I was changing the struts on my trunk strut lifters and broke the T50 Torx bolt that holds the base of the strut in place on the passenger side. I was finally able to find a replacement (not easy) but am having trouble getting the broken piece out. It broke off clean so i couldn't use a vice grip. I bought a bolt extractor kit and the bolt was in too tight for the extractor to work. I started drilling the bolt out and am almost to the threads in the housing but it won't drill through the remainder of the bolt anymore. Any suggestions would be helpful since I would like to replace these soon. Thanks guys!

 

Not sure what you are saying here.

Are you saying the drill bit won't cut any more?

 

Sorry yes the bit won't cut through anymore. I am using a set of titanium buts and a high power Dewalt drill. When I first started drilling the broken bolt, small shreds of metal would come out. Now the bolt stopped coming apart and smokes because it gets so hot when I drill it.

 

Not sure how that bolt broke? I have removed a few of them on differant cars and one at the yard we removed with pliers since we did not have a T50 with us, meaning they are not very sung in there. Someone must have pull new struts on before and cracnked it down. Looking at the pic all I can say you will have to drill it out. I say go back at it with a smaller bit and work your way back up. As you know the bolts are long so there is alot to drill out. Maybe someone else has an idea, but that's mine.

 

Thanks. The strut bolt end that fits in the housing is actually shorter than half an inch. I'm sure you're right that someone changed the struts before me because both where cranked down pretty hard. This one literally broke off right when I started unscrewing it. I may need to get some different size drill bits then because I have gone all the way through it with one and the next size up appears to be slightly bigger than the housing. Does anyone know if I will damage the threads at all? If that is a possibility, how do I re-thread the housing?

 

If you hit the threds with the bit then you will mess them up. If you do indeed mess the threds up you can always get a thred chaser and try to bring them back unless they are too far gone, also you might be able to put an insert in there as well, but you need to know what the bolt size is and thred pitch. Take the one of the good bolt to Lowes or Home Depot and in the hardwear section they have inserts to see what size bolt you have then you will know the size and thred pitch. What you really want to do it drill the old one out to the point where it's so thin that you can pry it out with a small screw driver or awl, but without hitting the threds of the houseing.

 

If the bit is overheating, you need to lubricate it.

A variable-speed drill on a slow speed will cut more, and burn less.

Have a helper squirt oil on the workpiece while you apply pressure with the drill.

Put a bucket to catch oil runoff under the area where you are working.

When this happens you need:

• A lot of patience
• a refillable oil-squirter
• some improvised means to recover the oil
• a filtering system to allow you to re-use the recovered oil

The good news is, at least the workpiece is in an area that is easily accessible.

When ripping metal, you aren't stuck with just using drill bits, don't forget about the Dremel.
See http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessor....aspx?pid=9901

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll give that a try tonight and post an update. I have been using a 1/4" titanium bit and tried to step up to a 5/16" which was too big so I went to the hardware store and purchased a 9/32" bit which should do the trick. I'll make sure to keep it oiled as I am drilling. I will try my dremel next if this doesn't work.

 

Yes oil is a good idea when drilling, but I never use it, just stop and let the part and bit cool down. Also I would not have all that oil on the inside of my car-what a mess. Oil is not going to stop you from killing the threds. it's your car so do what you have to do.

 

My first thought was that someone probably put an absurd amount of of thread locker on that bolt even though it is completely unnecessary. If the bit isn't cutting anymore, you probably overheated the bit and dulled it. I have a Dewalt 18v and that thing will go to town with titanium bits, but you are just wasting money if you don't lubricate it when drilling hard metals. So check the edge of the bit for sharpness, and if it's dull and you can sharpen it the do it. Make sure you are using a bit just smaller than the threads and it should come out easy. Best of luck!