ezouts.jpg

EZ-Out Stories and Methods

Posted by 141drew Posted onApr 2, 2010 at 2:58 PM and filed under Projects
Updated onUpdated on May 28, 2021 at 11:40 AM


A few months ago, I was was presented with a project that featured a broken EZ-Out in the oil pressure port (located next to the distributor) of a small block Chevrolet. I’ll spare you the details, but I’ve been putting off the project simply because the only thing I loathe more than an EZ-Out is a broken EZ-Out. Well, it’s time to get at it…

More than likely, this motor is gonna have to be pulled, disassembled, and the problem fixed. I realize that… But, before we go to the effort I thought it would be prudent to check in with the folks of The Garage Journal and see what they have to say. Maybe you guys have a tip or trick you can pass on. Is their some super hard drill bit on the market that could slowly drill this sucker out? An EZ-EZ-Out perhaps?

Let’s here your stories and techniques based around working on the damnedest of tools…


See Comments on the forum.

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rswinburne

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Mar 2, 2010
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IMHO EZ out is something I stay away from if i can. What I use in most cases is my trusted mig welder and a suitable sized nut. Don't think you can weld in the ez out tool thats stuck in there, but hopefully the material of the thing you tried to remove with the ez-out is weldable,


Place the nut over the broken bolt\thingy you want to remove and migweld in the center of the nut filling the center and fusing into the bolt or whatever your trying to remove. im not good at explaining, but this is atleas what has worked for me literally hundreds of times. :p

Hope it helps you out.
 
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swharris

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rswinburne said:
IMHO EZ out is something I stay away from if i can. What I use in most cases is my trusted mig welder and a suitable sized nut. Don't think you can weld in the ez out tool thats stuck in there, but hopefully the material of the thing you tried to remove with the ez-out is weldable, .
Click to expand...

Agree. I try to avoid them also.


rswinburne said:
Place the nut over the broken bolt\thingy you want to remove and migweld in the center of the nut filling the center and fusing into the bolt or whatever your trying to remove. im not good at explaining, but this is atleas what has worked for me literally hundreds of times. :p

Hope it helps you out.
Click to expand...

I'd also ad that parrifin or candle wax is fantastic at loosening very stubborn frozen bolts. Take a torch and heat area around the bolt as hot as possible. Take the wax and melt it around the bolt head or if threads are exposed on them. The wax will wick down the threads and you'll be shocked how easy the bolt will come out. Sounds strange, but works great!
 
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Chevelle69

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I've had some luck with left-handed drill bits, but don't know if they'd drill an EZ out. Got a set of 5 from Snap-On and keep 'em hidden just for that purpose. Good luck with whatever you try........better pick up some cold ones for that job!:beer:
 
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Tbucit

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In this situation use a small carbide burr. I have broken off to many of the things and if I can't get it to with an EDM then I use the burr never failed me yet.

Randall
 
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rockchucker

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swharris said:
Agree. I try to avoid them also.




I'd also ad that parrifin or candle wax is fantastic at loosening very stubborn frozen bolts. Take a torch and heat area around the bolt as hot as possible. Take the wax and melt it around the bolt head or if threads are exposed on them. The wax will wick down the threads and you'll be shocked how easy the bolt will come out. Sounds strange, but works great!
Click to expand...


100% Agreed. When all else fails I resort to heat and Paraffin Wax.


OP- So you took care of the situation already and are now just giving the Easy outs away for shipping? Just curious. Wanted to make sure you solved your issue at hand.
 
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kruegdr

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1320stang said:
Best bet is to take it to a machine shop and have them burn it out with a EDM machine.
Click to expand...

Amen to that.

One time I had to thread the end of a heat-treated gearbox shaft with a 3/8 NF uber-unobtanium tap. It was late in the day and I was rushing to get out of there, and broke that sucker clean off. An EZ out was not going to be of any help here, so we broke out the plunge EDM.

After about 30 minutes of setting up the scary, antiquated thing, we were ready to rock. Five seconds of action, and a few minutes of cleanup later, I had the obliterated tap in hand.

I'd have it EDM'd, and not worry about the potential destruction of the block for a stinkin' threaded hole.
 
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Bruce4310TX

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The carbide burr is the best way, done many that way, but if you can get to it weld a nut on the have your wax ready let it wick in, and and turn it out. Good luck.
 
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speed bump

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EDM or carbide end mill or burr would be my weapons of choice with the info presented.

Its a Chevy though so you could just pick a couple more engines at $5-10 a piece and not worry about it.
 
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Stephenw

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I have the Snap-on branded extractor set. I don't think I've ever successfully extracted a broken bolt with it.

With experience, you can usually tell if a bolt is going to break. I avoid breaking it to begin with. I heat the bolt with a torch until it is very hot and then spray it with Kroil or PB Blaster. This will pull the penetrating oil into the threads and usually break it free.

If I do break the bolt, I carefully center punch it. You need to be as close to exactly centered as possible. I then drill with successively larger bits until the center of the bolt is gone and only the threads remain. I finish the job with a tap.
 
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ksheeter

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On broken taps I used a cutting torch to get it out, heat the tap untill red and give it a shot of oxy. and it will explode do this untill it is all removed. I've had pretty good luck using this method. most of the time the threads are reuseabe. should work the same for an ez-out
 
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y20dth

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Stephenw said:
I have the Snap-on branded extractor set. I don't think I've ever successfully extracted a broken bolt with it.

With experience, you can usually tell if a bolt is going to break. I avoid breaking it to begin with. I heat the bolt with a torch until it is very hot and then spray it with Kroil or PB Blaster. This will pull the penetrating oil into the threads and usually break it free.

If I do break the bolt, I carefully center punch it. You need to be as close to exactly centered as possible. I then drill with successively larger bits until the center of the bolt is gone and only the threads remain. I finish the job with a tap.
Click to expand...

exacly that!:beer:
 
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greenreese

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You guys really have that much trouble with extractors? I've used them succesfully many times. Although I like the other options being described.
 
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Demian

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I have used a socket roughly the same diameter as the bolt hold it against the bolt and give it a few raps with a rivet gun or zip gun, this may loosen the easy out piece allowing you to remove it. It doesn't always work but it may be worth a shot. Otherwise, like others I have used a carbide burr successfully many times.
I'll go make an intro post now.
good luck.
 
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michael murder

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I too have had some bad luck with EZ outs. I find it almost impossible to remove bolts that have been broken by over tightening. However, I have had luck with two bolts that broke while being removed and one with a sheared off head. They work, it just all depends on how your fastener got the way it is. Also I find there is a certain point on an EZ out that feels like you are about to make some turning progress but it is actually the EZ out stressing and about to break.
 
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Ser50

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my experience with easy outs is pretty decent, they work, sometimes, a lot of the above methods are great. drilling, tapping, torches.

for cap screws especially,, for best results i will often shock the bolt, and especially give it a quick tighten, 64th turn or something, just enough to get the bolt moving, then back,, if it feels rough after a good turn i go back, and forth, with fluid and/or heat until its out safely.

EZ out methods should probably be EZ out prevention. but not always possible.

HEAT is your number one friend. i got 10+ year professional HD coworkers that dont embrace heat as a friend. thats fine, i dont try to tell them what to do, but my life at work and home is much easier and cleaner than theirs.
 
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paramedic

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i got an easy out that i broke out of a bolt one time buy notching it with a dremel then using a screwdriver with a wrench on it. easy outs are pressure thing if you can get past the initial pressure you can get it out. then a left handed drill bit and tap. anymore i just drill and tap right away
 
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Mixedpleasure

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I have a Snap-on High speed die grinder that is meant for removing broken taps, extractors,drill bits, bolts etc. It operates at 70 000 rpm and sounds like a dentist drill. It works amazing for removing the toughest broken tools. If you are extracting a bolt, and you get down to the last of the threads, the threads just fall out because of the vibration of the high speed. Tool and bits cost about $200 but it will definately get you out of many jams. Make sure to wear PPE because filings go everywhere.
 
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Krusty

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I have removed broken drill bits imbedded in bolts using diamond tipped burrs from HF. I expect it would work on an EZ-out, too. They also have a "Micro-die grinder" that is air powered and is easy to hold and see around. The burrs are cheap (surprise!) and don't last long, but if you catch them on sale you won't have much money invested. This process works, but it takes a long time and generates much metal dust. Have fun.

Krusty
 
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scbird94

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johno said:
Ok Guys whats an EDM machine???
Click to expand...


Electromechanical
Dilithium crystal
Macrogenerator


Actually, i was wondering the same thing. ????

We had a broken 6mm bolt broken off of inside a 1.9l ****** cylinder head (tstat housing) and we couldnt get it out. Sent it to our local machine shop, they couldnt either. He had a freind who he swore could get it out.

This guy used some kind of uber-expensive machine that i beleive runs on dark magic? My machinist says he knows nothing about how he does it, but he has never failed him when he sends him problem parts.


Anybody know what he did? I read something about laser removal of broken bolts.. true?
 
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scbird94

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So now im wondering what kind of mystery voodoo machine this guy has, considering he was able to show-up my meager skills, as well as the best tooled machine shop i have ever walked into. He did such a good job that i was able to hand thread a bolt back into the hole using the original threads!
 
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Arne73

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Stephenw said:
If I do break the bolt, I carefully center punch it. You need to be as close to exactly centered as possible. I then drill with successively larger bits until the center of the bolt is gone and only the threads remain. I finish the job with a tap.
Click to expand...

Exactly what I had to do today with a busted exhaust bolt on a 8hp Briggs!
 
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swharris

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Ser50 said:
for cap screws especially,, for best results i will often shock the bolt, and especially give it a quick tighten, 64th turn or something, just enough to get the bolt moving, then back,, if it feels rough after a good turn i go back, and forth, with fluid and/or heat until its out safely..
Click to expand...

A mentor taught me that trick. A slight tighten first and then try to loosen. He also taught me that if you can get a box or open end on it, use a ball peen hammer and LIGHTLY tap continually while applying force. This constant tapping helps break the bond of the threads. No need to hammer it hard, just light tapping. I was shocked how well it worked the first time I used this technique.
 
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chevelle67

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Ive had good luck getting EZ outs out of a bolt by thermal shock. I use a torch to get the area good and hot then (this is the part I`m sure someone is going to tell me is illegal, I understand the montreal protocall and do not vent refrigerant. the amount used would be considered diminimiss anyway) hit just the ezout with a shot of liquid refigerant (do not inhale the fumes, burnt refer can produce phosgene gas). the ezout or drill bit etc contracts so fast it usually can be picked out with a needle nose, sometime they even fracture into several peices. I have used a computer duster upside down in a pinch.
 
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rhandwor

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I use them occasionally normally I can feel when they are going to break remove them and drill them out full size and re tap. Aluminum is harder and maybe you will have to go oversize.
They can be drilled out with a carbide tipped steel drill. Looks like a concrete drill but made differently. They are sold on ebay cost depends on the size maybe up to $20.00 or more.
http://www.ebay.com/ Search 350315507022
 
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hilld

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As others have mentioned, the carbide burr works really well. I used to get the burrs from a dentist (after they were used on patients). Attach them to a dremmel at 20k RPM and it goes into bolts, drill bits and ez outs like butter. The idea is to hollow the inside, then you can usually use a chisel to collapse the bolt etc and remove them. When I was a tech, we had the pleasure of working on Ford Chassis motor homes with 460 gas engines, they were notorious for exhaust leaks, usually caused by broken bolts or simply warped manifolds (no gasket on the manifold). Removing the manifolds usually resulted in at least one broken bolt, so I got good at getting them out without getting myself into more trouble.

Good luck in your endeavor, take your time to get it right, unless you really want to pull the engine.

Derek
 
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landon1

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i've never used that style of easy-out with success...but i've used a snap on extrcator set with the fluted rods you tap into a hole you drill into the broken-off bolt - that works GREAT!
 
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Teken

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Stephenw said:
I have the Snap-on branded extractor set. I don't think I've ever successfully extracted a broken bolt with it.

With experience, you can usually tell if a bolt is going to break. I avoid breaking it to begin with. I heat the bolt with a torch until it is very hot and then spray it with Kroil or PB Blaster. This will pull the penetrating oil into the threads and usually break it free.

If I do break the bolt, I carefully center punch it. You need to be as close to exactly centered as possible. I then drill with successively larger bits until the center of the bolt is gone and only the threads remain. I finish the job with a tap.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup: That is the only method that has worked and saved my bacon countless times. The only thing is that if you're working on grade 10 or higher bolts, this takes allot of time and patience . . . Because those fawkers are hard to drill through . . .
 
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sdowney717

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how would you remove a cast iron 3/8 inch plug from a water jacket in a block. The square top of the plug cracked off leaving a mostly flat surface. I was thinking you could braze a nut or bolt onto this. Or perhaps drill into this and then braze a bolt into it. What dummy decided to make a cast iron plug instead of steel?

The block is currently in a boat, the plug is low down on the block at an angle and drains the water jacket. Since it is a tight fit and in a boat I am kind of leery of the torch idea. All I can think is to loosen the mounts and rock the motor over on it side and hope it does not crush anything. Then I could drill into it and work with it.

Or I could just leave it alone, but I can not drain the water jacket with the broken plug stuck there.

I do have a dremel.
 
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Krusty

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Is the engine running hot? Is the radiator clogging? You would would probably get a better answer from a Ford or boat forum, but I'd say don't fix it if you don't have to.

Krusty
 
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