On my SBC clearance to the firewall was tight, so I installed a 3" long 1/4"i.d. brass pipe to the oil port (on top of the block, back by the dizzy) so I could get the oil pressure sender up where I could get at it. That brass pipe has now sheared off flush with the block, leaving the threaded portion stuck inside. To make it just a little tougher there is a dab of permatex aviation gasket shellac on the threads. How can I get the stub out without getting crap in the engine?
The ezout will work the best, because its brass it will sink in REALY nice. I would throw some grease on the end of the EZ out and you should be fine. I have to do this a couple times a year on plow pistons that use brass fittings on the hydro lines.
there is a counter-drill at Sears you can try you start inserting it by hand and it turns the other way from regular (righty tighty left loosey...) so as you turn it left it will dig into the brass and the brass gets pulled out by turning the Loosey way it wrks great, a few sizes too. oh and don't stick brass pipes into iron again
Use a new/sharp easyout and it will come right out. My daughter did this last week. She felt horrible until she saw how easy it was to take out.
Learned my lesson. Will go by Sears on the way home from work today. I like the idea of greasing things to keep any chips in place. Thanks
roll a couple duct tape tubes (you know... inside out) around your hand and stick them 360 around the hole. They will pick up most of the shrapnel that the grease doesn't get.
I have also used the Craftsman Screw outs and they work good most of the time. I had a rusty shock bolt break so I drilled a small hole in the center of the bolt to give them something to grab onto and with my cordless drill and "screw outs", backed the sheared bolt out easily. Definately worth a shot and a lot better than easy outs. I break every bolt and strip every screw I come across so for a hack like me, they are a necessity. Mootz
No reason you cant crank the engine over a few revs to have the oil flush out that passage, you know. If you're worried about debris.
This sounds like a situation where an EZ Out might have a better chance of working than breaking...I doubt that this is a really high torque problem. These will produce far fewer chips than tap or especially a drill...use grease, you are past the filter here and chips can go everywhere in engine except rear main from here! Approach driving in the tapered EZ gently, as the deeper you go for grip the more you tend to expand the broken part. LH tap followed by LH bolt to screw it out would be second choice, with lots of heavy grease and a tap chosen to fit existing hole so no drilling. I'd have to go home and study a chevy oiling diagram to see what is in the neighborhood and what connects, but there is another plug under edge of manifold and I think one into the gallery right above the filter...one of those might allow passage to be pumped full with a grease gun and then that grease blown out yor hole with more grease after the removal...that would give the most secure chip removal. Depends on how those plugs connect and whether the low one is above plug for rear main diversion...
I wonder how you got one with a 1/4 pipe thread?? All SBC's are 1/8.. Anyway an easy out will work best and the aviation permatex really doesnt set up . At least the stuff i used never did and that just enhanced the sealing qualities.. You should be able to crank the broken piece right out. I used a short but not a close nipple with a 45 degree fitting and then screw sender into that and its better if you use the steel stuff. Being the fact that its the sender hole if you just roll the engine over after you get the broken piece out any junk (shavings etc) should come right out.. dave
Take it real slow. Brass is very soft and an easy out can act as a reamer if you aren't careful. Try to hold pressure down into the pipe to get one strong bite. You'll get less shavings and have more success.
The biggest problems that guys have with easyouts is they use them once, then let them roll around in the drawer for years intill they are dull and rusted and greasy. These are like drills, your best success comes from them being SHARP on the edges. Also use a good quality one instead of some pos you got at park n swap. You will find they actually work like they should, rather then being a left hand thread reamer.
Why???? Just curious..........seeing how many cars came FACTORY with 'em. Much easier to extract (no rust issues) than steel fittings/plugs.... Most guys tighten brass too tight......
I'm wondering how it broke off in the first place and will the sender still work on a 3" extension? Good luck getting it out, I know how frustrating it is to break stuff, I'm good at it.
I think if you use an ez-out, get a new one of the barrel type that has vertical straight cutters on it, some have 3 and others have 6. These work the best on brass and don't leave chips.--TV
then put a real steel plug in it and use one of the galley ports down by the filter much easier to get at and you won.t be worried about the thing breaking again
I had a brass adapter for the transducer on the side of a 700R4 break off flush. I borrowed a Snap-on extractor with the multiple sharp edges and out it came. A regular ez out wouldn't do it.
WoW! That was almost too easy. I stopped on the way hame and got a set of the square taper easy-outs (that's what they had) at Sears for about $12. The hardest part of the job was just getting my hands and tools where they needed to be. Then the sucker just backed right out. Thanks for the hints!
If you don't want to risk it atop a pipe a second time, there is a pipe plug over the oil filter where you can mount it.
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