Help I broke a head bolt while removing my heads after the head gasket went bad. Car did not overeheat. I just put the socket on the bolt and it spung freely. I tried to drill and use and easy out but that did not work. Broke three wrenches.

Thinking of drilling out the bolt and using a tap on the threads. Is there another way that i Have not through of.

ENgine is still in car. its a 3.1 V6. I dont want a 305 or a 350

Here is the pics

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/DSCI0171.jpg

 

Hmm... broken head bolt eh? Get a V8 and call me in the morning
The V6 forum is a good place if you're afraid of being told to get a V8

Anyway, I don't understand your problem, did you round the head of the bolt or did it break off 1" below the head of the bolt or....?

I'll say what i've said to a few other people with head bolts that get broken/rounded - Grind off the head of the bolt with a die grinder. Lift the head up and put it aside. Now you should just have a stud sticking up. Buy a 14" pipe wrench for $20 from your local Home Depot. Stick it on there and remove that stud! (What was once known as a bolt). Then buy a new set of bolts and put 'er back on.
Those bolts are hardened, your drill bit will really want to walk, it'd much rather chew through the iron that makes up the head. Re-tapping it is a very bad option. You'll want to remove the bolt.

 

The bolt is even with the block and the threads are inside

 

Nothing is showing the bolt is even with the block

 

If you snapped the head bolt off the head, then you should be able to just lift the head off the motor, as the heads are not threaded, just the block is. So as Sonix said, what was once a bolt is now just a stud. When the head is off, see if you can get some strong pliers to get the rest of the bolt out.

I'm a little unclear in the last two posts so if I'm not getting at this correctly, let me know, or better yet, get a pic up here for the best detail.

 

The only part left is the threaded portion that is flush with the block. no way to get a hold of it

 

Grind it flat; center-punch the EXACT CENTER of it; dril it out with successively larger drill bits, starting with like a 1/16" being careful not to break it off, then stepping up to a 1/8", then a 3/16", then a ¼", and so on, until all remnants of it are drilled out; go to the store and get the right Heli-Coil fot it (I have not the vaguest clue what size that is, since it's a 6-cyl and I know nothing whatsoever about those).

DO NOT attempt to use an "EZ-Out"!!!! If you don't drill it out to a large enough size, you will merely break it off in the bolt, and then you'll have a REAL problem on your hands, since it's MUCH harder to drill than any bolt EVER was; and by the time you drill it out big enough to use a size of EZ-Out that's big enough to where it won't break, you're only one drill bit size away from the Heli-Coil, anyway.

PLEASE spare us yet another "Help now what do I do now, I've got a broke off EZ-Out in my block" post. The only answer for which is, tear the motor down and send it out to the machine shop. At which point, it's cheaper to just go to the junkyard and get another motor (which isn't too bad of an idea anyway, since those things are super-cheeeep because nobody wants one so they don't sell). Some people say that there's even some kind of larger 6-cyl you could get that bolts up to everything, but I wouldn't have any idea what one that is or what will or won't fit or anything like that.

 

I might also recommend a left handed drill bit. If you're drilling it out successively larger, once you're nearly there (3/8" or so), use a left hand drill bit. Try to heat up the area with a propane torch, then hit it with some water or something to try to break it free. The left hand bit just might grab and spin it out, if you're lucky.
Otherwise you're stuck helicoiling it.

 

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...d/DSCI0171.jpg

added pics

 

I think he's going to have a hell of a time getting that bolt out with a left handed drill bit, or an ez out kit or whatever bolt removal method used. Head bolts are torqued down to 70ftlbs, and while they could have loosened over time, getting out a bolt that is torqued down to that spec with such a small grabbing area is no small feat. You figure when you take these things off, you are using a breaker bar, or a large socket with a 1/2 drive.

I would say the left handed bit is your best shot though, hopefully that will grab.

Were you considering a 350 swap eventually down the line? Now may be your time to do it

 

I just went though this on my 350. As someone else suggested, I center punched it and then drilled as straight as I could through the middle of it. Then I just kept upping the drill size until not much of the original bolt was left. Use oil and go easy. You don't want to break a bit in there. Then I took a sharp punch and drove it between the block threads and the remains of the bolt crushing it in on itself. Lastly, I pulled out the remnants with needle nose pliers. The original threads were untouched. Some skill, some luck I think.