Removing this broken bolt...
 

So I was reassembling my Harley motor a few weeks ago and one of the cheap case bolts snapped off on me inside the engine. I was only torquing to 35 ft/lbs and the thing snapped before it snugged down.

Well the problem is two fold here. First the broken end is about 2 to 2 1/2 inches into the case. And second is that the threads have red Loctite on them which is near impossible to break free. Most of the guys on the Harley forum I frequent suggest disassembling the engine and splitting the cases to gain easier access, however I don't want to go that route.

Here is what I'm thinking...my buddy has a machine shop and is going to drill a 1/8 hole straight through the center of piece of threaded rod for me. I'm going to use this rod as a pilot for drilling the broken bolt directly on center. I'll use a reverse drill bit and hope that by some luck during the drilling process it loosens the broken section and backs it out. Maybe the heat generated by drilling will loosen up the Loctite? If I drill through it and it doesn't come out I might try dropping a soldering iron into the hole if it fits and heat it up like that to loosen the bond.

If that fails I guess I can try to keep drilling the hole bigger and either pull out the fragments or retap it for another size bolt.

Anyone have any other suggestions besides pulling the whole motor apart??

I have heard that you can use Acetone or some methylene chloride (MEK) to weaken or dissolve loctite but I've never done it myself.

can you weld a nut to it?

No....it's recessed 2-3 inches into the engine case

Two suggestions: Contact LocTite and ask if there is a simple solvent to free the bolt from the Red LocTite. I'd also Google for info on Red Loctite to see if there are "non-proprietary methods" for dealing with Red LocTite.

Secondly, based on lots of experience with "doing things the easy way", I'd split the case to make access to the bolt more direct. This would lessen the chance of doing tangental damage while dealing with the broken bolt. Just my way of looking at the problem- yours may be different.

Good luck!

No solvent for the Loctite. Some people say acetone helps other say it doesn't.

As for doing it the "easy way". Yes the absolute proper way would be to disassemble the engine and get it out but again I'd rather not. My reverse drillbit idea didn't work last night because the reverse bit I wanted to use wasn't long enough to reach the bolt. I used my pilot tool that my friend made and was able to drill a 1/8 hole all the way through the broken off piece that's still in the case. It went in almost perfectly straight...I think it's going slightly upwards.

After that I realized the rest of my bits at home are pretty dull. I'm going to pick up a few more fresh ones tonight on the ride home and see if a larger reverse bit may be long enough to reach the bolt now that I've got my hole started. Hoping to either pull it out with the reverse bit still or to keep stepping up my drill bit size until I can break apart what remains in the hole without gumming up the threads.

Sooooo........... I was able to get most of the old bolt out except for maybe 1/8 inch. That puts me a good 3/4 or more into the other case. The hole I drilled ended up being just slightly larger than the original so I'm going to have to tap it for the next size bolt. I started tapping it but I'm going to need a longer tap.

They make long taps but besides the internet does anyone know where to get one? Lowes/Home Depot doesn't carry them.

Was looking for something local Bill but I'll keep them in mind.

McMaster has a location on rt 130


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Thanks for the info guys.

Actually found a place much closer to me that has what I need. Gonna pick it up tomorrow and hopefully finish fixing this fubar. All my new chrome engine pieces should be here by then too so I can finish my assembly and get it in the bike in the next week.

Sounds like you pulled an OCC! :lol:

MCMaster car is where my work gets their bits and taps. They usually deliver the same day