Another great way for pulling steel studs out of Aluminum quick and easy is to TIG weld a bolt to the remaining portion and then twist it out. You get heat + you get a new head which are both really helpful at the same time. The only problem is you need to have a TIG welder AND be able to weld in funky positions which unless you have a finger amptroller is hilarious, knees, other people etc..

Yeah sucks but definitely not the worst I think. You're surrounded by lot's of folks with lot's of worse in vanagonland so the competition is pretty stiff ha.

Do you have a drill that is low clearance enough for it as per Frank's suggestion?

Jim Akiba

On Tue, Aug 26, 2008 at 6:12 AM, Frank Condelli <RAlanen@aol.com> wrote: > In a message dated 25/08/2008 10:12:35 P.M. Central Standard Time, > LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes: > > Well, that's sort of NORMAL ! I have them break off frequently no > matter how careful I am. So, now you will have to get out the drill and drill > bits and start drilling them out and insert Helicoils. You will need to > source 35mm long Helicoils or stack the common short ones. The ones at the > front are not that hard to attack with a small air drill but the ones at the back > - WHOA !!!! I have a very small right angled air drill and a whole series > of cut off drill bits to do them ! Time consuming for sure but can be done > with the engine in the van. The other option is to remove the heads but then > your into a complete reseal job ! NO FUN ! Get the surface good and flat > before hitting the broken off bolt with a centre punch and try to get it as > centred as possible. Start with a 1/8" drill bit and be careful not to break > it off ! Then go up in size maybe 2 or 3 sizes so that you can rock the bit > back and forth to get the hole centred if it was not at the beginning. > Eventually you will get to the proper size bit that will allow you to run a tap in > there for the Helicoil. Be careful to not drill past the original depth or > you WILL go into the coolant chamber and then the head is scrap metal ! Use > only carbide drill bits !! Keep the drill bit in the bolt and DON'T let it > wander off into the aluminium (NOT EASY) especially at the rear ! > > > >>>>>>The worst has happened. After very patiently removing the nuts and > bolts = > on my wbx I twisted 2 off and still have 1 to go. They are flush with = > the head and have nothing to grab onto. What are my options with out = > removing the head. They are obviously not grade 5 or 8, but good old = > garbage grade 2 considering they twisted off with a minimum amount off = > force. Is it possible to helicoil these while in the van?<<<<<<<<< > > > > > > Cheers, > > Frank Condelli > Almonte, Ontario, Canada > '87 Westy & Lionel Trains (_Collection for sale_ > (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/trainsal.htm) ) > _Frank Condelli & Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html) > - Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley > _Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems_ > (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/exhaust.htm) > _BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm) a VW Camper > camping event, Almonte, ON, June 12 ~ 15, 2008 >