Broken bolt

Hi folks
I'm looking for a person in the Latrobe Valley area who specializes in removing broken bolts i unfortunatly bought a Kia and the bolt holding the harmonic balancer on has snapped off in the front of the crankshaft.I have found a fix for the design issue that causes the problem (i hope) but want to avoid replacing the crankshaft if possible, hope someone can help
Regards Peter

Unless the threads were galled or it was Loctited in it should come fairly easy.
Drill the centre of the bolt and use an Easy-out to unscrew it.
Cheers Steve

Hi Steve
Have been there with the easy out myself and had a mechanic have a go as well I would assume it probably been loctitedconcidering the history they have for coming loose it's also very hard to jam tha flywheel to stop the crankshaft turning while doing this
Regards Peter

May have to heat the bolt then loosen the Loctite.
May need to remove the starter and jam a bit of flat bar into the flywheel teeth to lock it.
I have a bar with a plate welded to it and holes drilled in the plate to suit the bolt holes on the balancers that have holes tapped in them. Bar jams up against the subframe
Cheers Steve

I am not a fan of easyouts. If you break one in the bolt the only answer is spark erosion which of course means dismantling the engine to get the crank out - not good.

As Blackduck59 says, heat the bolt to nullify the Loctite.

A very easy way to lock any engine is to pull the spark plug/injector on the cylinder closest to where your doing the work. Turn the engine over till you reach about half way down the power stroke and feed a length of clean Nylon rope into the cylinder. Turn the engine backwards until it binds up and your done.

this may sound rough, (im a bit renowned for that) but I have welded a large flat washer to a broken bolt, then welded a nut onto the washer. every time they just unscrew. the heat from the welding loostens them up.

And for locking them up. what dieseldog said sounds a go!

That's not rough Scratcha, that's how most professionals will do it.

Phred, if you try this method, make sure the earth clamp is on the nose of the crank, right beside where you are welding. It might also pay to attach a second earthing lead from the nose of the crank to the block, so if there are any stray currents, they won't arc across the crank bearings.

Phred, just a little warning, if you use the Nylon cord method (and it's a good method) make sure that you tie the end of the cord tightly to some thing that won't fit down the plug hole, before you feed all the cord down the engine bore. Bit embarrasing otherwise.
Cheers Tim :dry: