I have been drilling a hole in this bolt now for 2 weeks and am tired of messing w/ it... and am unfortunately about to go to the muffler shop and have them torch it out...ruining my balancer hub AND crank probably. does anyone have any better ideas? I cant get the timing cover off w/out the balancer off and the bolt head bent sideways in the hole for the bolt... it wasnt long enough or strong eough to take it off and screwed me up bad. Any advice is appreciated, I have used easy outs, titanium drill bits... there is a big hole in the middle of the bolt and the easy outs do not turn the bolt or grab it at all... just drill through it and the threads on the easy out are gone now, it is a point.

Someone please save me a lot of money here (tow to muffler shop, pay muffler to torch out, tow back to my house, buy new crank, new harmonic balancer, new pistons, new connecting rods...) it adds up

thanks

 

Make sure you hammer the easy-out into the hole that you drilled in the bolt. Don't hammer it in too far, but enough to get it to bite.

Also, if the head of the bolt broke off, you can probably pull the balancer off to help you get at it easier.

-Dave C. '97 Z28

 

how do I pull the balancer off w/out using the hub puller and a bolt in the hole? anyone?

 

Of course it will be difficult, but depends in if the bolt is snapped off in the balancer or sticking out of it.

If its inside the balancer then you are a little more lucky, and you can use a 1/4" socket extension with a big enough socket on it. Put the socket around your pullers "rod" and stock the other side of the 1/4" extension into the hole in the balancer. Wear safety glasses in case the extension breaks, but if you're careful you might be able to pull it off that way.

good luck... it sucks.

-Dave C. '97 Z28

 

There may be some confusion here. The title says "broken bolt in harmonic balancer hub". Is it one of the 3 bolts in the hub (which sounds like your thread title) or do you mean you have a bolt stuck in the front of the crank (sounds like what you mean)?

If it's in the crank, I would not torch anything. I would get advice from a machine shop.

 

Many times I have Dremeled a 'screwdriver slot' into a broken bolt, then used a hand held 'impact driver ' [the type you hit with a hammer that makes it push IN and TWIST at the same time]to remove what's left..
This, of course, if it's accessible.. and you have room to swing a hammer..
I find it works better than EZ outs.. faster and easier also..
Maybe try that..

 

I would recomend taking it to a machine shop. I broke a ARP harmonic balancer bolt off in my new forged crank. I didnt even attempt to get it out myself. The shop drilled it out and everything turned out fine. It did cost $250 labor (5-6hrs labor) but thats better than having to tear the engine apart to replace the crank.

 

If the head of the HUB bolt (crank bolt) is broken off your could see if the hub will pull off... youll never get that bolt out with and easy out or drill it out.. once you get the HUB off youll have alot of room to work with, more then likely the head snapped off and the bolt will be sticking out of the crank so you can grab it with a pare of vice grips.. If its a balancer bolt just drill it out.. like shoebox said it sound like your talking about the crank.. the other bolts wouldnt take you 2 weeks to drill out nor be as hard.

EDIT:: the hub is usually very hard to take off even with a puller it takes some muscle so dont just try easy and give up when it doesnt work.. If the top of the bolt is off it should come off... put some muscle into it.

 

yes, I did mean in the crank snout I put a bolt in that was 2 inches instead of the recommended 4 inches (which I found out after the bolt was broken in the crank snout) and it has a hole in the head of the bolt which is also stainless steel. I have talked to 3 machine shops now in this ****ty college town I live in at the moment and they all say it would cost WAAAY too much (400+ if I pull the block myself, they can only do it if they dissasmble the motor...worthless lubbock; 400+300=new crank...and wont have to do it next month ) so I am now calling more shops tomorrow and I might have found a trailer and a truck so I will post again tomorrow w/ the latest update
thx shoebox... once again saving a crank(life).

 

....

 

the bolt that broke is NOT the hub bolt. It is a bolt I was using to pull the hub balancer off. How would I take the hub balancer off w/out the hub puller? The first time I took it off it took some wrenching on the hub puller and lots of force. I can go pull on it, but I was told this would probably ruin it... I am still going to try it... any advice on how to take the hub balancer off w/out a hub puller? I am about to try.

 

Yea man thats a tuff one..

 

So let me get this straight. You were trying to remove the balancer off the hub, you took out the hub bolt and then tried to pull the balancer off with the hub bolt removed? And the bolt you were using got stuck and broke the head off?

 

I clicked on your car domain page man.. In your sig... JESUS, My eyes hurt! are these headers??http://www.cardomain.com/member_page...45_31_full.jpg.. I cant even tell where they are going.... lol.. what kind are they.

 

In this case, you're in luck. You can get a 3-jawed gear puller and pull it off that way. The gear puller reaches around the hub flanges like a claw rather than bolting to it.

-Dave C. '97 Z28

PS: Most auto stores sell them. They're pretty cheap.