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Broken header bolt

Discussion in 'Tech' started by cincykid, Jan 29, 2021.

  1. cincykid

    cincykid Well-Known Member

    2013 gsxr 600. Snapped the head of one of the header bolts. Its flush with the motor. Drilled a hole and the f'in extractor broke off in it. Now I am STUCK. Tried using a dremel to grind inside of it it down to see if I could go deep that way to no avail. Any suggestions? If you live near Cincinnati and think you can get it out Ill bring bike to you and pay you to do it. I am truly lost for how to get it out.
     
  2. JCW

    JCW Well-Known Member

    most machine shops will do it for you...
     
  3. IrocRob

    IrocRob Well-Known Member

    I had a similar issue a few months ago. I ended up buying 3 sets of cheap diamond grit dremel bits.
    These allowed me to grind on the broken extractor until it came out and then grind on the broken bolt
    until it came out. Basically grinding out the body of the bolt until it had no strength, and picking it out
    bit by bit. It took a lot of time, but it worked.

    If I have to do that again I will splurge on quality bits instead of the cheap amazon crap.
     
  4. dudutzu

    dudutzu Well-Known Member

    Did the stud brake upon removal or install?
    The only other option that has a decent success rate is welding a nut to the broken stud.
     
    racepro171 likes this.
  5. backho

    backho Well-Known Member

    I’ve seen this movie many times. I don’t know why they’re called extractors . They rarely work as they tend to expand the stud/bolt especially in the smaller sizes. Best to bite the bullet and remove the engine and EDM the broken extractor. You’re only going to make a bad situation worse by going at it without proper equipment.
     
    TurboBlew likes this.
  6. Kurlon

    Kurlon Well-Known Member

    Steel/iron stud in an aluminum block, can't you chemically eat the stud out of the block without touching the aluminum?
     
  7. Spitz

    Spitz Well-Known Member

    Drilling is always a last resort to me, even when flush or below we weld a nut onto the stud for removal.
     
  8. tony 340

    tony 340 Well-Known Member

    Reverse direction Carbide drill bits. The real ones.

    Spray PB blaster on it every morning and every night for a week prior. Aero kroil is even better if you can find it,
     
  9. cincykid

    cincykid Well-Known Member

    Im not going to pull the motor out. I bought a couple diamond tip dremel bits and ill give it one more try myself, if that doesnt work then I am going to try to find a welder to do the welding trick where they build the weld out and attach a bolt head. I was backing the header bolts out and had a longer ratchet handle so I should have used a shorter one to feel more of the torque to know to stop cranking on it before it snapped. FWIW it did start backing out sort of "jumping" and literally right when I thought, let me stop for a second it popped off. Just my luck. Thanks for all of the suggestions!!
     
  10. ducnut

    ducnut Well-Known Member

    Weld a nut to the stud. YouTube it, if you need to. But, it’s the most common way to get broken studs out of LS heads.
     
  11. Spitz

    Spitz Well-Known Member

    Gonna make it worse by digging at it. Leave as much material there as you can or welding is not going to be an option. That and the weld has to centered or if its not it will bind on the hole as you turn it out and cause problems.
     

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