Say no to extractors!!!!!

[DMorris]

I have had some success with penetrating oil and a vibro-engraver.
1. Penetrating oil overnight
2. center-punch or drift punch and a hammer - one or two SOLID wacks -- don't miss and hit the head
3. grind a little spot to give purchase to the engraver
4 apply the vibro-engraver to the end of the bolt and watch for any movement

 

[Texasgs]

extractor

extractor

I do a lot of machine work on heads, and porting-flowbench work. I learned many years ago that these extractors are HARD, they are typically made from the same steel as drill bits. There are a few tricks that work. The first one is you can anneal the extractor making it much less hard. You hit it with a flame and get it hot (red) and get off of it fast. Remember the aluminum melts at about 1100 F so you dont want to medieval with it. Use an oxy acetylene torch. Get on it and get off of it fast, bring it up to cherry red. By letting it cool down naturally it takes a large degree of hardness out of it. This works for all common cutting tools except carbide. When you heat it up like this it expands a bit too, then shrinks as it cools. This expansion helps to break the bond on the stuck threads. Get a cobalt drill bit and drill it out. Cobalt bits cost a little more, and lots of hardware stores have them. Use a super slow speed on the drill, and keep the bit oiled. They drill out relatibely easily when you use this method. I cant overstress how important the slow speed, and the oil are when drilling these out. High speed will just burn the bit up.

They also make a type of ease out that shears off up high right before it breaks off in the bolt. It leaves a nub where you can get it out with vice grips These are the only type I will use. I also like to use left hand cobalt bits when I drill out a broken tap or ease out. Many times after annealing the ease out, when you are drilling them out with a left hand cobalt bit the broken off bolt will come right out. Left hand cobalt's are a little hard to find.

 

[madjack57754]

Removed a broken stud with a broken extracter on a 1974 F7 175 Kawi, for a customer last night. Welded a nut over the remains, threaded right out

 

[BentRod]

its be sorta said earlier but why not

I've found heating and cooling a few times helps to loosen, the cycling helps to break the bond between the bolt and the case. After that left hand bits usually get it out quickly.

a side note, someone early on said something about using a diamond tipped tool to drill out extractors. Don't waste your money. diamond is not as effective as you would think on iron based metals, due to something called a carbon affinity, basically the carbon rubs off the tool and ends up inside the steel, making it harder and dulling your tool quickly