Broken bolt

[Riles32807]

So I went to help my buddy trim a couple of large branches this weekend, and another friend of ours came to help with his little Homelite. He pulled on it for a bit but it wouldn't start. He said it had been sitting for a while. First thing I did was to dump the gas, and the fuel filter plus some rotted fuel line felt right out. He asks if it's worth fixing and I tell him sure I've got plenty of fuel line.

Last night I open it up, I'm taking off the handle and the head of one of the screws breaks off... I'm not happy but figure I can get it later. Replace the lines, get the saw back together, and it runs well.
Time to deal with the screw. I grab it with a pair of vise grips but they just stripped it. I tried a propane torch, but no luck. I tried hitting it with a hammer, no go. Then back to the torch, I locked the pliers on as tight as I could, kept the torch on it while trying to back out the screw. Ten minutes later, I decided the screw had won that round too.

Anyone have any suggestions? I don't think my friend will be too upset, he was ready to junk it. It's more of a grudge match between me and the screw.

P.S. Yes, while taking the picture I saw that the fuel line had popped off the carbourator, probably while I was trying to get the throttle cable back on.

 

[CaseyForrest]

Are you sure it's a screw and not part of the casting?

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[Riles32807]

Are you sure it's a screw and not part of the casting?

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I suppose it's possible, but it had a T25 torx head and some threads on it when I started, plus that's some crazy casting to be able to get it through the handle. The vise grips did a nice job of shining it up.

 

[Finnrpm]

Drop ATF/acetone mix on it, grind a slot in the middle of it, let mix to penetrate overnight. Then it is the last charge with suitable flat head screwdriver.
And some serious heat will not hurt if the oil mix won't loosen it.
Good luck!!!
RV

 

[Ozhoo]

Weld a nut on it, the heat from the welding does wonders.

 

[Riles32807]

Weld a nut on it, the heat from the welding does wonders.

Seriously, learning to weld is on my bucket list, but not economicly feasible at the moment. Out of curiosity, how much could I expect a shop to charge?

 

[Ozhoo]

Out of curiosity, how much could I expect a shop to charge?

In my neck of the woods, a can of coffee goes a long way.

 

[Conquistador3]

Seriously, learning to weld is on my bucket list, but not economicly feasible at the moment. Out of curiosity, how much could I expect a shop to charge?

It's one of those odd jobs with no fixed rate. Anybody with a welder can do it, so if you have a relative, neighbor etc with access to a welding machine, even one of those cheap Chinese units like my brother has, just tell them you need to weld a nut on it and work out a deal.

 

[dswensen]

Drop ATF/acetone mix on it, grind a slot in the middle of it, let mix to penetrate overnight. Then it is the last charge with suitable flat head screwdriver.
And some serious heat will not hurt if the oil mix won't loosen it.
Good luck!!!
RV

I like this answer, but I would probably substitute a good manual impact driver (the kind you hit with a hammer) with a flat head bit. If your tool box doesn't include one of these wonderful gizmos - go get one!!

 

[ironman_gq]

Got any friends who work in an auto shop? Those guys will do all sorts of things for a pizza or some cookies. I haven't paid for small stuff in several years, just bring down a snack and see if one of the guys wants to stick around for a few minutes after hours

 

[Acornhill]

That is where one of the anti vibe mounts go, look at an IPL to see what you are dealing with exactly. That screw goes through the handle spring correct?


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[Riles32807]

Ok I think my plan of attack it's going to go something like this.
- let some penetrating oil soak for a couple of days.
- go at it again with the lock jaws.
- try the torch again.
- I'll try slotting it, but even a hacksaw blade won't leave much meat for the driver. And good call on the manual impact driver. I have one, and it's gotten me out of several pickles.
- Finally I'll grind it down and try to drill it out with a left hand bit.

 

[Okie]

Cannot get a good look at the little bolt.

Appears maybe the torx head is popped off?

If vise grips will get ahold of it I would probably take a file and flatted two sides so as a small locking vise grips would get a good secure grip, get them adjusted for a tight snap on lock, then remove and apply some serious heat from a pencil tipped propane torch to the outer portion of the bolt, not the bolt itself but the surrounding metal and then go to the locking vise grips and very gently try rocking it back and forth. If you head the stud portion of the broken bolt it will most likely get soft and twist off immediately. 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF is a good thing and peck on the stud portion of the bolt so as to vibrate the internals while it has the ATF/acetone around it then heat later.
I have heli-coil inserts but sometimes drilling out a small torx bolt or screw for a NEW heli-coil tap hole is a pain.

Are you sure that that one screw is even needed to hold it together?

also looks like lots of metal just to the outside of that broken screw/bolt maybe enough room just to drill and tap the aluminum for another and drill another hole in the handle for a small threaded screw.

 

[Riles32807]

That is where one of the anti vibe mounts go, look at an IPL to see what you are dealing with exactly. That screw goes through the handle spring correct?

Yup, that's the one. I tried it without the screw, but the handle is way too loose, you can't control the saw.

 

[Thommo]

If you cant get someone to weld a nut on it, the next best option would be to grind it down level with the cylinder and drill it out

 

[Wicked500R]

You'll need a bottoming tap for that.

 

[alexcagle]

 

[alexcagle]

Just file off two sides and get some big vise grips, and get the tightest bite on it you can muster to loosen it.
When they are short like that, sometimes you only get one shot to break it loose.
If it breaks off, just drill it out.
I do it all the time. You can resharpen drill bits a hundred times if you start with good ones. I haven't bought a drill bit in two years, and I use them constantly.
Spray some WD40 on the tip and push.
Just be thankful some gonad hack didn't put a 316 Stainless screw in there. That stuff is hard to drill!

 

[john_bud]

Atf/acetone is good.

Also if you are heating the surrounding metal, use candle wax. keep it liquid for 30-ish seconds, let cool and you should be able to remove the screw. flattening 2 sides of the screw so the vice grips can grab is good.

Oh, are you using "real" vice-grips or cheap china junk copies? soft jaw copies can't grip firmly.

 

[Okie]

Atf/acetone is good.

Also if you are heating the surrounding metal, use candle wax. keep it liquid for 30-ish seconds, let cool and you should be able to remove the screw. flattening 2 sides of the screw so the vice grips can grab is good.

Oh, are you using "real" vice-grips or cheap china junk copies? soft jaw copies can't grip firmly.

Almost forgot this one.

A redneck idea method that I came up with few years back and method I've used with good results is take a air chisel and get a blunt nose chisel or just take a 3/8 bolt about 6 inches long and use it as the blunt air punch, connect the air chisel to a air pressure regulator and set the air regulator at real low pressure and hold the trigger down on the chisel and start SLOWLY turning up the air pressure and when it gets to around usually 25 to 30 psi the punch when held tight against a object will cause the object, rusty seized bolt or stud to start singing and vibrating like a wood bee is inside and it will almost sting your finger when held to the metal or bolt. Sometime you can actually see the rust crawling out from a large rusty stud. This breaks loose the crud and rust inside around the bolt/screw threads. Then for bolts always use a 6 point wrench instead of a 12 point that rounds off the head and watch the bolt or stud carefully and when you can wiggle it little bit use care and keep wiggling gently back and forth instead of just trying to hoss it out in one shot.

This really works great around old manifold bolts and studs.

I've used this method on rusty manifold bolts before they twisted off and also on studs.

Also is a good try for steel bolts that are galled into aluminum.