Removing broken head bolt

[GB SISSON]

On my recently acquired 59 ab the head was on with 8BA head bolts. PO broke one off flush on a lower corner. Can I safely weld a washer, then a nut to that for removal? Just not sure if localizing that much heat is ok on the cast iron. I did a search but didn't find anything. Thanks

[JSeery]

The perfered method by many. There have been many detailed threads on it, might try searching different wording.

[cmbrucew]

Gary
The heat will help loosten the broken bolt.
Bruce

[Jason in TX]

Yep! I first tried an easy out. it was stuck.

I put down some aluminum foil to prevent any weld spatter from messing up the surrounding surfaces, Welded a washer to the stud, then nut to the washer. The stud came out like it was well lubricated. Like cmbrucew, the localized heat loosened the stud.

Photos:

[Seth Swoboda]

Why worry about it unless you plan on rebuilding the engine right now. In that case why fool with it yourself when the machinist you use will do it in half the time you can and at what cost? Minimal.

[Ol' Ron]

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I have a friend that just blows them out with a torch. Doesn't hurt the theards, He must practice allot.

[AnthonyG]

Nice work / technique Jason, very neat job too,

[GB SISSON]

Thanks all, very helpful. Ron, I have heard the same thing about the torch, but I wouldn't try it. Seth, I have no intentions of rebuilding this engine. Has no ridge, produces sixty lbs oil pressure just cranking it with heads off. Only problem is one broken bolt. Last time I took one to a machine shop it was five grand. I intend to pull the intake just for a look see, maybe adjust valves if it has adjustable lifters. Of course I could be taking my chances, but that's pretty much a way of life for me.

[Ronnie]

Yes welding does the trick if the person welding has the skill set.Use a tig and here is no spatter.I have removed too many to count easy peazy. Pam spray will prevent spatter.

R

[GB SISSON]

Thank you Ronnie. I've gotten to be a pretty good welder, but my wife is better. Maybe I should wait til she gets home. And Seth, I certainly didn't mean to act like I knew this stuff better than you, I'm just really cheap and if I did everything right I'd have to find a different pastime. I ordered som headgaskets online last night and hope to fire this thing off next weekend on my stand. The negativity about run stands is only during break-in, correct? This engine is supposed to have 4 thousand miles on it so I'm thinking I should be able to put some time on it testing and tinkering with no ill effects. ??

[Jason in TX]

These engines will run with one head off, so I would say that you will be able to bolt it together and start it.

It could smoke... It could knock, it could do lots of things. But sounds like you want to give it a shot the way it is. They don't need aircraft tolerance to work. Give it a shot! You can always take it apart again, right?

[drolston]

Echo the notion that welding skill is critical. A rookie I know with a MIG welder was unsuccessful on repeated attempts. But the block was going to the machine shop anyway.

[39portlander]

I had posted this a while back, for those of us who do like to weld check this website out and you will improve your skill. weldingtips&tricks.com

Gary do keep us posted on your "block-a thon" you got goin there . Scott

[BillM]

A good web page here showing the details. Although he recommends a TIG, it can be done with a stick welder. MIG usually doesn't put enough heat into the stud though.
http://www.fordgarage.com/pages/studremoval.htm

[edhd58]

I asked about removing a broken bolt in a flywheel in a different thread. Ronnie posted a link to a video about tig welding that i wish i had seen before i tried a easy out and broke it.

[GB SISSON]

OK, so I tried welding various washers and nuts onto the remnants of the bolt with my mig welder. It is a 22O volt job and does a good job, but the broken bolt was a bit below the surface. The whole shebang was glowing red and I thought "this time it's going to hold" , but when it cooled and I sprayed it with kroil or PB, it just sheared off. I was starting to get depressed so tonight after work I started thinking about what to do. I have a a set of napa ez-outs, the square types, but I have never had much luck with drilling down the center of a bolt. I needed a device to center the drilling. I found a standard air hose fitting ,industrial type, 3/8 male that fit really well into the cylinder head's bolt holes. I drilled it out with the bit I had and bolted the head to the block with a handful of bolts. This guide worked well and the stub of a head bolt was now hollow. More heat from a mapp gas torch as I was out of acetylene, more PB. I had a crescent wrench on the square of the ez out, but no dice. I found a 3/8 12 point socket fit perfectly on the square ez out. After a couple more heat cycles, the air impact rattled out the stub on the end of the ez out. There was a lot of stress involved, and most of the time I have used these infernal gadgets, the ez out breaks off. I attribute this evening's success the fact that I am no longer young and impatient. It took me four late afternoons between work and dinner to follow this through, but with no machine shops on the island, sometimes patience pays dividends..

[flatford8]

Congrats! Now that I'm older I break less stuff and do fewer things twice........ Mark

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by flatford8

Congrats! Now that I'm older I break less stuff and do fewer things twice........ Mark

I was at my cardiologists over on the mainland on Wednesday and his answers to my questions always seemed to center on "you're not getting any younger". Many of you will agree that tonight's thread will attest to that not everything about getting older is bad. Three hours ago I was at a job site answering to a very rare situation in which a heavy ceiling panel had failed and dropped down upon a stainless cooktop. Turns out my 36 year old employee of 17 years shot it into place with a dozen pins that protruded 1/2" into the framing. I would have used a couple dozen screws and a couple tubes of polyurethane construction adhesive. He's an awesome guy and he's like my 5th kid, ut let's face it, he isn't old yet....

[willowbilly3]

Glad you got it Gary. I have no luck with the reverse thread easy outs and they have caused me so much grief that I threw them all away years ago. Somewhere I still have the square tap in ones but haven't used them forever.
I was going to suggest bolting the head back on and using a sleeve for a drill guide.
You should rename your garage The Lazarus Project,lol. I am kindred spirit in making stuff work without a lot of $$. The 260 in my rpu was pulled from a fairlane that had sat in a field at least 15 years and I've been pounding the dog crap out of it for 5 years now.

[GB SISSON]

Originally Posted by willowbilly3

Glad you got it Gary. I have no luck with the reverse thread easy outs and they have caused me so much grief that I threw them all away years ago. Somewhere I still have the square tap in ones but haven't used them forever.
I was going to suggest bolting the head back on and using a sleeve for a drill guide.
You should rename your garage The Lazarus Project,lol. I am kindred spirit in making stuff work without a lot of $$. The 260 in my rpu was pulled from a fairlane that had sat in a field at least 15 years and I've been pounding the dog crap out of it for 5 years now.

Never stop pounding that s#!t . Don't be too surprised if I show up in S. Dakota needing a ride,