Removing Stud Extractor

[Curtis RutterParticipant @curtisrutter61973]

[Curtis RutterParticipant @curtisrutter61973]

im struggling to remove a snapped bolt with my extractor stud. The bolt is in really tight and I can't get enough grip with out it slipping on my adjustable spanner, the end is square, any good tips to remove it?

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Is this the type of stud extractor with a tapered left hand thread ?

If so chuck it at next doors cat as all they do is wedge in even tighter.

Think about the action as it winds in.

There are other various types like the shallow taper with 4 hollow ground sides and the spline type where you hammer them in and there is no progressive wedging action.

Also bear in mind that sometimes you just can't remove a broken bolt or stud by unwinding it due to various reasons like galling or real old age, rust etc. In cases like this you have to be prepared to drill out and retap.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Have you given it a good soaking in a freeing agent and left it to rest for a while.

Plusgas is highly recommended, but I use a 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone.

Obviously the acetone evaporates off quite quickly, but keep dribbling it into the thread over a day or three, whilst regularly tapping the end of the bolt/stud. Think about which way it was loaded before it sheared; tapping it "end on" might help loosen it. Similarly tightening slightly before trying to release it might assist too.

I'm with John on the things you screw into a hole in the stud; as he says, they're prone to expanding it, the if they get enough grip, when they finally break in the hole, you're left with a hardened plug to try and extract.

The Bolt Extractors on this page from Irwin are well thought of by the bike and Landrover fraternity, if you have enough of the bolt sticking out..

Also, you mention Adjustable Spanner, do you mean small stilsons, or are you using an adjustable on the end of a stud extractor?

[Brian WoodParticipant @brianwood45127]

One method if you have an end to grip is to weld a bar on the end instead and use that as a lever. The heat will help a lot in freeing it off.

​You will of course need a new bolt afterwards

​Regards

Brian

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

I've got the sockets with the internal spiral. They work best on rounded off bolt heads.

Neil

[MWParticipant @mw27036]

I've tried cheap and well branded stud extractors and been disappointed with both, I can't think of any time they actually worked, the left hand thread fails to engage with the metal in reverse. 

Like others have said, it would be fair to say I've had more success trying anything but stud extractors.

Well let me try and be a bit more helpful: I have got a very stuck socket screw (head inside rounded off) out by heating the body around it, as this causes it to open up slightly and it worked where brute force failed the first attempt. so theres gotta be something behind it.

Only caveat being you have to be able to get some kind of grip, even if it isn't much and heaving n ho-ing failed… 

Michael W

Edited By Michael-w on 05/05/2017 19:06:43

[John RuddParticipant @johnrudd16576]

I can tell a story about the left handed tapered style extractors…..

Had a Ford Fiesta, came to remove the spark plugs during a service……..

The 1st plug snapped leaving the hex body behind……the 2nd snapped, the same but the innards fell into the cylinder!

1st attempt at removing the initally broken plug resulted in a snapped 'eazi-out'…..time to stop!

Cylinder head removed and taken to local engineers…they laughed!….

Spark erosion removed the broken eazi-out, other engineering feats removed the remaining plug remnants…and left me with a hefty bill..all because of tapered seat plugs…

[vintagengineerParticipant @vintagengineer]

Use a lefthand drill in a battery drill. The idea is that the drill is imposing a lefthand force on the bolt.

[Nigel BennettParticipant @nigelbennett69913]

Doesn't help the OP – using "easy outs" – surely the most mis-named tool that ever was – is useless as John S has said. However, Michael's mention of hexagon socket screws reminds me that it's often possible to batter in a Torx bit into a rounded-off hexagon socket to get it out. Recalcitrant countersunk screws can also benefit from a good crack with a hammer before removing.

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

If there is some stud protruding, place a tight fitting nut over it and weld. The heat is likely sufficient to free it off. The left handed drill bits are apparently good (see abom79 vids). Drilling and retapping often as easy as any. Helicoil as the last resort.

Actual details – diameter, protrusion, materials, through or blind hole (yes, I know he said 'bolt' but likely means stud, capscrew etc) might help posters give the best advice. Even mole grips or small stillson might be an easy fix for this particular problem.

[Curtis RutterParticipant @curtisrutter61973]

I'll get a picture tomorrow now and post it, thanks for all the options so far!

[Chris Evans 6Participant @chrisevans6]

I used to work next door to a commercial vehicle repair shop. I must have spark eroded a few dozen broken "Easyouts" from various parts before they cottoned on and brought me the part to drill the stud out rather than attempt to remove it.

[Mike PooleParticipant @mikepoole82104]

I think an easy out does have its uses, weld guns on robots are not unknown to suffer collision damage and some of the most vulnerable parts are water and air fittings that just shear off, so as the fitting is no longer tight it just needs unscrewing which the easy out does well. This is a very specific scenario but one in which the easy out does its job.

Mike

[not done it yetParticipant @notdoneityet]

That's right, Mike. Unless it is 'easy' don't use an easy out!

[Antony PowellParticipant @antonypowell28169]

 

I Use the following and find them the best options after 30+ years of trying

These are available form many different manufactures.

but this is the best….

A portable spark erroder unit, this has saved many an engine which would otherwise be scrap, In this picture I am spark erroding a snapped off easyout from a snapped of Glow plug

We didn't snap them it was a job to correct work carried out by a well known car parts store……

Edited By Antony Powell on 06/05/2017 08:04:47

Edited By Antony Powell on 06/05/2017 08:06:20

[HopperParticipant @hopper]

Left-hand drill bit is my favorite way of solving this.

There is a type of stud extractor call a Grabit that has a hex body with the end of the shank necked down so it will snap off before the piece inside the job snaps, leaving you with enough hex shank to unscrew the broken remains from the job. But it still has the drawback of expanding the job into its hole due to the tapered thread on it. But when you think about it, it's a tool designed to fail!

[John Stevenson 1Participant @johnstevenson1]

Posted by Antony Powell on 06/05/2017 08:04:16:

but this is the best….

A portable spark erroder unit, this has saved many an engine which would otherwise be scrap, In this picture I am spark erroding a snapped off easyout from a snapped of Glow plug

We didn't snap them it was a job to correct work carried out by a well known car parts store……

Got the bigger brother to that one. Awesome machine.

Biggest job it has had to do was remove the rusted in allen screws from the bed of a 72" Lumsden grinder.

These are big vertical face grinders and the bed consists of many triangular segments that contain the coils for the magnetic table with the top surface being held on by a zillion allen screws. Because these run continuously under coolant when the coils short out it's a major job to replace them.

The small machine like the one in the picture takes about 20 minutes to remove a M10 allen screw. The larger machine takes about 5 – 7 minutes.

From memory, total time to remove all the screws was about 4 days

[Nicholas FarrParticipant @nicholasfarr14254]

Hi, here's how I removed glow plugs from my previous Astra engine. This nuts on these wrung off the threaded part that screws into the block. **LINK**.

The basic reason that welding a nut or other idea onto the stud/bolt, is that the heat in the process will cause some expansion into the stud, but the surrounding metal won't allow it to expand diametrically, however on cooling it will contract diametrically and so becomes looser in the hole. I have used this method for years in my day job and it works just about every time, although sometimes you have to have two or three attempts to get studs/bolts out that have wrung off flush.

Regards Nick.

[Ian S CParticipant @iansc]

Like Antony, I use the Snap On extractors. I used them when I was overhauling Continental aircraft engines, and when I left management decided that the engine shop should get a new set of tools, so along with a good torque wrench the Snap On extractors, and a few other tools were binned(they never reached any bin). Guess what, they bought a set of Easyouts!! I think they got binned before long.

Last time I priced the Snap Ons they were about $NZ800, but that was at least 15 years ago. The aviation firm I was working for was the NZ agent for Snap On in Australasia and South Pacific area(the area covered by our Cessna agency).

[Andrew TinsleyParticipant @andrewtinsley63637]

I always get the oxyacetylene on the offending stub. get it really red hot! After cooling I have had a lot of luck with using a vey small chisel and suitable hammer, just get the chisel embedded in the periphery of the stub and keep tapping, never failed yet. This will only work if the stub is relatively large in diameter.

Whenever I mix acetone with ATF fluid, they immediately separate into two layers. What brand name ATF are you using, so I can try it as a penetrating agent. It is highly spoken of, but I never had any success in mixing the two.

Andrew.

[peak4Participant @peak4]

Posted by Andrew Tinsley on 06/05/2017 12:35:12:

Whenever I mix acetone with ATF fluid, they immediately separate into two layers. What brand name ATF are you using, so I can try it as a penetrating agent. It is highly spoken of, but I never had any success in mixing the two.

Andrew.

It does separate, but I just keep it in a small resealable bottle and shake vigorously before use.

Seems to work well enough compared to other commercial products, but obviously has the same limitations.

Here's an interesting link. referring to a comparative test, apparently from April 2007 "Machinist's Workshop" magazine comparison.

Bill

[Antony PowellParticipant @antonypowell28169]

The snap-on version are around £100 a set ($130) in the UK

Best extractor kit i ever bought

[Martin 100Participant @martin100]

Can't ever recall a left hand drill ever working, all they do is drill a hole.

For mangled or rusty bolt heads or nuts I use the Irwin spiral grip removers

 

Very occasionally for broken bolts or studs these Irwin spiral extractors (also available from snap on)

For everything else and first preference is always the snap on parallel type

 

Had to use a blowtorch on the head and several tins of freezer spray on the plugs to get some overtightened tapered seat spark plugs out many years ago.

 

 

Edited By Martin 100 on 06/05/2017 14:21:32

[John ReeseParticipant @johnreese12848]

Back in the dark ages when I did not have much of a kit of tools I used this method:

I used a portable drill to drill through the stud/bolt. I enlarged the hole until threads were just beginning to show on one side of the hole. m Of course the hole was off center. I ground a broken hacksaw blade so it could enter the hole. I made 3 or 4 cuts with the hacksaw blade until threads were just visible in each cut. The last step was to use a sharp punch to knock out each of the segments of the bolt.

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