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  • Broken bolt extraction, the Team Heat & Beat way!

    This doesn't work in all circumstances, but if its broken off flush, or even just a little bit below the surface it will. If there is some sticking out, then its an almost guarantee it'll work.


    What you need:


    • Flat washer with inside diameter similar to that of broken bolt diameter.
    • Hex headed nut, with similar diameter to the flat washer. Preferably a flange type nut, but not requird.
    • A welder (Believe it or not, I've also actually used Loctite 495 industrial glue before doing this, but it was on a very small bolt)
    • Wrench/Tool that fits the above hex headed nut.



    Step #1, lay the washer over top of the broken off bolt so that whats remaining of it is in the center hole of the washer.

    Step #2, Do a small, but solid tack weld in the center of the washer that joins the washer and the remainder of the broken bolt together. Be VERY careful not to accidentally weld whats left of the bolt into the hole its stuck in.

    I do NOT reccomend trying this with an arc welder. It can be done with MIG and TIG if your careful, and if your a bad ass mofo it can be done with oxygen and accetylene was well. The Larger the bolts, the easier this is. In my pictures you'll see below, the bolt was a 8mm. It can be done with 6's but its extremely tricky. If you've got a TIG welder, use it. And forget about using filler rod, just get a good fusion weld.

    Step #3, Right, now that the washer is welded to the head you'll need to grab that hex headed nut we talked about earlier. This is a lot simpler with a flange type nut, but again, not required. Take your nut and lay directly over top of the washer so the edges are parallel. This will probably require some needle nose pliers, dont even try and hold it with your fingers, you will burn the crap out of them.

    Step #4, Make a few small solid tack welds around the edge of the nut joining it and the flatwasher its sitting on top of together. Again, Be VERY careful not to accidently joint the nut, or the washer to the surface the bolt is stuck in, or the bolt hole itself. Your main object is to stack material onto whats left of the bolt only!

    By this time, you should have something that looks similar to this:






    You'll notice, that I don't have a full bead around the nut and the washer. You can also see that the washer, and the remainder of the bolt are only hung together on one corner, 75% of the surface area of the bolt is still left un welded! Thats just to show you how little you need, remember its better to be to little and twist it off, than it is to much and have it welded down in the hole its already broken off in!

    Step #5, put your wrench on the nut you welded on, and turn the whole conglomeration, including the broken bolt right out of the hole! With any luck, by the time your done, you'll have something similar to this:





    Step #6, Re-chase threads in the hole for good measure with a tap of appropriate size and pitch. Then be on your merry way!
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Broken bolt extraction, the Team Heat & Beat way! started by Billy Golightly View original post
    Comments 5 Comments
    1. durza11's Avatar
      durza11 -
      nice!!!! i'm always looking for things like this!!! tahnk you for helping me fix my trike!
    1. portland250r's Avatar
      portland250r -
      i remember someone teaching me that same trick.
    1. iharthoorn's Avatar
      iharthoorn -
      Thanks so much, this is about to save my sorry butt in about 3 places
    1. oldsguru's Avatar
      oldsguru -
      Would like to add that for additional strength, fill the inside of the nut with weld. This not only adds additional strength to the weld but also heat to help break the frozen threads. Applying wax from a candle also helps to break free the frozen bolt. Worked in a machine shop for years and this worked a good 75% of the time on oil galley plugs and broken manifold bolts. Also don't be discouraged if you fail the first time, sometimes it takes multiple nuts to break free a broken fastener.
    1. kebby28's Avatar
      kebby28 -
      Nice! I have done this a couple times on exhaust manifold broken bolts. Only I didn't use a washer (back then I thought I invented this trick ) Also I only had an arc welder so I had to be very precise welding only the inside of the nut. Definitely wouldn't work on a smaller bolt like the 6 and 8 mm. But I like the washer idea! Thanks
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