Reverse drill bits/easy outs. School me.

[Magnum440d100]

Ran into a situation today that had me thinking about adding a new tool to my road box.

A friends starter went out on his 1995 GMC 3500 6.5 diesel.

So I drove down to where he was (appx 1.5 hours from me) then took him to get a new starter from Oreillys (they were the only ones in stock). Got back to his truck (appx 10 miles from Oreillys), threw the starter in, went to snug the bolts, and one went SNAP.

Went to drill it with a regular drill bit, and it spun it in deeper haha. At that point, I was WISHING for a reverse drill bit.

We were running out of daylight FAST. We couldn’t just run to a hardware store or to Oreillys and still have daylight to finish. I ended up removing the broken piece with 2 pocket screwdrivers, believe it or not!

So who makes a QUALITY reverse drill set. Hopefully in a small carry case or something. Made in USA is a bonus, but quality off shore is acceptable as well.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Speed-Racer]

I have this set, gotten me out of several problems. Was lucky it was on the truck the day I needed it. Does anyone know the OEM?

Snap-on Store

shop.snapon.com

Snap-on Store

shop.snapon.com

I avoid easy outs, they have always made the problem bigger for me. Know many friends that end up breaking the easy out bit in the middle of the hole and makes it much harder to drill out the easy out & bolt. Left hand drill bits seem to work the best.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

I prefer stubby, left hand cobalt bits if I expect to be drilling something out like manifold studs. Sometimes you get lucky and it'll back out.

With an obviously not frozen item, just to spin something out like your example, the cheapest stuff you can find will perform that task. If there's room and it's not a blind hole, you can just use a standard bit from the other side to unscrew it.

 

[Magnum440d100]

I have this set, gotten me out of several problems. Was lucky it was on the truck the day I needed it. Does anyone know the OEM?

Snap-on Store

shop.snapon.com

Snap-on Store

shop.snapon.com

Man. Both of those are back ordered until after I leave for Indiana :/

 

[Magnum440d100]

I prefer stubby, left hand cobalt bits if I expect to be drilling something out like manifold studs. Sometimes you get lucky and it'll back out.

With an obviously not frozen item, just to spin something out like your example, the cheapest stuff you can find will perform that task. If there's room and it's not a blind hole, you can just use a standard bit from the other side to unscrew it.

Unfortunately it was a blind hole.

 

[Speed-Racer]

Amazon.com

Irwin USA cobalt left drill bits

 

[Bogie1632]

Timely thread. I need a set also and was looking at that Irwin set Speed-Racer linked. Hope they work well.

Also, make sure the starter mount bracket (on the back of the starter to the block) is installed or you'll be repeating this task more often...and eventually a ring gear or flex plate. I've probably reinstalled about 100 or more because of lazy technicians. And the 24V HMMWV starters are much, much heavier than the 12V regular models.

V/R
Bogie

 

[Magnum440d100]

Timely thread. I need a set also and was looking at that Irwin set Speed-Racer linked. Hope they work well.

Also, make sure the starter mount bracket (on the back of the starter) is installed or you'll be repeating this task more often...and eventually a ring gear or flex plate.

V/R
Bogie

Unfortunately it’s gone. The engine was swapped with a low mileage humvee engine, and it seems some miscellaneous items did not make it back on lol. If I happen to find one in a junkyard, I’ll grab it for him though.

Weirdly enough, the bolt snapped when being tightened, and not from vibrations. The starter was being replaced because it was dragging.

 

[Bogie1632]

Unfortunately it’s gone. The engine was swapped with a low mileage humvee engine, and it seems some miscellaneous items did not make it back on lol. If I happen to find one in a junkyard, I’ll grab it for him though.

Weirdly enough, the bolt snapped when being tightened, and not from vibrations. The starter was being replaced because it was dragging.

That's pretty common also. FME, knuckleheads would toss that bracket out because quite frankly it can be a PITA to install sometimes, especially when you contorting yourself on the ground. What I experienced is folks would then overtighten the bolts thinking that would magically work better to hold the starter straight than the bracket and then the next guy either would snap it off taking them out or snap them installing them...if they didn't snap when in use.

New brackets are still available, maybe ~$10 online. You can DIY a new one from some scrap angle iron. I actually had dimensions in a book...bit that disappeared years ago.

V/R
Bogie

 

[vwpieces]

Amazon.com

Irwin USA cobalt left drill bits

Think those are what I have. Been too long since I bought them and they saved my **** a couple times.

 

[bcschief]

Your local Autozone should have them in stock https://www.autozone.com/cutting-dr...m-coated-left-hand-bit-set-5-piece/390938_0_0

 

[KnurledNut]

I keep an Irwin 11119 set in the road box.
Minimal weight and size, but still organzied.
https://www.irwin.com/tools/screw-b...spiral-extractor-drill-bit-set-in-metal-index

 

[lardy1]

I have these but have yet to use them. They check the domestic box and small footprint box. I bought them because of the comments in here.

Amazon.com

 

[seber]

I bought the cheapest set I could find on Amazon. About $15. Then I reground them with a bullet point. Works a treat.

 

[JradM]

Proto easy outs. Super tough - which is the problem with easy outs. They're made hard to bite into the bolt, but then they snap on you and leave you worse off. I don't know how Proto made one that's hard and tough, but they did.

You really use 1 or 2 sizes for 90% of bolts, so you don't have to buy a set.

 

[Ign]

I just piece together what I need at mscdirect.com

You don't need a full index, you could probably jump thru the 1/16ths and do 99% of jobs. Say, 3/16, 1/4, 5/16, 3/8. If you get into 7/16 or 1/2 you're chasing some pretty large fasteners that may not be a parking-lot job. Get some 1/8 if it makes you feel better but they're fragile -- even 9/64 might be a better call here