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Stuck bolt broke off

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  #1  
Old 03-24-2018 | 03:35 PM
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Default Stuck bolt broke off

managed to break the head of a bolt as it for stuck advancing it into a threaded hole on my swing arm. There's about a quarter inch sticking out. Do I dare try a speed out or is there a better way?
 
  #2  
Old 03-24-2018 | 03:56 PM
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Weld a nut onto it and back it out or grab it with a vice grips (a quality one not a wal-mart cheapie). I would do that before drilling and possible messing up the threads.
 

Last edited by Ed Ramberger; 03-24-2018 at 03:57 PM.
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  #3  
Old 03-24-2018 | 04:08 PM
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I agree with trying vice grips. Before you do, spray the bolt with PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench or some other penetrating oi, then let it soak for a while.
 
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Old 03-24-2018 | 05:27 PM
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Originally Posted by matte
managed to break the head of a bolt as it for stuck advancing it into a threaded hole on my swing arm. There's about a quarter inch sticking out. Do I dare try a speed out or is there a better way?
I ditched my bike last fall and sheared off one of the shock bolts that bolts into the swing arm so I was kinda in the same boat as you.

If want to to read the whole story here's a link to the thread;
https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...-look-for.html




Here's the part of thread where I had to deal with the broken bolt;

The bitch of everything as expected was the broken shock mount bolt.
It was easy to see that it was next to impossible to get the broken bolt out of the swing arm without taking the swing arm off.

I did some research and by all accounts taking the swing arm off didn't seem to be that difficult so I went for it.
I was able to get the swing arm off in a couple of hours and that was with me taking my time.

Once the swing arm was off I saturated the broken bolt with PB Blaster and let it sit overnight.
BTW, the bolt broke off about an 1/8 of a inch inside the swing arm so I knew I was not going to be able to use a chisel and tap it out.

The next morning I went to Lowes and got an EX-5 easy-out bit/extractor for $7. (EX-5 is what Irwin recommends for a 1/2" bolt)
I started out by drilling a small hole in the broken bolt and then incrementally increased the drill bit size until I got to the size needed for the EX-5 extractor.

During my research of easy-out use was the consistent advice to not be in a hurry and force the drill bits.
If you break off a drill bit, the job just got a lot harder.

I tapped in the extractor and heated up the swing arm mount.
Then SLOWLY started to turn the extractor counterclockwise and to my joy the bolt started to turn out.
A couple of minutes later the bolt was out.

A couple of days later my shock mount bolts arrived.
About 2 hours later the rear end was back together.


Good luck--
 
  #5  
Old 03-24-2018 | 05:41 PM
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  #6  
Old 03-24-2018 | 06:16 PM
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Yup that thing is lodged in there. Can't drill or anything. Will try that last option tomorrow. Was hoping to have this back together. Cold weather probably doesn't help either.
 
  #7  
Old 03-24-2018 | 06:27 PM
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A pic of where it is?
 
  #8  
Old 03-24-2018 | 07:15 PM
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Originally Posted by QC
A pic of where it is?
Here's what I am kind of stuck with.
 
Attached Thumbnails Stuck  bolt broke off-img_1332.jpg   Stuck  bolt broke off-img_1330.jpg   Stuck  bolt broke off-img_1326.jpg  
  #9  
Old 03-24-2018 | 07:19 PM
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Die grinder, cut a slot for a screw driver?
 
  #10  
Old 03-24-2018 | 07:35 PM
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Originally Posted by Hoginedgewood
Die grinder, cut a slot for a screw driver?
I have a feeling it is too off-tread to get enough force with a flat head. Gonna try an extractor in the morning.
 


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