Broken intake bolt in head. HELP!

**BLK2KSS** · 07-20-2011, 07:33 PM

Ok, so I’m pretty much an idiot and after telling myself numerous time not to over tighten the intake manifold bolts I did just that and snapped the third from front to back on the passenger side. It is barely flush with the surface if not below so the old welding a nut or wrench is a no go unfortunately. Is this going to be possible to get out without removing the head? Any help on this will be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys.
-Jason

**Knight** · 07-21-2011, 04:43 AM

Depending on how easy it is to get to, you may be able to drill it out and use an easy out. Or drill and re-tap the hole. Just be careful and make sure you drill straight, if you do attempt it. I would try the easy out first, as you won't need to drill through the entire bolt.

**transamtom** · 07-21-2011, 01:35 PM

Wow post #666 talk about a bad omen

Maybe you can get some needle nose vice grips on it if you open up the area at the top of the hole a little.

Make sure you cover the intake ports on the head if you drill or dremel it.

Then run a thread chaser down after you remove the stuck bolt to make sure the next bolt goes in nice.

Then vacuum real good after you finnish.

**pajeff02** · 07-21-2011, 02:15 PM

If the face is fairly flat, I would carefully center punch it and then drill it with a small sharp bit -- maybe 1/32" or smaller in size to start. As posted, tape off everything real good so you don't drop chips into the engine. There should not be a great amount of pressure on the threads, unless you somehow managed to bottom out the bolt in the hole -- which I doubt would happen. Step up your drill bit size a little at a time and then use an easy out, or even a left hand drill bit, and it should walk up out of the hole as long as the threads are in good shape.

I have found that if the center punch is not right on the money, you can use a popsicle stick or other small piece of wood to gently push the drill bit in the direction you need to go as you start to drill. Stay as straight to the bolt hole as possible -- sometimes having someone watching the drill angle from a different perspective can help you stay on path. Good luck!

**BLK2KSS** · 07-22-2011, 01:45 AM

Thanks for the help guys! I actually ended up getting it out without using an easy out. I let it soak in wd-40 over night and most of the day and when I was trying to punch it to start the drilling/easy out process I noticed that it slightly moved (rotated). After seeing this I realized that it wasn’t bottomed out and was basically moving freely within the head and the wd-40 made it pretty lubricated so I took the smallest flat head screwdriver I had and patiently tapped it over and over again, it took over an hour, until I got it enough above the surface to get a good grip on it with some pliers and got the sucker out. I was pretty excited when it came out to say the least since I was preparing my self to having to pull the head and cart it over to a machine shop. Thanks again for the speedy and good advice guys. This is why this is the best LSX site out there!

**Knight** · 07-22-2011, 03:14 AM

Glad it worked out easy for you.

**pajeff02** · 07-22-2011, 04:26 AM

Good to hear! I can only imagine the panic you felt when you realized what had happened.

**BLK2KSS** · 07-22-2011, 11:27 AM

Originally Posted by pajeff02

Good to hear! I can only imagine the panic you felt when you realized what had happened.

Yeah I usually respond with the outburst of obscenities but for some reason right after it snapped I just quietly said "no" then checked it and just sat there for like 2-3 minutes in shock

. The cursing did indeed come later though of course

**transamtom** · 07-22-2011, 12:47 PM

Originally Posted by BLK2KSS

Yeah I usually respond with the outburst of obscenities but for some reason right after it snapped I just quietly said "no" then checked it and just sat there for like 2-3 minutes in shock

. The cursing did indeed come later though of course

I bet,I would be stunned to say the least.

I am doing my LS6 Intake swap next weekend,I hope everything goes smoothly.

Glad it worked out well for you.