try heating up the area around the bolt with a hair dryer too to make it expand a tiny bit.
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Just make sure the drill bit is a good quality piece, use plenty of WD-40 and definatly don't put too much force on it while drilling. You don't want to break off the small drill bit inside the bolt. Trust me, the problem gets a lot more complicated. Many times the bolt will come out while drilling it out with the left hand drill bit as long as it is not bottomed out. Just take your time and it should come out. I do this all of the time at work. Good luck.
 
If all else fails send it to me and I'll get it out no problem, as this is some of what I do every day. Even if you brake a E-Z out or a drill bit in it I can get it out. So if it's a head that means something to you I'll fix it. $80 and you pay shipping. Done deal.
 
Yep had this happen twice on the same head not long ago. I drill it out and re-tapped the threads. Serious Pain in the ***.
 
That does suck, I would try getting it out without drilling anything at first. Try using an awl and rotating it around with slight taps. There`s a publication out there that lists 30 ft. lbs. as a torque spec for those shafts so there`s a fair number of bolts being sheared off out there. I think most people get the bolt out without much ado.
 
Just take it easy and don't break off the easy out. Sounds like you bottomed out the bolt or hit a tight spot.
Doesn't help you now, but I always chase the threaded holes with a tap before I take it to a machine shop.
 
Longgone said:
There`s a publication out there that lists 30 ft. lbs. as a torque spec for those shafts so there`s a fair number of bolts being sheared off out there. I think most people get the bolt out without much ado.
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The book is "how to hot rod small block mopars". Thats what got me was the 30' lbs. of torque on that wee little fella.
 
Sounds like the bolt got tight and then snapped off so I don't think it is going to come out easily. Be careful with the easy out because they snap off easily then you have a real problem. A propane torch available at your local hardware store will heat it up more effectively then a hair dryer. Just keep a fire extinguisher close by when you use one.
 
Look at the broken off surface and see if there is a jagged piece or something sticking up from the rest of the sheared off area. If there is something, you can take something with a pointed edge, like a nail but larger, and try tapping on it; that might move the bolt. I've always tried that before moving on to ez outs.

Look at the sheared surface. Is it all the same color? If a portion is darker than the rest it probably means there has been fatigue and some micro fracturing going on. If this is the case, I would replace all of the bolts.
 
stuff a rag around it coated with grease to catch the shavings ang going over the area with a magnet is a good idea when done.
 
MOPEkidD-3: When you finally get that broken bolt out... the proper torque for the rocker shaft bolt is 200 inch pounds. Some members here have metioned 18 ft. lbs. which is close. Tighten each bolt slowly, working back and forth along the shaft, until the shaft is seated on the pedestals. Then torque the bolts down. Did this ever happen to me? Yes! Hope this helps.
 
Well the extractor didn't work. I used a vacuum cleaner hose too so shavings weren't an issue. I'm not sure but the NAPA near me might do some machine work and I might be able to take the head to them; if not I could have my dad take it to the engineering lab near him at the Air Force Academy. We had a really bad snowstorm last night so my neighbor (Ford guy) wouldn't have been able to bring over his cherry-picker to put the engine back in anyway. Thanks for your recommendations guys and sorry I got all upset, I'm just so tired of all these little things that keep popping up that are outside of my power.
 
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