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Anybody have a lot of experience using "easy out" screw extractors?

Dargo

Dargo

Like a bad penny...
As would be my luck, I decided to go ahead and fix the ABS problem on my daughter's little Honda Civic with winter coming on and nothing went well. She actually doesn't get her license until just after the new year, but she needs to get used to driving the car and I figured having the ABS part of the brakes working would be helpful in the winter.

According to the code, all I need to replace is the driver's side rear ABS wheel sensor. That must be the favorite one to go out because nobody seems to have that one in stock and it costs more than any of the other ones. Anyway, as my luck goes, every single bolt broke off when I went to remove the sensor. Yeah, I sprayed, sprayed, sprayed and waited about 2 days before I finally put some muscle behind it. The end result is that every single freakin' bolt broke off. You know I wasn't getting that much torque using a 6 point 10mm 1/4" socket set to remove the sensor.

I have plans for the rest of the weekend, but with her car tying up one of my lifts, I need to get it fixed. What really sucks is not only do I have 6 broken bolts to get removed, but all but one of them are going to be tough to get to. So, I ask, does anyone here have any tricks that would be helpful? To be honest, the only bolts I've broken off before has been on heavy equipment and I've just welded a new bolt onto the broken one and removed it that way. This job looks like it's gonna suck!
 
Dargo, I haven't tried this trick yet, but you might want to try it. If you can get heat on what's remaining, try candle wax while it's hot. Then use the easy out or left handed drill bits.
 
Dargo, not sure of what you are working on (size etc) but a little trick that I do regularly is if the bolts are broken off flush, place an old nut over the top and with the MIG weld down through the nut onto the stud, works every time as the heat will also help it break the rust, etc.
 
Thanks Vin. As you may know, I am relatively experienced with many types of welding. I'm at the point where I'm going to have to either get the broken studs out or drill and tap the next larger size. The whole idea was to get the ABS working for my daughter.

It's a '95 Honda Civic and I bought it from the original owner. The "issue" is that the original owner lived in an area where they salted the crap out of the roads in the winter and she lived in north-central IL. Even with some corrosion under the car, even with almost 170k on the odometer, it starts great, runs perfectly, will cruise at interstate speeds all day no problem, has ice cold A/C, and still gets about 29-30 MPG in all city driving. I've replaced both rear quarter panels and front fenders as well as putting on new door skins. So, in a nutshell, I've almost replaced the body due to rust. With the new panels on and the paint only being 3 or 4 years old, it still looks good and isn't showing any rust now. I know it's old with a lot of miles on it, but it's been a great "first car" for two of my kids already and I like using it to run errands all the time. I just can't bring myself to sell it. So, I figure I may as well get that ABS sensor replaced. I think ABS makes it a lot easier for beginning drivers to cope with wet or snow/ice covered roads.

Thanks again for the suggestions Vin. Since I really haven't much to lose and I have several welders here, I may try that first. At worse, I'll end up making it harder to drill and tap. I just need to get it done. Speaking of which, anyone know where I can find that part online cheaper? The best I've seen is about $125. It's a 1995 Civic EX with the 1.6 liter engine and auto transmission and I need the driver's side rear sensor. Even if I buy locally, they will have to order the part.
 
Man ! If it were not for "Bad Luck" You would not have any luck at all !
Sorry to hear about all the problems :sad:
 
Dargo, one little thing, set your AMPS quite high, this will give better penetration as well as sends a little more heat down the stud to loosen the corrosion.
 
daedong said:
Dargo, one little thing, set your AMPS quite high, this will give better penetration as well as sends a little more heat down the stud to loosen the corrosion.
Click to expand...

If I go really high I get spray transfer. I'm afraid I'd fill the hole in the nut immediately if I do that. I'm wondering if I shouldn't keep spraying the broken studs with Kroil for a few days before I do anything else. I'd hate to weld a nut on and then just have it break off a little deeper. I guess if it did, it would be easier to drill in the center of the hole.
 
Brent,

Stupid question... Where is that ABS sensor? Is it on the caliper? If so, why not get a rebuilt caliper or one out of a junkyard?
 
Dargo said:
If I go really high I get spray transfer. I'm afraid I'd fill the hole in the nut immediately if I do that. I'm wondering if I shouldn't keep spraying the broken studs with Kroil for a few days before I do anything else. I'd hate to weld a nut on and then just have it break off a little deeper. I guess if it did, it would be easier to drill in the center of the hole.
Click to expand...

Dargo even if you break it off deeper you are no worse off, you still have the opportunity to drill and use an easy out as the weld will break off from the stud. Spray transfer won't matter but probably not necessary to go that high. have your wire at 90 degrees, pointing straight at the middle of the stud, don't weave or move, let the metal pool flow on to the nut on its own, fill the nut to the top. While it is still hot gently with a spanner work the nut with a back and forward motion. it works 99% of the time.
 
I'm experienced(Ssounds like subtle undertones of Hendrix...). With breaking Easy Outs... Once had to tear a whole motor out of a Suzuki GS550 and take it to the machine shop. They were able to clamp it down, and machine the busted Easy-Out and the rest of the broken bolt, out.

At work, we had some left handed drill bits, that when drilled in far enough, had a chamfered edge that would help remove a broken screw or bolt. Don't remember the name though...

What ever you do, do not force the Easy-Out.... They are hardened steel and a bear to drill out.
 
as a profesional mechanic i own easy outs havn't had a whole lot of luck with them if the bolt broke off while trying to remove it i normaly just get the mig welder or drill and tap for a helicoil usualy if i cand get it out with a reverse flute drill it wont come out with an easy out if you do use one center punch and drill althe way through removing the core of the bolt will some times shrink it enough to break the rust and if uou break off uour easy out hope fuly there is enough roon to punch it through so you can drill it out good luck
 
i saw a guy where i worked do this one time

heat the big piece and squirt ice water on the end of the easout one will get bigger and one will get smaller and the easout will do the rest

i know it sounds stupid but i promise i saw the guy do it more than once
 
I warm the base metal with a propane torch and use a nail ground flat on the end in ice water to chill the bolt quick. Then use a good sharp center punch and tap around the edge to rotate it. Left hand drill bits work most times as well.
 
Well, today has been one of those days where about everything that could go wrong did go wrong. At least the dog was happy to see me when I got home.

Anyway, in the short time I had to go out to work on it I didn't get far. First off, since it was pretty cold in the shop I walked over and flipped the thermostat on heat to warm up the shop a bit. That's when I saw a small but clearly visible flash from the furnace upstairs. After getting my BIL who is a HVAC guy over, he determined that the main board on the furnace blew and, just my luck, apparently took out the gas safety valve with it. Shit! This furnace was just "repaired" last January when I got that huge power surge. Supposedly I could call State Farm on it again, but they cornholed me so bad last time I have zero confidence in them and am actively shopping to move everything away from them. I don't want to give them another claim to tag on to my January 2009 claim (1st and only claim in 24 years with them!) that raised my rates.

Undeterred, I decided to just go ahead and work and be cold. That's when I discovered that my MIG welder won't reach the lift in that barn. And, to make things easier, I wired my MIG and the outlet both with a 50 amp plug so they'd match the plug on my plasma cutters. I just needed to go get a relatively short, like 25', extension cord for them. Riiiiight. I bought the components and will make up a cord tomorrow.

Being that where I'm working on the car everything is covered with undercoating (didn't work all that well, huh?), it's going to be a big negative on heating any surrounding metal. My BIL, the HVAC guy, was still there when I was looking around to see if I had any other options. Deciding I would just quit for the night I put my Milwaukee 28v flashlight I was using on the lift leg where I have the lugnuts placed so I wouldn't lose them. Being that he's blind (legally, he is), he walks around using his hands out for feelers. Yup, you got it, he knocked my Milwaukee 28v flashlight off onto the concrete floor. What luck, it not only broke the lens, cracked the head part of the light, but also busted the 28v battery in a major way. If you haven't ever priced one of those, they ain't too cheap.

So, I'm calling it a night now while I'm not too far behind.

Oh, what's this?

Wonderful. My wife just handed me the mail. VMI has decided that they are just going to keep the $5000 I paid for my son's first semester this school year rather than return it to me. They state that it's their policy to keep tuition whether the student attends or not (he didn't). Hey, this other piece of mail is from my health insurance company. Oh boy, my rates are going up $202.15 per month starting January 1, 2010. I thought that by raising my deductible to $1000 per person and going with 70/30 coverage last year to keep the rates right at $1000 per month was pretty brutal. They're going in for the kill now. Should I renounce my citizenship so I can get it free?

Good night...


*edit*
A couple of nice toppers for the night. My middle daughter has strep and they think my wife has H1N1. Damn, where did I hide those Quaaludes I bought from that guy at the corner pharmacy...?
 
I was going to tell you my good news regarding a snapped bolt in our Kubota B26, but you just spewed so much bad karma that I'm too depressed now. Take a nap for a couple of days. Everything will be better by then. :smileywac
 
Brent, head up about the ABS. As you know mine is out as well. When a friend of mine worked on my car about a month ago I asked him see about replacing the ABS. Not only were they wanting a nice chunk of change for the part, come to find out the part had already been replaced once before. After doing some research, it seems Honda has a history of that part going bad.
If your needing help with getting your daughters car fixed due to time I can hook you up with my friend. Don't worry, he is just as anal as working on cars as you are
(in a good way)
 
Dargo said:
Well, today has been one of those days where about everything that could go wrong did go wrong. At least the dog was happy to see me when I got home.

Anyway, in the short time I had to go out to work on it I didn't get far. First off, since it was pretty cold in the shop I walked over and flipped the thermostat on heat to warm up the shop a bit. That's when I saw a small but clearly visible flash from the furnace upstairs. After getting my BIL who is a HVAC guy over, he determined that the main board on the furnace blew and, just my luck, apparently took out the gas safety valve with it. Shit! This furnace was just "repaired" last January when I got that huge power surge. Supposedly I could call State Farm on it again, but they cornholed me so bad last time I have zero confidence in them and am actively shopping to move everything away from them. I don't want to give them another claim to tag on to my January 2009 claim (1st and only claim in 24 years with them!) that raised my rates.

Undeterred, I decided to just go ahead and work and be cold. That's when I discovered that my MIG welder won't reach the lift in that barn. And, to make things easier, I wired my MIG and the outlet both with a 50 amp plug so they'd match the plug on my plasma cutters. I just needed to go get a relatively short, like 25', extension cord for them. Riiiiight. I bought the components and will make up a cord tomorrow.

Being that where I'm working on the car everything is covered with undercoating (didn't work all that well, huh?), it's going to be a big negative on heating any surrounding metal. My BIL, the HVAC guy, was still there when I was looking around to see if I had any other options. Deciding I would just quit for the night I put my Milwaukee 28v flashlight I was using on the lift leg where I have the lugnuts placed so I wouldn't lose them. Being that he's blind (legally, he is), he walks around using his hands out for feelers. Yup, you got it, he knocked my Milwaukee 28v flashlight off onto the concrete floor. What luck, it not only broke the lens, cracked the head part of the light, but also busted the 28v battery in a major way. If you haven't ever priced one of those, they ain't too cheap.

So, I'm calling it a night now while I'm not too far behind.

Oh, what's this?

Wonderful. My wife just handed me the mail. VMI has decided that they are just going to keep the $5000 I paid for my son's first semester this school year rather than return it to me. They state that it's their policy to keep tuition whether the student attends or not (he didn't). Hey, this other piece of mail is from my health insurance company. Oh boy, my rates are going up $202.15 per month starting January 1, 2010. I thought that by raising my deductible to $1000 per person and going with 70/30 coverage last year to keep the rates right at $1000 per month was pretty brutal. They're going in for the kill now. Should I renounce my citizenship so I can get it free?

Good night...


*edit*
A couple of nice toppers for the night. My middle daughter has strep and they think my wife has H1N1. Damn, where did I hide those Quaaludes I bought from that guy at the corner pharmacy...?
Click to expand...

you think your insurance rates are high now wait till obama forces everybody to have it and the insurance companys no longer have to entice you with what they call low prices.
 
daedong said:
Dargo, not sure of what you are working on (size etc) but a little trick that I do regularly is if the bolts are broken off flush, place an old nut over the top and with the MIG weld down through the nut onto the stud, works every time as the heat will also help it break the rust, etc.
Click to expand...

Dargo, that works very well.

In the event that they are not able to be removed as Vin stated, you can drill them out and use Helicols to replace the treads back to the same thread that was used orginally. You will find though that the remaining bolts will have been tempered and the use of a good colbolt drill (or better) will be required to punch them out.

"OR" just say the hell with it and weld the sensor to the bracket...lol
 
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