Sheared bolt stuck inside eyelet
 

I was putting the finishing touches on my new build yesterday and when trying to temporary install (fit) the rack one of the bolts on the seat stay eyelet/braze-on sheared in half, leaving a flush finish with the braze-on and bolt still inside...

I could use a p-clamp and be reminding of this non-sense daily or get the dang thing out with out damaging anything...

Hopefully I'm not the first to experience this...help!

Ahh yes , I have indeed experienced this ! Fortunate for me it was when installing my fenders and rack , I haven't had 'cause to remove them yet so I've sort of just been ignoring it and hoping to come up with an elegant solution when the time comes. Subscribed !

TSK TISK That is why you have a 10-32 or M5 tap on your bench.

How tight is it? Is this the eye on the drop? or one welded near the brake bridge?

I would try a reverse drill bit and if that does not jag it out you may have to go with a standard bit and an easyout or screw extractor.

Reverse drill bits are hard to find. Standard drill bits and Easy Outs are not. Just don't snap off the Easy Out in the screw stub. It happens.

Wish I had space for tools of that nature...

It's above the brake bridge. So hopefully Ace has a reverse drill bit and that puppy just backs on out.

A guy at the LBS mentioned they're brittle, especially at such a small diameter. One suggestion the LBS made was figure out a way to put a grove at the head of the sheared off end and use a flat head screwdriver..

I've certainly been there before. In my case, I wasn't aware of reverse drill bits or Easy Outs--you learn something new everyday!--so I just drilled through the darn thing and retapped with a larger diameter. Now that bike has one metric eyelet and one standard but they look and function just fine.

Man, I think that might be the best option..easiest/most simple anyway. The current hole is an M5 so I could retap with an M5 as Bianchigirl suggested or should I do larger (M6 maybe?) to make sure no residue of the bolt is left behind?

I believe 12-22 is the next logical stop but check your local True Value for the tap and screws first. Stainless if they have
them.

That was one of the benifits of working for a former machineist he taught me little tricks like that.

I have done this as well. I bought easy outs which I broke. I tried drilling it out and I then had a sheared bolt with a hole in it. I gave up and took to my old school LBS. They removed it for and charged me five bucks. Suck it up and take it in, otherwise you may wind up like me and pay money for tools that you break and take all this time dealing with it when a professional can take care of it fast and cheap.

I will definitely go with stainless...if I did in the first place I wouldn't be in this predicament.


If they could retap it I figured they would have mentioned it when I showed them the problem. Maybe I ask that specifically and/or call another shop just in case

That fitting looks kinda corroded inside... when you first threaded the bolt in, did it go in easy, or tight?

Try this... spray some PB into the back side and around the broken bolt & fitting. Take a small 1/8" flat head screwdriver
and FROM THE BACK SIDE of the braze on fitting try to see if the stub of the bolt will turn. Don't force it. If not, you'll
have to use an EZ out to remove it. DON'T use a M6 x 1.0 tap... way too large.

At that point the only other option is to use SS clamps instead of the fittings.

Been there, done that. And Easy Outs are rather hard so don't think you can drill one out very easily.

I agree I have drilled through and around more than my share of them

I really think everyone should have a 5m tap and use on every hole. I need to get a bottoming tap for shifter bosses one of these days.

So, while removing my rack to drill out the rack attachment on the seat stay another bolt sheared off in one of the drop out eyelets...I was pretty annoyed, but with the advice here I felt confident in drilling out the screw and tapping the hole to an M5. Long story short (after several charges to my drill battery) I got them BOTH out and my rack is securely attached.

One thing I noticed though is using the recommended drill bit size (#19/4.22mm) screwed up some of the threads so even with a M5 tap the entire hole isn't threaded (will to tap a tiny bit bigger if it become stripped). So the next bolt I drilled out I used a slightly smaller drill bit (small enough to slide through a threaded eyelet freely) and it tapped fine.

go google "spiral flute tap" these little gems are the best type of tap design.

they are for cnc machines, they are by design much stronger then straight flute taps.
I nicked a bunch of them long ago from work, still using them.

well you got a sticky situation.

as you drilled the pilot hole off center its just going to turn out bad.

you need to get square in the middle and then drill, the gold colored drills is what you will need.

go at it carefully- a broken hardened tool in there is worse then a broken screw!

CONGRATS!! Glad to hear you got it fixed.

"Easy out" is such a cruel name...cause it usually ain't so easy, especially for a newbie! I broke my share, until I gained some experience and technique. ..now it's almost easy.
As mentioned, you have to have a dead-centered pilot hole in the broken piece, if in doubt I use a Dremel to doctor the piece and start a "pre-pilot" pilot hole and just enlarge it gradually with bits of incremental size until...you are up to the proper size bit for the easy-out you are using. There's hint #2, your Easy out should come with a recommended size bit to use. It won't work well if your hole is too big or small, and your risk of breaking it off increases. Last hint; tap it into place with a mallet so it will 'bite', turn with a tap handle so you have good control, not a pair of pliers. Good quality easy outs are worth a few more bucks, the cheepo Chinese Harbor Freight stuff might work once, or might break once...that's when you'll learn about carbide drill bits! ;)

And next time, if I may, try to source higher quality bolts. Sounds like you got some cheapo ones, unless you're a gorilla. ;) They shouldn't be snapping off so easily.

Yes I think they were garbage, some zinc something or other that came with the rack...everything is stainless now. The rusty threads didn't help either. Live and learn as the saying goes

The Easyout method is the way I would go, depending on the history of the break.

If the bolt threaded in easily and then broke because excessive torque was applied once tightened up, then try the Easyout, following the suggestions offered by unworthy1. Ask questions regarding preparation for the task if you are not dead on sure how to proceed. However...

If the bolt did not thread in easily, suggesting thread mismatch or damage issues, then forget the Easyout. Give it a try, sure, but do not try too hard, because it will break and it is harder than most drill bits you can buy at Homer's Hardware. If the issue is thread related, and the stub won't move easily, then drill and tap, again ensuring the you get centered and square while doing so.

BTW. Just an aside. Stainless is not as hard as many folks think, and comes in many different grades. I've had cheap stainless bolts snap too. Bike not usually in bike applications.

rootboy is bang on the money with that comment.

Stainless steel, be it low grade, or high, is pretty soft stuff. In fact, it is so soft that most tradespeople don't like working with it. When assembling threaded fits(stainless into stainless), ensure that you use a proper lubricant. The metal is so soft, that under torque pressures, it will actually "pick-up", an industrial term, or gaul, and weld parts of the thread together. Once it "picks-up", you're screwed, if you will pardon that pun. You can't just back the piece out. That just tears up the threads even more.

"Stainless" also rusts. Right Randy? Everyone knows that, I'm sure. I've had to resort to the VERY expensive :eek: hardware on my kayak, for use in saltwater.
The "regular" expensive stuff just doesn't last.

Unless it's a blind hole you shouldn't really need a reverse drill bit anyway. A standard bit may well be able to drive it all the way out the other side.