Need a Bolt Extractor/Magician

[ragnad]

I was attempting to change the impeller on my 1984 Suzuki 25HP outboard and found that the bolts were badly seized. Despite application of lubricant and heat, I ended up applying too much torque and shearing off the heads of several of the bolts, leaving headless studs in the cast aluminum.

Does anybody know of a machine shop or some other local (Annapolis/Edgewater) magician who might be able to help me get them out ?

I've done enough damage already and don't think it is wise to try the extraction myself. Plus, the angle is tough and my drills are not appropriate for the job.

Thanks !

[Slipsinker]

If you're carefull you can drill them out yourself and put heli-coil inserts back in if you mess up the threads. Three other options are to drill the bolt with a slightly undersize bit and retap the threads, or you can go to the next size bolt and retap or you can get a set of EASY OUTS to extract the broken bolts. It's not as hard as it sounds, you just have to take your time. Good luck. [grin]

[BigWillJ]

....and if you mess up the cast aluminum, you can get yourself some Aluminox, which is a putty like epoxy used for such repairs.

Probably really don't need a machine shop or magician.....any decent marine/outboard shop mechanic should be able to help.

[ragnad]

Thanks for the replies, you've given me a bit of hope.

I think that based on the angles (because of the cavitation fins), I'd need some sort of right-angle drill that has a lot of torque. Maybe there's an air tool that would be appropriate.

I'm sure there's somebody somewhere that can yank them out in a jiffy. I'll start sniffing around at the local repair facilities.

Thanks !

[Slipsinker]

Don't limit yourself just to marine repair shops. There's some real good auto repair shops that do machine work. You might want to ask a small machine shop that does all sorts of work. There's plenty of those around. I used to run a machine shop many yrs ago, that's why I know it shouldn't be a problem.

[BigWillJ]

Slipsinker originally wrote:
Don't limit yourself just to marine repair shops. There's some real good auto repair shops that do machine work. You might want to ask a small machine shop that does all sorts of work......

I'm not discounting "machine" shops, but they may not know that certain marine outboard alloy metals won't accept certain epoxy repairs. For example, that Aluminox stuff works wonders on many lower units, yet it doesn't work on the aluminum used in some Honda lower units. Something perhaps only an experienced marine outboard repair mech might know. On the other hand, machine shops might have a "miracle" fix before any subsequent repairs are needed.

[Seahunter]

More times than not you can drill the center out of the bolt and back them out with small chisel or center punch. If worst comes to worst an easy out will do the job.

[jmowery]

I would start the drilling out with a left hand drill bit. Sometimes, the torque from the drilling and vibration will loosen the bolt before you get the hole drilled.

v/r,
Joe

[captaingeorge]

jmowery originally wrote:
I would start the drilling out with a left hand drill bit. Sometimes, the torque from the drilling and vibration will loosen the bolt before you get the hole drilled.

v/r,
Joe

Love them left-hand bits![smile]

[ragnad]

I've got a set of left-hand bits and extractors along with a VSR drill, but the cav plates won't allow me to get in there with my drill at anything approaching a right angle. I think I need a low-profile right-angle air drill.

Something like this:

http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/12000523/Images/airdrill38anglehead.jpg

This has me thinking that I can get this and a compressor for less than I expect to pay somebody to pull these.

[captaingeorge]

once you have had a compressor, you'll never be without one. makes lots of jobs much easier.

[ragnad]

Yeah, that's right, go ahead and make me rationalize buying a compressor...

That's a whole new arena of tool buying.

[captaingeorge]

[grin][grin]

[jmowery]

And the problem with that is??? I picked up a compressor for $50 buck that only needed a new power cord installed. I now have angle grinders, ratchets, nailers, etc. Makes life good.

[captaingeorge]

and don't forget how much easier painting will be. But you'll need several different sprayers and all the different attachments to do it properly.[smile]

[reelguy]

a welder, can weld a nut to the broken bolt, then while hot hit nut lightly with a hammer, then back it out with a wrench while still hot. i'm a welder and do these sort of jobs all the time.....when you reassemble, use loctite pst on threads for next time

[POLECAT]

reelguy,
That's an outstanding solution to a common problem.

Thank you for posting.

[Jerry Grimes]

Be very careful,when hitting it with a hammer usually that cast aluminum is kinda brittle and could crack.Also most of them small
right angle air drills don`t have much torque.Before I retired we had a 1/2"right angle drill in our shop,that if you weren`t carfull it would pick you up off the floor.One thing for sure is if you put heat to it and could not back it off it`s stuck pretty good.I once had a outboard that I was trying to remove the SS hindge pin ,that goes through the engine and bracket.I soaked it with licquid wrench and beat the he!! out off it for hours without moving it.I got some stuff from work called "YEILD",it comes in a can like WD40.Sprayed it and waited a few minutes.Then hit it again and the damn pin came flying out.The pin was stainles and the bracket was aluminiun.

[ragnad]

Thanks for the continuing replies. The welding soultion is intriguing. I've got the compressor and tools on their way. I need to pull the engine off the boat and give the bolts a good soaking while I'm waiting for the stuff to arrive.

The boat has been out of the water for almost 4 weeks now. Is there any reason I shouldn't turn the engine upside down to give me easier access to the bolts and to allow the penetrating oil to penetrate ?

[Nosmo King]

BLUE TIP WRENCH! Yes, you will need to heat the area and then very carefully extract the Stainless steel bolts. If you had used heat when you were trying to get the bolts out at the begining, you probably would have been ahead of the game by now. If you are not comfortable with the process, take it to a quality machine shop. They will have the metal knowledge to get the job done correctly.
Good Luck!

[WildeOne]

Once you get the bolts out, use non-hardening Permatex or marine waterproof grease on the threads on reassembly. Whenever I get a new motor, all the LU bolts get this treatment, along with all zinc anode fasteners. Makes life much nicer later on. Same deal with water pump fasteners when that gets serviced.
Jim