Broken Bolt Removal in Jeep Cylinder Head

We'll remove a broken and seized bolt from a Jeep 2.5L cylinder head. #brokenbolt #knockerloose #threadrepair #crcauto
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[@tomoakhill8825]

My wife worked in the Oldsmobile engine factory for two years. I worked in the building that shared a wall with it. We had the same shift but our breaks were at different times. It was perfectly OK for me to visit her during my break. Near her station the raw head-casting entered the machining line. This was before 3-axis CNC machines such as Adam has. It was a 1,000 foot long line of machine tools, side-by-side. The flat Adam is measuring at 5:40 is the very first cut made. This is the Master Reference Surface, from which all other machining ops are referenced and indicated. The milling machine line was all automatic, with the blocks moved from one machine to another by primitive robots. Every machined surface you see in this head block was done, one-after-another, without human intervention. The Master Reference Surface can be identified by the fact that there is no bolt hole. It is entirely smooth, which is what the Master Reference Surface must be.

[@Conservator.]

That’s interesting to read. Tx!

[@dave.of.the.forrest]

"primitive robots" a pic of robots wearing bearskins popped into my head 🤣

[@Conservator.]

@@dave.of.the.forrest 🤣

[@carlhitchon1009]

@@dave.of.the.forrest I think I saw that once in National Geographic.

[@bertgrau3934]

I have found if a head has 3 thousandths warp, go ahead and have it milled. When I have rebuilt my own engines, I always have the head and block milled. Start with a good flat surface.

[@dadillacultralimited4059]

The sound of thread peeling out is SO satisfying!!!!!

[@MayhemMotorsportsPensacola]

Appreciate the help as usual. Nobody else Id rather use. I know the job will be done right!!

[@Abom79]

Thanks Phil! 👍🏻

[@mohabatkhanmalak1161]

You can get that bow in the center removed by placing a sheet of medium grit emery paper on a flat surface like a pane glass and working the head in a quater circular motion - with the center of the head as center and still - about 8 times then switching to fine grit about 2 - 3 times. Then turn it around and work the other end. The movement should be one way, lift and repeat, not to and fro. This should flatten the head and the gasket should make it as good as new.

[@MayhemMotorsportsPensacola]

@@mohabatkhanmalak1161 if this was something more than a basic Jeep engine or if it used a metal head gasket I would of taken further action. The Jeep came in running perfectly with no water, oil, or exhaust leaking thru the head gasket so I knew it would be ok.

[@silasmarner7586]

Isn't your company's name "Heyman Motorsports Pensacola"? hah hah hah!

[@nickwarner8158]

I would second that call. They had a pretty decent amount of warp they would tolerate. Plus the torque sequence starts in the center working outward which can correct a couple thousandths in itself and the gasket takes up the rest. Its not a high compression engine and you could time the vehicle with a calendar at the dragstrip. I would run it as it is. @@MayhemMotorsportsPensacola

[@youtubiuttoni]

We miss broken bolt videos. Just so you know…

[@andycropley5486]

This ⬆️

[@imtheeastgermanguy5431]

You can watch also Eric O. From "south main auto " he does great stuff in the past videos

[@fabricancustoms]

And I lose patience with those who complain that he never does this anymore. He does a LOT of new things, which is exciting and cool, but he throws back to his roots and does these videos once in a while. They do get kinda repetitive though, which is why I like his new content just as much

[@imtheeastgermanguy5431]

@@fabricancustoms I guess it's rather the repair vibe. Back to good condition or even possible to use it again

[@danielnack6812]

Broke a bolt off last night in aluminum. Learned from you to stop and not try anything more. Took it to a machine shop and 20 minutes later I was on my way.

[@Aaron-zu3xn]

tea candles are what they use on forklifts and stuff give it a try you melt the wax with a torch and it gets in there better than penetrating oil spray

[@dalee.mccombs8571]

I love watching you remove broken bolts. The easy ones are always welcome but the toughies are the most interesting to watch and I expect the most satisfying when accomplished. Thanks for the educational videos!

[@jameskilpatrick7790]

The day in, day out job shop work, like this broken bolt, is where the magic is. I've seen Adam do maybe 5-10 of these, over the years. Some were easy, some way harder, but every one was a case where an experienced machinist saved somebody a big headache. There'll always be a place in the world for a local job shop.

[@rollinrat4850]

On expensive parts you cant afford cant afford to scrap, machining out broken bolts is the safest method and you can do it without damaging the parent material. OR its easy to install a thread insert afterwards if there's damage.

[@dennistennyson8856]

Don't you just love how the "Hey man" customer always cleans up their stuff ?

[@JohnBare747]

Always good when someone has the good sense to not mess with a broken bolt and turn it over to the professional bolt extracting man who will appreciate the lack of pecker tracks from someone screwing around with it, as Keith Fennner would say.

[@stevelinkous6030]

Very satisfying to see you pulling the remaining bolt thread out with the needle nose pliers. Great video on broken bolts. Thanks Adam!

[@danmooney7192]

Adam, I see that you're becoming a member of the "Gray Beard Club" Welcome brother welcome!

[@Abom79]

The wife loves it

[@theshop90]

Not so fun when you join that club before 30 and the 'no hair on top' club at 24

[@Bill_N_ATX]

@@theshop90I used to tell folks I didn’t mind my hair turning gray but I did mind when it turned loose.

[@jouna84]

My kids mentioned the grey ones for me few years back..i just told them, that i can’t help it, because i have to live with you 😂😂

[@SouthwestD313]

@@theshop90 Lol, I've been going bald since 7th grade. I am now a member of the salt and curry beard. i joined about 6 years ago at 40.

[@ScarletImp]

Hey, you there, fifteen years from now who is looking for this exact video for their Jeep 2.5L issue. Hope you get it fixed! This guy's video is helpful.

[@MayhemMotorsportsPensacola]

I got the jeep up and running the same day!

[@proberts34]

15 years from now. Now THAT's some forward thinking. 😃

[@brettbuck7362]

@@MayhemMotorsportsPensacola I am surprised that the intake/exhaust side of the head was straight enough to seal.

[@MayhemMotorsportsPensacola]

@@brettbuck7362 the header is not a single flange so it is able to contour to the head.

[@carlhitchon1009]

@@proberts34 I'd call it wishful thinking, but maybe it's going to be kept in a garage.

[@ronnydowdy7432]

❤ Excellent surgical procedures to remove all of the broken bolt thread in 1 slinky piece. I definitely enjoyed watching this episode.

[@danh.4995]

Thank you for posting this video. It inspired me to extract a broken bleeder from a brake caliper rather than buying a new one. "What would abom do?" Is my new motto :)

[@blacksheep25251]

I've worked on Jeeps and have faced this. Whatever you charged him is NOT ENOUGH.. The happiness of getting a head back without the bolt and threads cleaned up... Worth it!!

[@rollinrat4850]

An engineer friend of mine designed and built his own sinker EDM to make his own gun parts. Its a portable machine that sits on a bench top. I broke old bell housing bolts when I rebuilt the 20 year old transmission from my 4wd rock crawler. He brought the machine over to my house and we burned out a 14mm bolt in about 15 minutes after the set up. Super slick machine! Afterwards, the electrode was still ok, so we burned another hole through a 1" cobalt tool bit in about 20 minutes just for fun! Ive removed lots of broken bolts, using both old school mechanics /garage hack methods and using machine tools in a professional machine shop. Broken bolts have become a nice little side business in my retirement. On expensive parts you cant risk scrapping, carefully machining out broken bolts is the safest method. Ive done this on pieces worth in excess of $100K. You can charge a lot of money for work such as that.

[@999torino]

Such satisfaction to know you nailed the center when you can peel the threads like that.

[@kevinzucco8358]

Great example of how to remove a broken bolt. People always preach about welding a nut on but it's not always an option. Working in a tool room it's common for me to deal with 6-32 and 8-32 broken screws. Dealing with small fasteners best bet is to drill out to tap size. Thanks for the informative video.

[@Bob_Adkins]

And hope the broken screw is softer than the parent metal, and hope your drill doesn't walk.

[@Sicktrickintuner]

@@Bob_Adkins Yep that is usually the worst ones, steel bolt corroded to an aluminum housing. And drilling is only good with an end mill to clean it up. Even then it’s only 50% success rate. These cast iron manifolds are easy cake to do, weld doesn’t stick to it.

[@rollinrat4850]

We milled out 2-56 and 0-80 broken taps with a better than 80% success rate in very rare, expensive and exotic materials. The parts we saved were worth multiple thousands of dollars. We had custom end mills on hand ground to minor diameter of our common thread sizes. Carbide endmills, max rpm (on tiny holes) full flood coolant, handle down in .0001" increments. Crank it down and pray the tool doesnt break! 🙏

[@millwrightrick1]

​@@Bob_Adkins I found that hardened bolts such as Allen head screws or bolts are easy to remove with just a punch and a hammer. Get it to turn and the come out easily.

[@SmokyRibsBBQ]

You make that look easy Adam, but the right tools are a must. I didn't even know they made a left hand drill bit LOL

[@ke9tv]

You can even pick up cheap left-hand drills at Horror Fright. They come in a package with the E-Z-Outs.

[@rollinrat4850]

@@ke9tvWhats size is the smallest LH drill?

[@ke9tv]

@@rollinrat4850 The cheap Harbor Freight kit that I have has a limited selection. I'm sure the manufacturers make them in all sorts of sizes, but I've never looked. Most of the kits start at 5/64. What I have is LH bits and extractors that are marked: Bit: 5/64 Extractor: #1 Screws #10 to 1/4 or M5-M6 Bit: 1/8 Extractor: #2 Screws 1/4 to 5/16 or M6-M8 Bit: 5/32 Extractor: #3 Screws 5/16 to 7/16 or M8-M11 Bit: 1/4 Extractor: #4 Screws 7/16 to 9/16 or M11-M14 Bit: 19/64 Extractor: #5 Screws 9/16 to 3/4 or M14-M19 You have to start with a center drill or spotting drill, then step up through these sizes one at a time until you are up to the size you need, and then run in the extractor. You also have to apply penetrant at least a half-hour before you start. If you can't get the part on a mill, the easiest way to start the center is with a transfer punch that just barely fits the hole. But with a sharp eye and a steady hand, you can probably get it centered well enough. Turning the extractors with power will be a bad day. Use a tap wrench on them. A lot of times you don't have to use the extractors because the cutting forces from the drill will unscrew the bolt. I'm sure that Adam would tell you don't use this sh*t, call a real machinist and get the job done right. But sometimes half-arsed is good enough. I've pulled at least a few broken bolts with these. I think the smallest was a #12, but it looks as if they could do a #10.

[@rollinrat4850]

@@ke9tv Thanks friend. Ive removed lots of bolts and even broken taps as a machinist . Im looking for a cheap easy source for LH drills. Harbor Fright is really close by. I was just there a few days ago for some disposable tools!

[@randywl8925]

I love the way you leveled the head then accurately centered the hole. Being accurate wasn't so important providing that the left hand drill trick worked, but in the case that plan A did NOT work, it allowed you to continue drilling using the tap drill size. Nice procedure. 👍

[@alex4alexn]

i love broken bolt removals and engines fixes so much. I just like seeing all the different ways you throw at it

[@barryram2605]

Always good to see someone who's respecting and taking care of his tools.

[@bocan3189]

Absolutely a surgical thread removal...dayummm! Can feel the love you put into your work Adam.

[@Das_Beachy]

Am I the only one who would love to see some kind of collab between Abom and Kurtis at Cutting Edge Engineering

[@tjones99]

You certainly aren't the only one that watches EVERY video of both...

[@stuartschaffner9744]

Nice work! People who can do well with both CNC machining and traditional techniques and have the mental flexibility to know when to use each get my greatest respect.

[@CarlHargreavesRustyRelicsUK]

Instead of "Hey Man" I usually get "can you Just ...."

[@mikebeacom4883]

Closely followed by “I got a really SIMPLE job…”

[@jamesspallinger938]

Just a little 5 minute job....

[@rolandtaylor6534]

I'd do it myself but I don't have time

[@BruceBoschek]

Very satisfying, as always. I've seen you remove a dozen broken bolts, I bet, and it's always got me sitting on the edge of my chair. Thanks, Adam. We appreciate the efforts you make to pass on your experience and expertise.

[@st3althyone]

It was very satisfying watching you peel that sliver of bolt out of the hole, Adam. It’s good to see you get back to basics on these small projects, it’s what got you here. I hope to see more of this and you working on some of the old machines. Get back to basics. Take care of yourself.

[@randallparker8477]

The 1st video I found of yours was the BIG stuff... I was hooked. Over the years some of the things you have done have amazed me, but your video work, even in the beginning was well done and always entertained and educated us all. That spring you dug out of those threads was as good as med school level A/V for surgery instruction. You are a PRO in many aspects of your work and content. BRAVO!

[@davidgillettuk9638]

Nice job 👍 Such an everyday problem for us mortals out here and being shown how to it the right way is a real blessing. Thank you Adam.

[@thetrevor861]

Wooaarrr ! Peeling the thread out of the screwhole... That must have been SO satisfying ! ! Masterclass - as always, thank you.

[@docokd7oco443]

My personal favorite is 'hay man, can you....?'

[@jacquesdeschenes6449]

And then they say, did I how you something? Seen it, oh my...

[@clydecessna737]

Wonderful quality of photography. Thank you.

[@tomnugent845]

Adam, so nice to see a pro with the proper tools make a difficult job look easy. Keep it up.

[@mattwaters6987]

Excellent video. Definite satisfaction getting the last of the broken bolt removed. Nicely done. 👌

[@davgregeric]

Classic Abom. Enjoyed!

[@MadsFilholm]

Always loved your outro, and love the picture of 3 generations of machinists. Good Video Adam.

[@robrobitaille4235]

Nicely done! Every time I watch your videos, I learn a ton. You definitely are a master at your craft. Thank you.

[@Slithey7433]

Excellent video. I’m envious of your shop, your equipment, your skill, and your dad. 😊

[@stavrosxan]

Hey Adam, for 4 cylinder cast iron head with pushrods maximum allowed out of flat is 4 thousands so this is on limit.

[@Isarddubois]

I would have this machined. It's a lot more work trying to fix a problem after assembling the motor again..

[@djmips]

Yeah, but maybe the customer is on a budget

[@mshroomguy]

An absolute joy to watch you work. Felt so good to see what was left of that bolt come out.

[@chuckcross1546]

A very professional job. !! Thanks for sharing your knowledge!!

[@GavinM161]

VERY satisfying watching the remaining thread from the bolt coming out.

[@victoryfirst2878]

Nice work Adam. Looks like you made things happen. Keep up the great work fella.

[@donhoffman3206]

Good video, 5 Star. My 1970 Cadillac has the 2 left rear exhaust manifold bolts broken off like yours inside the head. But as a low buck temporary repair I installed 2 C-clamps then torqued the forward bolts along with a new gasket....it works! No leak, no noise! One day when I get rich I'll pull the heads.

[@AlexeiTetenov]

Thanks for sharing!

[@angelramos-2005]

Great project,Adam.Thank you.

[@trunip190]

Watching you peel out the remains of that bolt will always be satisfying.

[@markmonroe7330]

Excellent presentation. Thank you. Really nice work.

[@h276wah7]

I love that 'hey man' thing... In the UK we have 'could you just...'

[@charlieromeo7663]

Hey man jobs are everywhere! I do a lot of broken bolt removals for local guys. I remind them all the time to bring it straight to me and don’t try to remove it themselves. The last one was a broken bolt in a 9 inch Ford style spool from the ring gear. My buddy watched me do the job and was impressed that we got it out without a scratch in the spool bolt hole bore. It’s all about finding the center. Nice job.

[@firstname5437]

Very satisfying to watch. Excellent work.

[@richardjones3112]

Love these videos. Great camera work.Thankyou 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

[@oldguy4833]

Adam - always great to see patience and expertise at work and you have both in abundance - it's what keeps me watching !!!

[@Abom79]

Thanks 👍

[@zadrik1337]

I work on computers and networks. You get "hay man" calls in my line of work as well.

[@karlpron]

And there are no "guaranteed to work" methods either.

[@johnnyb3987]

Man, you nailed that thing DEAD center. Awesome work as always.

[@richardclifton4120]

That was an excellent approach to the broken bolt. I am no machinist, but you did an excellent job at removing and then chasing the threads to ensure they were clean. I have had bolts get stuck, but I used simple methods such as easyouts for the bolt removal. The threads were still intact and it was just a weakened bolt that broke off. I have also used Knocker Loose, and it works for penetration and likely helped you when you peeled the old threads out.

[@dawoodk103]

Young man you are a " PRO "

[@SuperDave21]

Great video Adam, well done!

[@terminalpsychosis8022]

Yup, the scene unwinding the broken thread was very satisfying. Great sound effects too.

[@garypoplin4599]

I do not have a Facebook Bash account and I’m not a Twit. KZbin is the only antisocial media I use (in spite of some of the disgusting advertising content we’re forced to watch just to get to something useful: I always have my finger/mouse pointer poised over the skip button). If you can ignore the trolls, there’s a lot of great content here. Thanks for adding what may turn out to be the best bbr technique to my arsenal. I hope to find your other bbr videos for comparison. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and skill.

[@KevinSPeace]

we always went by Fel-pro recommendations for head gasket sealing surfaces ... 1thou per cylinder, so, according to that, your 4thou should be right at the top end of warpage for a multi-layer metal head gasket from Fel-pro and I will add that I know we ran with worse when we were young and dumb! LOLOLOL :). Great Video! Love your attention to detail on jobs like this and not just pull the 'let er rip tater chip techniques'!

[@VWLIKEWHOA]

That's a nice method and great work. I usually just weld a nut to the broken bolt and it comes out pretty easily.

[@jjc882011]

You make it look very easy.

[@A65Bill]

Great video thanks. I did straight edge check on an aluminium head, all the "experts" say must be skimmed. It's 50+ years since I first did one so a proper specialist just polished it flat for me. It was still good 100k miles later.

[@propulsar]

Good precision work and great pictures!

[@mftmachining]

Very good job, Adam.

[@jameskim62]

VERY NICE WORK !!!!!!!!~~~~~~~~~

[@jimmyboles3409]

Great video, thanks Adam

[@1903A3shooter]

HEY MAN, that was fun to watch!.

[@MichaelBrowning-yf3cn]

So satisfying

[@blairguinea6811]

maestro............thankyou Sir.....................so much class

[@aaronmurciano4738]

a single thread, beautiful

[@veno8mm]

Always gonna break out your favorite pair of eyecrometers to get those Heyman jobs done.

[@jonathanbaxter5821]

“eyecrometers”. nice. The way that thread peeled, ABom’s were a lot better than the 10 thou he was looking for.

[@Phantom0309]

Excellent work Adam

[@cmcg7673]

You're right about nothing be guaranteed with one exception, the ones that are the most difficult are the ones needed yesterday.

[@wilsonlaidlaw]

The one piece of equipment that has never succeeded for me is an "Easy-Out. They would better be known as Difficult or Never Out. I found that drilling the bolt then hammering in the tang of a old or blunt file then using an adjustable wrench on the file, was far more likely to get the bolt/stud out.

[@Discretesignals]

Easy-out. That's definitely a misnomer.

[@southney7211]

Only type of these I’ve ever had success with were a blue point set. You effectively drill a pilot hole and hammer in a spline to use as a driver. Worked so well I had to remove the tool from the old stud with an angle grinder and a flap disc 😅 I’ve since done similar with metric spline bits from a socket bit set; as I didn’t own the blue point kit.

[@barrishautomotive]

I've heard lots of people say that. I've never had much trouble with them. I have a wide variety of sizes and I find that putting the biggest extractor you can in, and tapping it with a hammer to get a bite before attempting to turn it makes a big difference. A little heat often helps too.

[@ke9tv]

@@barrishautomotive Yeah, once I have drilled a hole or cut a slot, I'll hit it with a torch before I try anything that might tear the thread in the parent material. Sometimes a couple of heat-cool cycles will move the thread enough to break it loose without doing anything else. The broken bolt I pulled yesterday had enough sticking out that I could cut a slot with a Dremel, and once it was hot it turned with a screwdriver. It froze again a time or two, but another shot of heat got it moving again. Once it was out a quarter-inch, I could gronk it around with a pair of Vise-Grips and it took about ten seconds after that.

[@jimlachance2181]

Great help as a mech I wouldn’t try to weld to the bolt to me it’s too far in the hole you did it the right way in my mind cheers

[@robertgendron8970]

as always Adam a good job

[@davidbaker308]

We always called those Hey Buddies. Jus got one tonight for a broken exhaust bolt in a Harley head. Perfect timing.

[@Faronthefiddler]

Jam Handy, filmed old school machining. They are very well done.

[@moomae1]

Cool video! Broken bolt extraction, it seems can be a high-risk activity. The effort and process taken was spot on.

[@rexmyers991]

So interesting. You made it look easy!

[@tas32engineering]

Milling machines are very versatile. Great for procedural work at a set height. Engine blocks always have some kind of warp. Makes removing a stud so much easier.

[@hasletjoe5984]

Next time I get a broken stud in the shop, I am going to show them this video so they know how the day is supposed to go! Thanks Adam!

[@mickl8212]

Oh my god, this is EXACTLY how I set up and removed a seized bolt from a Nissin motorcycle rear brake caliper 😂 The thread helix came out the same too. Was like a spring. I saved it in a bag for my mate who I did the job for.

[@eastcoastwatch672]

The set up of things like that are very interesting and skillful!👏👍nice job 😊

[@C0zyDunt]

How satisfying is it when you can unwind the old thread out!

[@Stonelmd]

Tu fais vraiment du super bon travail, super technique rien d'autre a ajouter .coucou de France

[@MichaelAllanFrancisSheaver]

Having done this same process many times with a hand drill, I am rather impressed with how close you can get to the threads without galling them by using a precision mill!

[@terrellfarms1]

Wrong intake for that small block Chevrolet. He has a Vortec engine and the intake manifold bolts are at a different angle than the original Chevrolet heads. Or visa-versa.

[@robertu]

Probably be more cost efficient to just buy the correct Vortec intake for his Vortec headed engine.

[@Frylok1171]

I've been there, elongated the 4 center holes to make it work, it works just fine, and they actually make an intake manifold to fit both designs with angled bosses for one or the other.

[@rondvivre3636]

Nice work! Sweet seeing the thread come out. Two things; 1) Left hand drills, on-off-on-off-on-... As the drill slows still driven by machine inertia, the cutting edges take a bite as they stall. Doesn't always work, but when it does :), can't make things worse. 2) Straight edge storage is best when hung vertically. Drill a hole, pound a nail.

[@johncollins8304]

"Wedges? We don't need no stinkin' wedges!" 😂😂

[@glennbarker222]

This is more like it! Nice job on getting the bolt out.

[@truckguy6666]

THE GOAT ABOM

[@timmorrell9245]

another great video broken bolts can be a big pain an very time consuming u really good at it nice job

[@buffsheeri]

Great job, thanks for sharing

[@macsmachine]

I especially like it when they tell you how long it will take you to fix it😀

[@bulletproofpepper2]

Thanks for sharing. Yep nice fix.

[@seyedmoosavi6010]

good job