During the repair work, many home craftsmen often encounter damaged fasteners. Judging by the reviews, such deformation of bolts in vehicles and in everyday life is a fairly common problem. This explains why many beginners are interested in how to unscrew a bolt with a torn head. There are several ways to cope with this task. Having the right tool, you, experts say, can unwind almost any hardware and remove the mounting debris, even with a torn head or with a broken pin. About how to unscrew the broken-off bolt, you will learn from this article.
What is the cause of the breakdown?
So that you do not have a question about how to unscrew the torn bolt, it is better to prevent the breakdown of the mounting material. This means that it must be dismantled without significant physical effort. If you applied force, and the mount remained motionless, you should not continue. Otherwise, you damage the hardware. What to do if the bolt does not give in? Let's consider different ways.
First way
Those who do not know how to unscrew a bolt can be recommended to first remove rust and other impurities from it. You need to clean the threaded part, which in most cases protrudes above the fastened parts. A metal brush is ideal for this purpose.
Second way
Before unscrewing the bolt, experienced craftsmen recommend knocking its head with a hammer. To violate the integrity of the oxides, it is desirable to hit the fasteners strongly. The formation of small dents is not scary. It will be worse if the bolt itself bends. This procedure is acceptable only at the beginning of work. When the bolt is torn off, it is no longer advisable to knock on it. The fact is that there is a risk of damaging its thread.
By heating
Those who are interested in how to unscrew the bolt, so as not to violate its integrity, can recommend exposing the fastener to strong heat. The essence of this method is that under the influence of high temperature, the destruction and burning of rust occurs. As a result, unscrewing the bolt will require less effort. For this purpose, craftsmen use a blowtorch, gas burner or acetylene torch. Since you will have to deal with an open flame, make sure that the objects around do not deteriorate. After heating, the bolt must be allowed to cool for a while.
By applying a special fluid
How to unscrew a bolt without the help of a hammer and blowtorch? Experienced craftsmen will advise you to get kerosene, brake fluid or a special WD-40 compound. Penetrating into all cracks, the tool will lubricate the thread and destroy the rust. Of course, in order for the effect to be positive, after processing you will have to wait a while. In most cases, this takes about an hour, less often - 10 hours.
If the mount does not lend itself, but you still apply force, then most likely it will break. In the future, the dismantling of such a bolt will take you much more time and effort. What to do if the fastener is still broken? How to unscrew a broken bolt in this case? There are several ways to do this.
With a chisel
Before you unscrew the bolt with the torn edges, you need to take into account parameters such as access to fasteners, its dimensions and location. This will allow you to choose the right tool. For example, large bolts that are convenient to get to are more advisable to remove with a hammer and chisel. The latter should be placed to the head of the bolt so that the cutting edge is applied tangentially. Beat with a hammer should be sharp. Judging by the numerous reviews, this method is quite simple, but very effective. Often they resort to it in extreme cases.
Key removal
With free access to fasteners, you can be controlled with the help of a universal adjustable key. The design of this tool will allow clamping even round bolt heads. It may be that the thread fell off in a very small bolt. They remove it by means of a small interchangeable key of the "cobra" type. In this tool, the work surface is equipped with sharp notches, through which they are dismantled. The main thing is that the key is new. The fact is that in a worn tool these notches can be “licked”, as a result of which their adhesion to the fastener will not fully occur, and the key will simply slip off. If the edges of the bolt with minor damage, then you can cope with the task by applying a ring wrench. There are 12 faces in the profile of this tool (there is a hexagon inside the head, not an asterisk). To tighten the fasteners, you need to pick up the head, which is one size smaller than the bolt. This head will be located on the site of the torn edges. It is enough to press it onto a bolt, and then twist it, as usual.
Screwdriver
If the fastening thread is damaged, the bolt should first be lifted with a screwdriver or other similar tool. The main thing is that he easily pushed under his head. Next, the screwdriver must be pressed firmly so that the bolt exits the part as much as possible. If he rested, start to rotate it in the usual way. Well, if you are dealing with a threaded through connection. In this case, push the fastener with something from the back.
By cutting
To remove the bolt, you need a hacksaw for metal. With it, you first need to make a cut in the head of the fastener, into which a flat screwdriver will then be inserted.
It is desirable that the cut is not very deep. It is best to go deep with a hacksaw blade by 75% of the height of the entire head. Thus, it will be divided into two halves. If the cut is more, then one of the halves may break off.
It may be that your screwdriver will slip. This drawback is corrected by means of a special glue based on cyanocryl. This tool is intended for fast and high-quality fastening of metal surfaces. First degrease the mount and screwdriver. Then apply the product on the body of the fastener and firmly press the screwdriver to it. At this point, it is important to maintain alignment. To glue faster, sprinkle additional soda on the joint. When the mixture has finally hardened, start twisting.
Also, in addition to a hacksaw, some home craftsmen use files or an angle grinder with a cutting disc. This tool can handle not only damaged hardware, but also a key that can be used to unscrew a broken bolt. For example, wizards restore faces to the desired size. If you have an open-end wrench, you don’t need to make a hexagon out of it. You can limit yourself to sawing out two parallel faces in it.
Professional tool
According to experts, the above methods are quite effective if the ripped fixture protrudes slightly from the plane of the part. What to do when the head of the bolt is torn off, and it is hidden?
It is best to get a special professional tool, namely an extractor. The device is a metal cylindrical rod. One end is equipped with a taper thread with the opposite thread, the other with a square shank. Judging by numerous reviews, almost every motorist has this tool. The fact is that often in vehicles the bolts that fasten the wheels to the hubs break. Unscrew the bolt as follows. First of all, the body of the fasteners must be equipped with a special hole for the extractor. It is desirable that the diameter of the hole be 0.2-0.3 cm less than the thread. Then, with not strong blows, an extractor is mounted on the body of the bolt. Now the device can be rotated by the shank, unscrewing the rest of the fastening from the part.
About removing a broken bolt with a tap
An alternative to the extractor will be a left-side tap. As in the previous case, you will have to make a hole in the body of the bolt. What exact diameter you need, you determine, guided by a special table for threading. At this point, make sure that the threaded bolt connection remains intact.
Next, in the finished hole, cut a new thread with a tap. As a result, the remnants of the bolt are removed. Judging by the reviews, accurate drilling is not always possible. If you deviate a little, and therefore damage the fastening thread, simply drill a larger hole and cut with a larger diameter.
What else can be done?
In addition to the above methods, you can use welding to remove a broken bolt. It is enough to weld a nut of the desired diameter to the body, and then twist it with an ordinary wrench.