The rusty crossmember bolt broke right off when I tried to remove it with a breaker bar. Have you guys tried the Alden drill out to remove the bolt? I'm thinking about ordering it but want to get you all's take first.

 

Interesting, it's been around for 26 years and I have never heard of it.


I would not apply heat to the remove the bolt.

Drill it out, tap to metric.

 

Is it because it's a different type of metal? That's why we cannot use heat?

 

You can use heat/flame if you want.

But I'll assume that your undercarriage is soaked with oil and or the possibility of undercoating...........whatever is there to catch fire.

Up to you.


I have drilled out many a bolt, never had an issue.

 

Most of the reviews on Amazon look good, but if that bolt snapped because it was rusted solid, those bits will not help you. Take another look at all those videos on how to use them. They show bolts that broke off in blind holes, never anything open to the backside (like frame rails) that can rust over and literally fuse the bolt to the nut. For that reason i am skeptical on those bits working for this sort of thing and say dont bother. Drill and tap and be done with it.

 

I'm confused by your logic in this. If that were the case, this video wouldn't have happened either:

 

Couple of weekends ago I literally drilled one out to 13/32 bit size and helicoiled to original bolt size in less time than this thread would have taken to post and read. Never even had to remove the cross member. (although if I did it again, I would, because the tap kept wanting to catch on it when running it in/out, but in either case it was quick and easy). Plus the helicoil will perform better than the rusty threads you have in there right now.

 

Never heard of helicoil before until now. Interesting.

 

You can get individual size packs at most auto parts stores. They are sold under a variety of names now, but the original and most well known was Helicoil, so it is sometimes used as a general name for them all. The packs at the auto parts stores will typically include everything you need but the drill bit. When you buy these packs, they aren't very cost effective (they inflate the prices for the individual packs) but its nice to have a 8M/1.25 and 10M/1.50 packs if you own a Jeep.

 

All i will say is plan accordingly. There are times when heat, or an extractor, or even an inductor, will not work. If it does, great! That mini-ductor is a handy tool, but starts at $400. You will need to remove other parts in order to use it in some situations, and you may snap another fastener doing so. Or you will need to cut access holes. More tools, more work, and more frustration.


But this post was about extractor bits. That bolt snapped using a breaker bar, so it is probably frozen in there (that is my experience). I still say drill and tap and be done with it. Unless you can weld a nut to whats left and 'maybe' draw the rest out? Go with whatever works best for you. Just do it safely.

 

I do see your point. However, it's worth giving it a shot with heat first before just drilling and tapping it. I would use drill and tap as an absolute LAST resort. Especially if the walls are already thin around the stuck object.

 

The metal used for the threading in the cross member bolt holes is not very hard or high quality (which is surprising considering how important they are). Drilling, tapping, and a thread insert (helicoil) would actually be my first resort (and was). Because the if the bolt was so corroded and/or fused that it broke the head off the fastener, the threads are definitely not great either.

(and it took about as long to fix as it has taken me to write this reply).

 

What size helicoil did you use? I might consider going that route.

 

It was whichever one brought it back to the original bolt size. I don't remember off the top of my head but I think it was M10/1.50 approx 30mm in length. The length is flexible, but just make sure your replacement bolt is -at least- as long as the original.

If you were able to remove your -other- crossmember bolt successfully, just take it with you to the auto parts store and match it. Though make sure you buy a new bolt that matches the thread pitch of the helicoil (which is probably 1.50 or 1.75) Most auto parts stores will sell the bolts in little packs.

 

Finally got around to work on the XJ today. Anway, Alden Drill-Out experiment..Failed! The bit broke in half in less than 2 seconds. I ended up doing drill and tap.