best easy out type extractor set?

[setfocus]

So some crazy old guy who is attached to a rusty high mileage '93 fleetwood caddy had me do brake and suspension work (leaking brake line) that probably cost around what the thing is worth ...

so he drives away and the serp belt shreds, was fine when I test drove it. Check the pulleys, good. Put a new belt on and it jumps half off. Whole alternator and power steering pump bracket is wobbling around can see it's broke off at the bolt ears... finally get the new one from ebay (no one makes that **** anymore) and tear it down.

2 bolts were broken off in the cyl head. Probably about 3/8ish diameter, bolt head was I think next size up from 7/16? something standard that was little smaller than 15mm, one broke flush and the other is recessed. The bolts aren't that long and couldn't tread too deep

what's the best extractor set that isn't rediculous in price, that I can have, in hand, monday. Mac and Matco stop by on monday also. I want this thing out of my bay and my life, any other tricks, would a little heat be ok, left hand drill bits? welding isn't an option. Think it's just a TBI 350 in there, has an old school air cleaner

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Lefty bits help, drill straight. I prefer tapered square cut extractors.

 

[MJD1]

The Lisle super out set is the best I've used. Most auto parts stores as well as Amazon carry them. They are a spline rather than tapered extractor.

 

[DFB]

Ya I also have had good results the stubby "Spline" style extractors

 

[plinker]

Left hand drill bits, Irwin spline extractors, Lisle super outs and Snap-on's SR40K have all done ok for me, which style I use depends on the situation. What you dont want to do is break any of these off in the extraction attempt as life gets rather difficult then.

Left hand bits are usually first though (unless welding a nut can be done, best method for flush & exposed stuff) as I've had them "catch" and back the broken bit right out (best case). Heat may help, depends. A mini ductor works wonders at times. If the piece is exposed a stud remover can work. If broke off recessed, a transfer punch can also be used to center punch the piece accurately for drilling.

If said broke off item is rusty or seized, accurately center punching it and drilling it out may be best bet IME, starting small & going progressively larger. Drilling until you can almost see threads and then using a tap to clean out can work, but doing it well takes experience and it may not be practical, if done wrong and the threads are compromised, a helicoil may be needed.

 

[WittHay]

Wouldn't bother with left hand bits. Drill a hole as accurately as possible for a extractor 1 size smaller than what is required. Its either going to come out easy or its not. If not dont break it and pull out the extractor and drill up 1 size bigger.

Have Proto tapered square , Snap-on SR40K and the Rigid type straight spline with the drill guides. I believe Mac has a set like those. I use the Protos the most.

The Irwin multi splines are good for larger fasteners like broken pipes. Dont use them much for small bolts

 

[bob15]

I have and will use them all if needed: square style, spiral ones and even the ridgid straight style. Sometimes one will work better than another. Next time, it might be the opposite.

If you can, drill the center for an easy out, drill it as a through hole and not just a blind hole. You will have better luck with removal with a through-hole drilled broken fastener.

 

[rsanter]

Left hand drill bits

Drill as centered and straight as you can.
If the left hand drill bit does not back it out, and the extractor does not remove it, then you can keep drilling up in size till you get to the size you would trill to tap that hole.
Many times by drilling straight and centered I have been able to remove the remaining threads with a pick or a tap once I have drilled up to the tapping size

 

[Jbullfrog]

Left-handed bits are the best 1st choice. After that the straight ribbed extractors with the sliding nut are next. I have found that twist in extractors often expand the broken part and make it tighter in the threads. Start investing now, as they are a vast array of choices and having multiple options is always good.

 

[AngryBeaver]

Left hand drill bits do not work and rusted, seized, or cross threaded fastners. Smh. You can always tell the people that don’t work on stuff when they recommend them

Proto squares work well on smaller fasteners. I use the snap on set made by Hanson that are the small spline hex bits. Mac also sell the same kit.

The key is drilling a hole, square and centered.

Do not use any Round long spiral Ezouts unless you want to practice removing broken ezouts.

 

[plinker]

Left hand drill bits do not work and rusted, seized, or cross threaded fastners. Smh. You can always tell the people that don’t work on stuff when they recommend them

Proto squares work well on smaller fasteners. I use the snap on set made by Hanson that are the small spline hex bits. Mac also sell the same kit.

The key is drilling a hole, square and centered.

Do not use any Round long spiral Ezouts unless you want to practice removing broken ezouts.

Umm left hand bits do work, and IME (over ten years truck & equipment mechanic and going on 4 years automotive) Most extractors will not remove seized or rusted hardware without making the situation worse, a left hand bit will still drill however. Welding a nut in some fashion is the best method I've found, but since welding is out, drilling is the best bet (based on given information). It all depends on the situation and trying to diagnose what will be the perfect method over the interwebz instead of seeing the problem in person is flawed.

FWIW, removing broken drill bits is almost as much fun as removing broken extractors.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

IRWIN 53227 (also sold as MAC SCEX25S, Matco SES25) is the set I use at work, and have only twisted the end off of the smallest extractor on a broken grease zerk (that I ended up drilling out and chasing the threads). I ditched my old spiral extractors, and the individual garbage square extractors since they did more harm than good.

About 90% of the time I just center punch, drill out close to the threads and either chisel the "husk" out or chase the threads with a tap or restorer. I know that's not ideal in an automotive setting thanks to everything usually being so cramped (I work on diesel, industrial and construction equipment).

If you do have any extractors or drill bits break off, it's worth keeping some of the carbide tipped masonry bits handy to drill them out. It takes time, but they work wonders.

 

[metaldad]

i have recently bought left handed bits, havent tried yet.
informative video, i have rennsteig, (among others), they perform well for me, surprised how poorly rated they seem to be

 

[Mtlwright]

I use a Snap-On set that I bought years ago (one of those tools worth the cost). It includes the left hand drill bits (tungsten I think) and they can drill almost anything. I personally think left hand drill bits do work if the bolt isn't too rusty or jammed (it is nice when the bit catches and the broken bolt unscrews).

The best method is welding a nut on. If you can't do that, the next best thing prior to drilling and using the extractor is to heat the bolt red hot and let it cool. This is one of the reasons welding a nut on works. The weld itself often isn't that strong but by welding the bolt you heat it and expand it within the hole. This compresses the rust and then it loosens it slightly as it cools. Heating the bolt and letting it cool achieves the same effect prior to using the extractor. Use a welding tip on your oxy acetylene torch for small bolts, not the cutting tip, as you want to heat the bolt itself and the block not as much. The cutting tip will work if the bolt is large enough you can hit the bolt without directly heating the block (depends on the size tips you have of course).

My two cents and good luck.

Bill

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Left hand drill bits do not work and rusted, seized, or cross threaded fastners. Smh. You can always tell the people that don’t work on stuff when they recommend them

Proto squares work well on smaller fasteners. I use the snap on set made by Hanson that are the small spline hex bits. Mac also sell the same kit.

The key is drilling a hole, square and centered.

Do not use any Round long spiral Ezouts unless you want to practice removing broken ezouts.

Uh, yeah, they do work on 5.4 triton manifolds. It's about odds. You HAVE to drill it, to use an internal extractor, right? So why not use a left handed stubby cobalt bit? Sometimes they break things free. If they don't, you have the hole you needed anyways. Internal extractors inherently **** so give them the best odds you can.

Ideally drill one size over the threaded diameter, knock the hang-nail off and clean out the nasty threads. Once you have a dimple in the stud, drill your pilot (measure plunge depth off another hole if possible), and start hogging it out. Tap in maximum sized extractor, and pray.

 

[Tallpilot]

Uh, yeah, they do work on 5.4 triton manifolds. It's about odds. You HAVE to drill it, to use an internal extractor, right? So why not use a left handed stubby cobalt bit? Sometimes they break things free. If they don't, you have the hole you needed anyways. Internal extractors inherently **** so give them the best odds you can.

Ideally drill one size over the threaded diameter, knock the hang-nail off and clean out the nasty threads. Once you have a dimple in the stud, drill your pilot (measure plunge depth off another hole if possible), and start hogging it out. Tap in maximum sized extractor, and pray.

Exactly, the drill is already out because that's step one. So why not try a left handed one. If everything fails and you end up with a broken drill or extractor then the rescue bit comes out. It can even be useful first if you can't get it flush enough to get a good start with the drill.

https://the-original-rescue-bit.myshopify.com/

 

[M635_Guy]

i have recently bought left handed bits, havent tried yet.
informative video, i have rennsteig, (among others), they perform well for me, surprised how poorly rated they seem to be

The guy from Project Farm is awesome

 

[Skin]

Well, as stated the number one method is to weld a sacrificial nut to the end of the remainder of the bolt. It gives you something good to grab, doesn't put outward pressure on the threads like an inserted bolt extractor, and puts a good amount of heat on it too.

Without a welder then the best bolt extractors were Snap-on SR40K. Its a 4pc set of twisted tapered square stock.

After seeing the new MAC RBRT extractors though I suspect they'd be better. Good demo video

MAC has done an atrocious job marketing the RBRT stuff which honestly all looks fantastic.

Welding, left hand bits, and extractors will not work if the threads are galled though. Even if its just corrosion, if its bad enough you'll probably still need heat, penetrating oil, and a good dose of patience.

 

[flyingtpot]

Fantastic kit. Spare parts are readily available and it is made in the States:

https://shop.snapon.com/product/Combination-Extractor-Sets/19-pc-Extractor-Set-(Blue-Point)/E1020

 

[3jakes]

Fantastic kit. Spare parts are readily available and it is made in the States:
https://shop.snapon.com/product/Combination-Extractor-Sets/19-pc-Extractor-Set-(Blue-Point)/E1020

By Ridgid actually, for a lot less $.
(as well as the MAC set)

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=136120&page=23

 

[WittHay]

After seeing the new MAC RBRT extractors though I suspect they'd be better. Good demo video

MAC has done an atrocious job marketing the RBRT stuff which honestly all looks fantastic..

Thanks Skin, I am a regular Mac customer but haven't really noticed this kit. Definitely some thought went into the design with the sliding sleeve

Agreed the way Mac markets the RBRT, it sounds gimmicky. I have tried some triple square and hex. They actually work good. Was talking to a farmer friend whos day job is a Chrysler tech and he really likes the RBRT hex for some Chrysler/Jeep applications

 

[RedneckWelder]

Extractors are a hit or miss (for me usually a miss) and the critical part of extractor use is that if you break that fucker off you will hate life so much. The multispline ones from Irwin are decent. Sometimes the square style work. Sometimes the twisted style work. Key with all of them is do not go cheap.

Heat is your absolute best friend. If you can heat it with a torch to almost melting, let it cool and repeat a couple times it helps. Too bad welding is out of the picture, it’s the only extractor worth a damn.

Fighting the rust bond *****.

And AngryBeaver is absolutely right. If it’s seized by rust or corrosion then a left handed bit probably isn’t going to do anything beyond make your hole.

 

[M635_Guy]

No one said Kroil? Essential, in my book.

At least in the Project Farm testing, Kroil didn't fare well compared to less-expensive options. The Seafoam Deep Creep came out on top IIRC.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Extractors are a hit or miss (for me usually a miss) and the critical part of extractor use is that if you break that fucker off you will hate life so much. The multispline ones from Irwin are decent. Sometimes the square style work. Sometimes the twisted style work. Key with all of them is do not go cheap.

Heat is your absolute best friend. If you can heat it with a torch to almost melting, let it cool and repeat a couple times it helps. Too bad welding is out of the picture, it’s the only extractor worth a damn.

Fighting the rust bond *****.

And AngryBeaver is absolutely right. If it’s seized by rust or corrosion then a left handed bit probably isn’t going to do anything beyond make your hole.

However, since you're drilling anyways, why not?


My last 5.4 Triton manifold a lefty bit pulled out all 4 broken studs. Never happened before, usually 1 it will budge a little, you can feel it in the drill, occasionally you'll partially unscrew one. I'll take any help I can get.

 

[alfazer]

Use the left handed drill inside a self-centering hinge drill. That way the hole dead center and you start drilling a next size bigger without messing up the thread.
Or if you have a lathe, make your own self centering sleeves by drilling a hole up the inside of a bolt. If your fastener is broken down inside the hole, you can screw in your bolt and use it as centering guide. This helps a lot.

 

[MikeF2316]

Use the left handed drill inside a self-centering hinge drill. That way the hole dead center and you start drilling a next size bigger without messing up the thread.
Or if you have a lathe, make your own self centering sleeves by drilling a hole up the inside of a bolt. If your fastener is broken down inside the hole, you can screw in your bolt and use it as centering guide. This helps a lot.

I find that success depend more on getting your hole centered and square than anything you do after this step. The more time you spend before drilling anything, the less time you'll spend overall. I always try to fab up some kind of drill guide that I can bolt or clamp on to guide my drill these days. And as others say, using a left hand drill bit can't hurt, and might help.

 

[Wamsutta]

I've had great success using the Proto tapered square extractors. I recommend using the specified drill bit size or the next 1/64 size smaller.

 

[Jazz1]

Bonus when left hand bit catches the metal as it passes through and spins out the remains of the broken bolt

 

[Skin]

At least in the Project Farm testing, Kroil didn't fare well compared to less-expensive options. The Seafoam Deep Creep came out on top IIRC.

That's because he didn't apply it on the first day of the planetary alignment and let it sit for 33 days while sacrificing a goat to the Kroil God on the 8th hour of the 8th day.


Penetrating oil is useless if you cant break the initial bond. I'll never understand people that attend the church of penetrating oil. I don't have days to wait and see.

This is my penetrant. 100% effective. Either it moves or it melts.

 

[2ndGearRubber]

^ yeah, penetrating oil is mostly for fun, or as a lubricant. Yet I still use it? It's an odd conditioning we accept, threads dry as a bone when the bolt comes out but the penetrating oil somehow helped.

As you said, I don't have time to douse something every 12 hours and lightly tap on it for a week prior to removal. Torches, and inductive heaters for sensitive areas, are the way to go IMO. I don't usually use any penetrating oil removing broken bolts, cutting oil either. IME it just helps the extractor slip, or makes welding less pleasant. Now if you're working something free AFTER breaking it loose, PB Blaster or whatever is nice to have.

 

[MikeF2316]

^ yeah, penetrating oil is mostly for fun, or as a lubricant. Yet I still use it? It's an odd conditioning we accept, threads dry as a bone when the bolt comes out but the penetrating oil somehow helped.

As you said, I don't have time to douse something every 12 hours and lightly tap on it for a week prior to removal. Torches, and inductive heaters for sensitive areas, are the way to go IMO. I don't usually use any penetrating oil removing broken bolts, cutting oil either. IME it just helps the extractor slip, or makes welding less pleasant. Now if you're working something free AFTER breaking it loose, PB Blaster or whatever is nice to have.

I find penetrating oil helps once you get the fastener moving. It also helps to wire brush as much rust off exposed threads first too. But that's only for before you break them.

 

[plinker]

I find penetrating oil helps once you get the fastener moving. It also helps to wire brush as much rust off exposed threads first too. But that's only for before you break them.

+1, I've seen stuff break loose no problem only to get stuck or try to gall on rust build up on the exposed threads. The current favorite spray lube at the shop is a hi temp gel lube w/ teflon. Works really well in conjunction with a mini ductor.

 

[M635_Guy]

That's because he didn't apply it on the first day of the planetary alignment and let it sit for 33 days while sacrificing a goat to the Kroil God on the 8th hour of the 8th day.


Penetrating oil is useless if you cant break the initial bond. I'll never understand people that attend the church of penetrating oil. I don't have days to wait and see.

This is my penetrant. 100% effective. Either it moves or it melts.

Well sure - if you have it (I don't) and you're not in a spot near brake/fuel/rubber lines that won't appreciate the heat...

The Project Farm vid shows (A) it does help (though not magic) and (B) there are definitely some that are sign better than others.

I get that a working shop might or might not have time to screw with it but so much. For me in my DIY home garage, I just pop anything I'm thinking might be a problem the day before and see what happens.

Being in the South and having pretty tidy cars it's not a massive issue for me and the penetrating oil has been enough help.

 

[setfocus]

thought I'd post an update

I got the rebranded Mac extractor set

bolts were 3/8 - 16 and about an inch long, so only about a half inch threaded into the cyl head.

first bolt came out no problem, second not so much.

Spent more time trying to start centered but still somehow failed, so I used the smaller #2 extractor, was worried about drilling into the threads. First the little nut that slides over the extractor bar stripped. Then tried vice grips, the bar didn't break but I did twist it. Gave up and wiggled the bar out, drilled the next size up and the #3 extractor bar. The bar wouldn't grip well enough and spun in the hole. Next I ran a 5/16 drill bit through and then a tap. Bolt fits a little loose but I think it'll do. The rest of the car should fall apart before the Alt/PS bracket breaks again

 

[ihateminimumwage]

...Bolt fits a little loose but I think it'll do. The rest of the car should fall apart before the Alt/PS bracket breaks again

That's what blue Loctite is for.

Good to hear it ended well.