To make a long story very short, I had a broken alternator bolt sticking 1.5 threads out of the block of my coupe. I've tried needle nose vice grips....I can get them on but when it comes to turning the bolt out, they slip off. There isn't enough room with the rad still in to drill it out. I've tried penetrating fluid, a little heat and still no movement. Any other suggestions o' wise HAMB'rs? I'm planning on taking it to Indy this upcoming weekend.
Put a nut on the threads..........take out the MIG and weld the nut to the broken bolt. Back it out......done deal....... .
I've had good luck too with the cheap 90* drill heads that chuck into a regular drill made by General sold at Home Depot, etc. I drilled two head studs with one on the nephew's late Camaro (with the engine under the cowl).
Have you tried a punch and hammer? Sometimes, you can take a punch with a good point, hit it close to the edge so it makes a dimple, and kind of walk the bolt out by tapping in your dimple from the side. I guess I'm not very clear on it, but I have done it dozens of times, and it works pretty well.
Thanks guys. Got the bolt out by mig welding a nut to it. There was just enough thread exposed to start the nut and weld it on. The bigger problem now is to address why the bolt broke in the first place. Looks like a bracket alignment problem.
Make sure you have a grade 8 bolt in there. Anything else will crack under the stress of the pulley system.
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