Broken screw removal advice.

[CWilson]

The motoplat ignition on my 1975 Six Days Penton has decided to no longer produce a spark!  Surprise, surprise!  I removed the flywheel and stator successfully but unfortunately broke the head off one of the three screws which attach the base plate to the side case.  There is just enough sticking up that I might be able to grab it with vise grips.  Are there any "tricks" I can use to increase my chances for success in removing this screw?  I have a bad feeling that I will only get one chance to get it out so any and all advice is appreciated.  Thanks in advance!



Craig Wilson

[thrownchain]

PB Blaster and heat....

[Ernie Phillips]

Sheared / Broken bolt removal: I recently had the 3 stator plate bolts shear on my son's Six Day. Since they are small diameter (5mm) I was not sure how I was going to get them out. I found a Craftsman "Drill-out, Screw-Out" micro power extractors to be the ticket (pn 9 52157, cost $40). This kit (4 extractors) is for 3-6mm extraction. On one end is a reverse drill bit and the other end is an "ez out". On two of the three sheared bolts the reverse drill successfully backed out the bolts. On the third bolt I drilled the hole, flipped the tool and tried to remove bolt with the e-z out but no luck. Next, I douched with P-B Blaster / Kroil – no luck. I applied a little heat – no luck. I repeated the process over the next several hours with no luck. I then drilled the bolt through and reapplied the penetrating oil – no luck. I added heat ... I gave up. The next day I went out to the shop, installed the e-z out and the bolt came out!! Tip – don't get in a hurry, be sure and drill in the center of the bolt, do not break e-z out.


Ernie P.
Chattanooga, TN

[thrownchain]

Two of the hardest things to get out... a broken drill bit and a broken ez out.

[Ron]

I had the same problem, but damaged the the 5mm threads getting the broken screw out.
I drilled and tapped it with a 6mm and filed the slot so the stator could rotate.
Ron

[Rain Man]

Ernie, I've been extracting broken bolts since ... Your right on the money with the kroil and waiting a bit.  
If all else fails Craig, is there any chance of making the screw size bigger ??

Raymond
 Down East Pentons

[CWilson]

Just want to thank everyone for their advice on how to remove the broken screw on my Penton.  After applying liberal doses of PBBlaster and heat from my heat gun I successfully twisted the screw out using some long necked vise grips.  Hooray!  Thanks again guys!

Craig Wilson