Sheered off bolts
Discussion
Any tips for removing a sheered off bolt?
The other night my girlf was doing a 3 point turn in our (not so) trusty 306 and the shifter disconnected from the box so we had absolutely no drive.
Although a bit of a PITA I thought that it was just a problem with the selector rods which is a cheap enough fix but after getting under the car earlier it is not as easy as all that, oh no.
Apologies for my lack of technical knowledge but basically the bracket that sits beneath the gear lever and has the forward and reverse selector rods connected to it, is bolted into the chassis itself. The large bolt that runs through the bracket and connects it to the chassis has sheered off- half is in the now removed bracket and the rest remains in the car itself, apparently impossible to remove by mere home mechanic such as myself.
So, what to do?? I can't drive it as I have no gears and we've finally decided that enough is enough on the repairs front so we want to chop it in for a new car so any repairs only have to see me through a month or so. Any tricks of the trade for getting the other half of the bolt out?
If my explanation is completely ass I can post a pic of the 'bracket' if that would help.
The other night my girlf was doing a 3 point turn in our (not so) trusty 306 and the shifter disconnected from the box so we had absolutely no drive.
Although a bit of a PITA I thought that it was just a problem with the selector rods which is a cheap enough fix but after getting under the car earlier it is not as easy as all that, oh no.
Apologies for my lack of technical knowledge but basically the bracket that sits beneath the gear lever and has the forward and reverse selector rods connected to it, is bolted into the chassis itself. The large bolt that runs through the bracket and connects it to the chassis has sheered off- half is in the now removed bracket and the rest remains in the car itself, apparently impossible to remove by mere home mechanic such as myself.
So, what to do?? I can't drive it as I have no gears and we've finally decided that enough is enough on the repairs front so we want to chop it in for a new car so any repairs only have to see me through a month or so. Any tricks of the trade for getting the other half of the bolt out?
If my explanation is completely ass I can post a pic of the 'bracket' if that would help.
You can get something that you drill and then extract the bolt:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EASY-OUT-STUD-S
(Cunningly stolen from another thread www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=360320&f=23&h=0&p=1 )
However, I've only ever removed them by welding another bolt onto the end of it, and extracting it that way.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EASY-OUT-STUD-S
(Cunningly stolen from another thread www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=360320&f=23&h=0&p=1 )
However, I've only ever removed them by welding another bolt onto the end of it, and extracting it that way.
Is there any element of the bolt sticking out of the chassis?
If there is then you can either try and shift it with a mole grip or find a nut that fits over it and weld down the hole in the nut to secure it to the broken bolt.
If the bolt had broken imediately under the head would you have been able to slid the bracket off the end of the bolt? If so then it may be possible to weld a bolt or threaded rod to the chassis and secure the bracket with a nut.
Steve
If there is then you can either try and shift it with a mole grip or find a nut that fits over it and weld down the hole in the nut to secure it to the broken bolt.
If the bolt had broken imediately under the head would you have been able to slid the bracket off the end of the bolt? If so then it may be possible to weld a bolt or threaded rod to the chassis and secure the bracket with a nut.
Steve
Just a warning about eazi outs and the like.........
I never use them for the following reasons:
1) If they snap off in the bolt then you really have problems.
2) The chances of the above happening are high if the bolt sheared while trying to undo it. If the easi out is too big it exerts an outward pressure on the bolt jamming it in the hole. If it is small enoegh not to do this it will shear off due to not being strong enough.
3) Drilling the hole down the centre of a bolt is a real pain.
4) If the bolt is loose enoegh for an actual eazi out to work then 99% of the time it will come out by tapping it undone with a scriber point or chisel.
5) If you really get stuck you can drill out the bolt and re tap bigger or helicoil.
As has been said before, get the welder out and wed the bracket to the chassis leg.
I never use them for the following reasons:
1) If they snap off in the bolt then you really have problems.
2) The chances of the above happening are high if the bolt sheared while trying to undo it. If the easi out is too big it exerts an outward pressure on the bolt jamming it in the hole. If it is small enoegh not to do this it will shear off due to not being strong enough.
3) Drilling the hole down the centre of a bolt is a real pain.
4) If the bolt is loose enoegh for an actual eazi out to work then 99% of the time it will come out by tapping it undone with a scriber point or chisel.
5) If you really get stuck you can drill out the bolt and re tap bigger or helicoil.
As has been said before, get the welder out and wed the bracket to the chassis leg.
Can you get to the other side of the bit the bolt screws through? It may be that there's enough of the end of the bolt sticking out the other side to get mole grips on / file flats on / weld something onto / whatever, so that you can wind it right through and get it out from the other side.
For any "cold" method (ie. anything short of stripping carpets out, blowtorching the whole thing to red heat and then using a "Brummigem spanner" technique to shift the stub) leave it to soak a day in Plus-Gas or diesel first...
For any "cold" method (ie. anything short of stripping carpets out, blowtorching the whole thing to red heat and then using a "Brummigem spanner" technique to shift the stub) leave it to soak a day in Plus-Gas or diesel first...
I've had my "easy outs" screw extracter set for approx 10 years now and its never failed. Only hard bit is match when you drill the hole for it wandering off and have a good set of mole grips to get hold of the bugger when its in. You need only a normal metal drill bit. Put the screw extracter in. Light tap with a hammer to get it started and grab the mole grips. Brilliant job. Remember to get a good set though. You get what you pay for and all that.
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