What type of screw extractors do you prefer?
 

Some of you, I know have come across this problem. If you have been working on these cars for very long, you will eventually break off a screw. (Of course, it is always below the surface and at an angle.) I recently broke off an oil pan screw and have had a bear of a time extracting it.

So, what kind of extractor have you had the best success with? I'm not talking about M10 and M12 bolts, I"m talking about those little M4, M5 and M6 screws. I've done some searching online and there is a vast assundry of "promises" out there, when it comes to this. (Interesting that there are several companies have these for the dental market but ridiculously expensive.)

I know there has to be someone else, besides me, that has a poorly calibrated torque wrench and has snapped a screw.:(

broken bolt /oil pan
 

first drill it out start small then go up to almost bolt size this will releave the pressure and then you can turn it out with a small screw driver. done hundreds like this. suggestion after drilling it out put a stud back in there with a nut and lock washer have a whole oil pan done the way without the allen bolts.

broken bolt
 

go to your town hardware store and get some metric bolts not allen head 30cent each cheap.

broken bolt
 

im sorry but im and old master mechanic and i never torqued down an oil pan bolt, do it by hand snug it up untill it stops don't just keep turning its something you get the feel for/

I did this with a larger Bolt, the ones that hold the Rear Shocks in. One Broke. I drilled it but did not get it down the Center. Heated it and lubed it but it still did not come out.

I drilled and tapped the hole to the closest SAE (non-metric threads) that had a larger outside diameter than the Metric one and that I already had a Tap for.

That only works if there is enough room to do that and it is not something critical like a Head Bolt or a broken off Glow Plug; you cannot oversize those without special Drills, Taps, an Inserts.

On My Vacuum Pump I sheard off 2 of the little Screws. I did nothing except making sure Silicon Sealant was well applied in that area of the Broken Screws. I could do that because the Vacuum Pump has little pressure inside of it. So it depends on what the component is.

Sadly Former Owners are not Master Mechanics and there is the old addage that and overtorqed Bolt is 1/2 broken (or something like that). You remove the Blot and don't know it is going to break until you tighten it again.

How do you remove what is left of a Bolt or Screw when it breaks during removal? Those are the instructions that would help the OP.

Lawyers and ex wives? I suppose we can throw traffic courts and insurance adjusters in there. Probably the IRS as well. And my 9th grade Algebra teacher. He both screwed me over and extracted every bit of faith I had in humanity.

Heat, a center punch, and a set of left-handed drill bits. The lefties almost always get it out.

... I don't think either of them will fix his oil pan bolt...:eek:

I saw an Alden brand set identical to those (probably who makes them for
Sears) and they look like they would work really well. They appear to have a better bite than the fluted ones, I am currently using. They are unique how the left hand bit proceeds the extractor teeth.

I may have to give them a shot.

(I'm not sure what to use for a "screw extractor" for Winmutt's mention. I too have run across most of those. Let me know if you find something that works.:eek:)

I dunno, I've heard things about ex wives and vacuum.

My first preference is welding a new nut onto the bolt. Not always possible.

Next is left hand drill bits, followed by grinding a slot in the top of the sheared-off shaft to grab with a screwdriver.Many applications have enough meat left to make this possible without damaging anything else. Lastly, drill out to next larger size, retap, replace with larger bolt.

The other part of the problem in this, is the size of the screw and where it broke off. It's an M5, broken below the surface. I rarely have trouble extracting the larger screws. Of course, my final resort will be a Helicoil or something similar.

Ultimately, what tool will work depends on access. Some broken bolts may require pulling the engine or some equally unpleasant measure.