"Relz" wrote in message
...
Well, I've gone and done it.

I was changing out the water pump in my car and I busted off a bolt in the
aluminum block. So, I tried an easyout. After breaking that thing off in
there I decided to weld a nut to the little bit of bolt that was sticking
out. The result is now a bolt that is completely flush with the block and
it has an easyout broke off in it.

I'm thinking of just putting it back together and hoping that it doesn't
leak with the one bolt missing.

Does anyone else have any other tricks up their sleeves?

Relz


I want to thank everyone for all their input and suggestions. I thought I'd
give you all an update and ask a few more questions:

To begin with, I work in the same building with a welding company. I talked
with a welder over there and he agreed that welding stainless would work out
better. He even lent me a spool of stainless to take home and use. He also
suggested heating said broken bolt off before welding to it. He was saying
that it would weld better if the bolt was pre-heated. Is this sound
doctrine in your guys' experience? He even suggested using a plasma cutter.
He told me of a situation where he used a plasma cutter to blast out a tap
without wrecking the internal threads. I've seen my dad cut nuts off a bolt
without harming the bolt threads, but he used an oxy-acetalene torch, not a
plasma cutter. If I had a plasma cutter, I would grab some scrap and see if
this idea works. Can I get a volunteer? Can someone try this out and let
the group know how it works?

I was telling my dad about my predicament. He went over to my house today
while I was at work. He called me to tell me that he got the bolt out. I
asked him how he did it and if he used the stainless welding wire. Now, you
have to realize that this man's background is from the farm and he has been
working on the railroad for decades. He's used to big, crude, rusty objects
that weigh tons and tons. He's used to using rosebuds on the end of 3-foot
torches and breaking out the sledgehammer to fix any problems, you see. So,
between railroad repair experience and a farmer gotta-get-it-done attitude
he decides to drill some holes just above the busted bolt and one below it
for punch access. He basically beats the bolt up enough that he can then
get on it with a pair of needlenose pliers and pull the thing out. There
was only about a 1/4 inch of bolt engagment left in the block (it broke off
as I was backing it out).

I'm hearing this over the phone and I'm used to a little finer precision
than what a sledgehammer can bring, so in my mind I'm envisioning a complete
mess. But I have faith in my dad. He's taught me an awful lot. He says
that I just need to put a little JB Weld in there and I'll be good to go.
"JB Weld?", I ask; I've only used it on oil pans before. I would think the
proper way to do it would be to fill the drilled holes in with weld, bolt on
the old pump, use a transfer punch to locate the hole, then drill and tap my
way to a perfect fix. In his opinion, that was way to much fuss. He's used
JB Weld to repair tractor engine blocks before and has stories of repairing
3/4 ton Ford differentials with this magical mixture. I checked the JB Weld
website and this stuff bonds with aluminum and is good up to 500 degrees F.
I figure I'll give this stuff a try and if it doesn't work then I'll dig or
chip it out and figure out how to weld aluminum. And I'm definitely going
to get some anti-seize compound to slather on the bolts before I put them
back in.

So, that's where I'm at now.

Relz