So what happened was I tried to remove the evap cannister from the element and two of the thin bolts that hold it on just snapped off. Getting under there will a drill may be possible, but I'll need some kind of extension to reach up where they broke off and well, they're really thin. I don't want to use heat on them, because I don't know what's under/behind them at the moment. They snapped off fairly flush, too.
I'm debating selling the car because it seems like all of the small bolts on the car are ready to do this. I made I minor mess of the last bolt I tried to drill out, went in a bit off center and wound up having to retap it. I don't want to do that again, and from the looks of it, I'll probably have to go through it a few hundred more times..
Do I just drill them out with a small bit and hope for the best? Farm it out to a garage? I'm really frustrated.
Are they broken inside of a blind hole?
any chance you can get vice grips on them?
If you can reach them with a drill, I've had pretty good luck with the Harbor Freight left hand drill bit set. The remainder of the broken bolt stub usually ends up spinning out with minimal damage to the hole.
Worst case you shove the canister slightly offset of where it ordinarily mounts and run a couple of zip screws through to hold it in place. You'd just need to offset it enough so your screws didn't go into the broke off bolts.
If you twisted the heads off of them, there is no ez out solution. Drilling and using a screw extractor will only result in a broken screw extractor stuck in the hole.
Really.
If you are really handy with a welder, you can weld a nut to the remains and work it out, but I get the idea that's not a solution. So, if it's not super important or a heavy load, drill as close to the center as possible. If you get terribly lucky, you can drill it out and leave the threads, but that won't happen. So, drill it and tap it to 1/4 inch, or 8mm, and use the required bolt. Or, buy some self drilling screws of the appropriate size and use them. All depends on the access you have.
I twisted the heads off of them. I'll get a picture tomorrow.
Sounds like the Element sources their 6mm bolts from Subaru. You look at one wrong and they snap off. I have a set of left hand extractors for a reason. Other option is ream out the hole larger diameter and go up in diameter.
You will not extract them. The bolt head broke off because it wasn't stronger than the rust locking the threads in place, there is no way any tool is going to have a better chance.
Drill and tap. Centerpunching is key. I love my hyperstep drill bits for this sort of thing because they do NOT walk, they drill exactly where you want them to. Drill and tap for 6mm. Even if you are a little off center, it's okay, we're not talking about a highly precise hole you are locating.
To be honest I am amazed that the bolt heads were hex-shaped enough to allow you to have enough torque to break them.
Are these the hyperstep drill bits you speak of? Getting a good center punch on a broken off bolt seems to be about 75% of the battle for me, so it looks like these may do the trick.
I'm voting on grind flat (if you can) redrill and retap what's there, straight through the broken bolt if needed.
Tack weld another nut on top of where they broke off that you can thread a bolt into, or (carefully) drill another two holes and use a riv-nut, or just zip-tie it out of the way. I've had some luck drilling M6s out and leaving enough threads to reuse blind holes in this situation, but mixed results.
dj06482 (Forum Supporter) said:
Are these the hyperstep drill bits you speak of? Getting a good center punch on a broken off bolt seems to be about 75% of the battle for me, so it looks like these may do the trick.
Yes they are. You still need to center punch but after that, they feel like you're cheating. Even drilling through hardened bolts, they make fountains of chips.
In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :
Thank You! They're not cheap, but I do have enough drilling here in the rust belt that they'd probably pay for themselves over time.
