Broken header bolt...what else is new?

[Abaddon]

Since many have had this happen I'm hoping someone has an idea. My drivers side front header bolt is broken. It was broken before I even began this project. It looks like the bolt was poorly made and had a defect. It was broken since day one, it seems. It never leaked but I had to trust it without fixing it. It doesn't appear I can get a drill in there to drill it out. There's also no excess bolt sticking out to get a pair of vise-grips on it. Anyone had any suggestions? I know machine shops do this kinda thing all the time. How do they do this? Should I just try to do it myself or take it to a machine shop and pay through the nose? And yes...I did a search. :(

[HaroZC]

Re: Broken header bolt...what else is new?

there is an old school trick, i've seen before, but you need to be a very good welder, just weld a piece of rod or a bolt to the broken bolt and unscrew it, sound easy but need to take a good care!

[Abaddon]

Re: Broken header bolt...what else is new?

Wouldn't work for me. The bolt was broken off about 2mm inside the head. No way to get on to the end of it. What's weird is the piece of the bolt that is still attached to the nut seems to have had a bubble in the steel and that caused the weakness that broke it. I just hate to trust the header seal to the remaining bolts.

[splitplug]

Re: Broken header bolt...what else is new?

Same exact bolt was broken on my car, but there was enough sticking out that I was able to remove it. You might still be able to get the welding method to work though. Ask around at a couple of shops...

[Christopherrr]

Re: Broken header bolt...what else is new?

Impossible to remove without the engine out...same thing happened here. Shock towers are the way...

[vr4gasm]

Re: Broken header bolt...what else is new?

can you not get to it and drill it out with a right angle drill?

[Abaddon]

Re: Broken header bolt...what else is new?

can you not get to it and drill it out with a right angle drill?

Not sure if I'd be able to get enough pressure on it. I'll know more once I get the manifolds completely out of the car. I needed to get a deep socket to get on the other nuts. I spent about an hour just getting the heat shield off. :)