Bad words were said........

As part of my disassembly of all things on the interior of the Jeep prior to spraying it with bedliner, I removed the front and rear seat belts that were looking pretty worn anyways and will either be refurbished or replaced. I decided to take up the rear seat mount brackets, so that the floor could be properly sprayed and I would sand and spray paint (black) the seat mounts.

All was going well until the last damn bolt (see pic below), the head and about 1/4 of the bolt broke off, leaving the rest of the threads in the hole. The first thing I did was spray the bolt with WD-40 and then recalling my Dad and I breaking off a bolt for a valve cover many moons ago, I got out my drill and EZ Out bolt extractor thinking I was a genius, if only my Dad could see me.....

Check out the second picture of the broken extractor and the damn bolt still stubbornly in the hole. I decided to call it a day rather than do something stupid.

My plan is to go back out there with a small chisel and try to tap out the extractor pieces, then drill the bolt all the way through. Any other better suggestions are welcome.

Bob

 

Further drilling is a good plan since the extractor failed. Perhaps some heat will assist. Probably to be expected for the age and corrosion welding.

 

a 2" pneumatic angle grinder with cut off wheels - your new friend.

trust me - you will use it again and again. Get it tonight and stop jerking around.

FYI - an easy out is harder than a wedding dix (tool) - drilling is not easy.

 

I plan on examining the bolt from underneath and get a coat of WD-40 on it from top and bottom. I'm hopeful that I can chisel out the EZ Out remnants and continue to drill it out.

The issue I'm now having is that bolt (Mopar part # 6507346AA) is discontinued and I haven't had any luck finding it so far.

 

So I just went back out the driveway to assess my situation and I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that the remnants of that EZ Out extractor are not gonna move, they are in their pretty darn tight. That means the likelihood of me drilling it out is next to nil, although if push comes to shove, I will give it a shot.

The good news is that I measured the bolts and they are 1 1/4" long from the top of the head to the bottom of the threads. The piece that broke off is 5/8 of an inch, which mean that there is another 5/8 of an inch in the floor bolt. I went underneath to spray some WD-40 on it and it appears that there is about 3/16 -1/4 inch of threads showing, which means if math is correct, there is less than 1//4 of both still threaded. I think I might be able to get my vise grips on the bolt and trying unscrewing it from underneath, its tight, but what choice do I have.

 

Sometimes you get a lucky break! You might be able to grab that bolt from underneath if there are no obstacles. Here's a caliper bolt broken in a caliper slide pin that loosened with nearly no cuss words.

 

That's awesome you were blessed by the Jeep gods.

I will be out there tomorrow swearing up a storm but I have faith that the WD-40 will work some magic overnight.

 

instead of WD40 i use PB Blaster I am sure there are other rust/penetrating sprays more task specific than WD40. Just a thought as you begin the project.

 

Thread and pitch and diameter is all you need for any bolt

 

PB blaster definitely better I use it to free up stuck condenser fan motor shafts. Trust me when I tell you no bolt on a Jeep gets as rusted on as the set screw on a cond. fan motor

 

Denton nut and bolt will have it . I have never struck out there. Now the drive to come get it sucks lol

 

Well, PB Blaster is great but it did not work any magic overnight. More bad words were said but the remains of the bolt are stubbornly stuck. No amount of twisting and turning with two different vice grips will loosen this bad boy. I did give up on drilling since the part showing is the broken off bit of the hardened steel extractor that broke off in the previous hole that I drilled.

Rather than make things worse, I have given up for now. I will go back and try another day, but I have plenty to do on this "project" to occupy my time.

 

TJ_abuser is it safe to assume you could be our AC guru?

 

AC guru?

 

Could you possibly drill the bolt out from the bottom? Start with a small drill bit for a pilot hole then progressively move on to some larger drill bits. If you dont drill the whole bolt out thats ok. Just heat it up red hot with a MAP gas torch and grab ahold of it with vise-grips and turn it out. Ive had to do this several times on our equipment at work.

 

If you're going to leave it for a while keep spraying it. Time may help.

 

My thoughts and hopes too!

 

Im with Alex (@boondoc89 ), drill it from the bottom. I also wouldn't be all that worried about messing up the threads as it appears you have enough access to drop a bolt down and put a nut on it.

 

I may try drilling from the bottom again, it is a bit of a trick to get the drill up there between the muffler, the shock tube, the coil spring and the frame. I felt like a contortionist today.

 

Did you come up with anything to get the bolt out??