Broken cylinder head bolt: how screwed am I

[Shortround]

So was doing a head gasket job on my 92 t4r with the 22re last night; everything going well until one of the back bolts was a little sticky to break loose. And... snap. It broke off about an inch down into the head.

So any advice on how to get it out? Drill out the bolt? It's pretty long of course. Easy out? I've got some penetrating oil soaking in right now. Or, just take it to the wreckers. I didn't pay a lot for it, it's kinda rusty, and I've got another reliable vehicle. I just really like the truck.

 

[SV_Dude]

If it's sticking out through the block then pull the head and put a vise grip on it.

 

[Shortround]

thought about that... but it looks like the bolt should be threaded through the head too. Am I wrong? That'd be pretty sweet.

 

[SV_Dude]

The bolt doesn't thread into the head at all. It only threads in the block. you should be good.

 

[bluewavecaptain]

This reminds me of my trophy that I have in my toolbox.

Several years ago, I was working on a '91 Chevy APV van. Previous owner had snapped off the exhaust manifold bolts on the rear head. While pulling the heads to get the the bolts out, I came across a broken head bolt. The bolt had maybe 1/16" sticking above the deck of the block. Found a little trick online and thought I'd share.

- Buy a decent washer and nut that are the same size or slightly larger than the bolt.

- Clean up the busted bolt as best as possible.

- place the washer over the bolt and then the nut on top.

- Weld inside the nut, fastening it to the bolt.

- using a wrench, slowly spin the bolt out.

When I did mine, the weld wouldn't hold. I ended up filling the nut all the way and then hardening it by heating it with a propane torch and dousing it with cold water several times. It saved me from having to pull the entire engine to get a bolt out.

 

[Shortround]

Good tip... though I don't have a welding unit. I got the head off (thanks SV!) which was tough with the bolt still in there. Now I've just got to get that bolt out. It's pretty tight.

 

[CodeButcher]

Harbor Freight sells a Stud Extractor for $5.99. It's got a 1/2" drive and can handle a diameter of 3/4".