I finally started putting my engine together the other day. I have never assembled a whole engine before, so i was going completely on the what my buddy was saying we should do. He had put a bolt in the front of the crankshaft were the bolt for the balancer goes and was using a rachet to turn the crank. So we get to the #6 piston and we have to turn the crank again so we can line it up for the next piston. He went to go turn the crank and the bolt snapped. We tryed using an easy out but that broke as well. So now there is no way to drill it out. So heres the thing, there is still about 3/4 inch deep hole in the crank. Will that be long enough to hold the balancer on? IF not can a machine shop get it out? Or an im going have to get a new crank? Please help, thanks Danny

 

So what you want to do is get yourself a set of left hand drill bits and a VERY steady hand. And a bench grinder to re-sharpen the bits as you go would be a plus.
Fact of the matter is you can drill it out, it just takes a long time and lots of patience cuz the hardened EZ out is going to wear bits down fast.
There are EZ out sets w/ collars to guide a drill bit in the hole. One of these would make the steady hand part less of an issue. You could then drill a small pilot hole through it, then keep drilling it out larger till the bolt is just a shell and break it up and get it out.

I'm sure you could pay a machine shop or something to do the same work, but i'm sure they will charge you a lot, and i'm also sure their desire to get it out w/o damaging the crank hole isn't as great as yours (i.e. they will do the work under the condition of no guarantees, and whoops sorry, pay us anyway)

 

I think you mis-interpreted the lesson...

The real lesson is, never use the balancer bolt to turn the crank. If you use a hardened bolt, that merely moves the failure point from the bolt itself, to the threads of the crank. Repairing a stripped-out crank isn't much fun either.

Instead, they make sockets for that, that slip over the crank snout and key; the socket totally eliminates any risk of any damage whatsoever. I know for sure Moroso sells it (that's the one I have), there may also be others.

In all my career of doing this sort of thing, I don't believe I have ever once successfully used an easy-out. There's at least one more post on this BBS today by someone who broke a bolt, then broke an easy-out off in it; which is exactly what has happened to me every single time I've tried one. Any more I use the progressive drill method, followed by a Heli-Coil (since the threads invariably get dinged up in the process).

 

Hmm. I've had fair sucess with easy-outs, allthough I think pain-in-the-***-but-still-usually-work-outs would be a more appropriate name.

 

i'm with rb, again, i've never had any luck with easy outs, other than pipe fittings. if i have a broke bolt i usually drill and retap it, or weld a nut on it and use a wrench to get it out.

 

I've had success with easy outs in the shop I used to work in, but I will admit the ones I used most of the time were very old. The newer ones had a nasty tendency to break, which is no fun. The ones with 4 flutes and no twist are less prone to break IMO and are easier to remove if they do break.

Unless you are really good with a drill, I would suggest having someone in a shop that knows what they are doing get that broken stuff out of your crank.

 

Besides, crank turning tools are cheap if your gonna be doing it alot

 

That Suck When The Easy-Out Breaks!

R U saying that there is 3/4" of threads or 3/4" deep hole?

If there is 3/4" threads, then you have enough depth for a bolt to grab onto. Just make sure that the bolt doesn't bottom out.

With a head bolt, there is only 3/4" of thread engaugment.

Is the harmonic balancer installed?

BTW, how does one rotate an engine with a harmonic balancer on with "crank-keyway-socket turner"?

 

A few months after I snapped my center crank bolt (used it to install the balancer, dumb, dumb dumb), I noticed something new in the Eastwood catalog, similar to something I was thinking of making. Then I saw it in the Summit catalog. I can't remember seeing it before, but who knows?

It's a metal plate with 4 holes in it, and a bolt in the center. You put it on the crank pulley bolts, and turn the tool (which spins the pulley) with a ratchet handle.

I was thinking of making one to replace my missing center crank bolt. It's hard to turn an engine without it! (My mechanic welded the balancer to the crank snout, it's been that way for 3 years and holding- so ya can't tell me not to do it, or that the crank will crack in half, or etc! Yes, I know it's not good.)

 

a73camaro,
The bolt broke off in the crank, but there is still about 3/4 inch deep hole left in the crank. I just really need to know how much of the bolt needs to get into the crank to hold the balancer on.

And thanks to everyone who has helped me out on this i really apperciate it. My dad is getting me some drill bits from work that should work, im pretty sure there are the diamond kind. Thanks, Danny

 

They say you need a minimum of the bolt diameter in depth. Cant remember what size that bolt is. Its less than 3/4" though. I prefer to use as much thread as I can get personally, but with 3/4" it should be fine.