AIr relief screw broke...

[FL240racer]

Help ya'll... I was flushing out my coolant, and the air relief screw on top of the engine snapped off while I was tightening it.... any ideas on how to replace/retap?

[96_S14_SE]

Next time dont crank it down so much man

Um drilling it then using an easy out would be first for the average person... Then would come completely drilling it out and retapping it.

I did that on one of my cam journal cap bolts once.... Not really fun, as the easy out didnt work, and we had to drill retap it. It retained about 5 or 6 threads and has held up for 50k now...

Since its on the water inlet I would remove the TB coolant line and attach a shop vac to the coolant outlet (next to the snapped bolt). This is of course if the easy out doesnt work, and you have to drill it out completely. It will allow a constant flow of air past the area being drilled and should suck up any shavings.

I always wanted to try tack welding something to the bolt next time I snap one off, but havent since then...

[FL240racer]

educate me, please... what exactly is an "easy out?" I would like to be able to use the valave agin when i need to flush my system again, so welding doesn't sound too good....

[96_S14_SE]

OK an easy out is a reversed threaded bit. Basically you drill out the center of the bolt with a bit just large enough to get the easy out in a decent amount. Put the easy out in the drill and set the drill to reverse. When you drill into it with the easy out it will go into the hole and bite, since it works in reverse, when it bites it unscrews the broken bolt... Hopefully that is, and sometimes doesnt work...

Next step is the basic drill and retap...

Welding pertains to when part of a bolt is exposed / flush to the surface. Then you can place something (screwdriver allen key another thinner stronger bolt) on the broken bolt and tack weld it to it. It just gives you another chance to unscrew it without an easy out, or drilling it.... This bolt may be too little to be effective though so try an easy out, found all over the place, first.

[Open4Cycle]

There are different types of Easy Outs bolt extractor. Some are made on a drill bit so the drill motor can both drill a hole in the bolt and extract the bolt. Some ressemble a tap and after drilling a small hole in the bolt you tap it in with a hammer and then turn it counter clockwise to extract your bolt.On the welding issue, its usually easier to weld a NUT to the bolt. This way you don't gouge the threaded hole with the arc. The are some other simple methods such as cutting a screw driver slot accross the bolt with a ziss wheel. Ziss wheel is a Disc cuttoff like the one in a dremel kit. You may also simply back it out using a hammer and a punch.Good Luck