1. ok long story short I was trying to remove the rear driver strut and in order to do that I had to remove endlink but instead of removing the swaybar I tried to remove the whole bracket ( I broke this 12mm bolt here ) that holds the brake line , ABS wires and the endlink.

2. We all know when you broke the broke bolts either you have to use the bolt/screw extractor or drill them out and retap ...correct ?

3. I decided to use the bolt/screw extractor .... fast forward 10mins later I broke the extractor ( see pics ) .

4 . NOW half of the extractor ( broken piece ) is inside the broken bolt and YES this car is corroded on every bolts .

What do I need to to do now ?

 

you will have to drill out the broken piece and re tap the hole.

 

1. If you drill it right (and you'll have to be damn lucky), you may not have to re-tap the hole...

2. You might be able to drill the broken extractor enough to put a screw in it and extract the extractor. If this works, I'd soak the area in PB or Deep Creep, let it set overnight and then try another extractor.

 

Thanks fellas but I did try to drill that extractor tips out but the bitch is made out of some kind of hardened steel ... couldn't even make a marks on them .

I am not trying to save the hole or anything ... I can always retap them but what's stopping me is that extractor tips is broke inside the broken bolt .... I'm not sure if you guys really understand the situation here .

Any other suggestions ?

 

How did it break? Did you turn the wrong way/over torque it, or did it break trying to loosen it?

I'm not asking to make fun of you...I'm asking because it matters for your next possible step.

 

It broke while I'm loosen it even though I slowly loosen it .... but yeah man the car is very rusty . This will be my last car I would buy from the north. Never again !!!

 

The extractor got stuck in there is a hardened steel, you can try to find carbine drill bit to drill it out this very easy if you know someone or having a drill press. Regular power hand drill wont do good, good luck

 

^^^^^^ How the hell would one get a drill press in there?

It's been a while since I did my struts so I forget what kind of space you have there. Is there a chance of getting a drill bit on the other side and drilling it from that direction? It may require an elbow drill.

And FYI in case you need it for the rest of the install:

https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-t...-091-a-816065/

 

Let's say I can drill from the other side but still when drill bits hits that extractors...THE DRILL BIT will break ....

but yeah how the hell am I gonna used the drill press in that space?

 

It may possibly be enough to dislodge the extractor or even the whole shaft of the broken bolt?? Dunno. I'd soak the area in PB overnight and then hit it with the drill from the other side. I'd use as wide a bit that you can get in that hole without potentially damaging the existing threads. You might get lucky, you never know... Good luck!

As a last resort, is that second bolt really required?

 

That I don't know if it's ok to run w/o that bolt ... we all know the 17mm bolt will hold the strut and the whole bracket ( this will include abs wires , brakes line & the sway bar end links ) . Maybe I can drill another another hole and have a new bolts if there's enough room next (left) to that broken bolt ? Will have to look at again tomorrow ....

 

You could try removing the spindle and taking it somewhere.

I would try and weld that stud to build it up...and then try a stripped bolt extractor. Or welding another bolt on top of it may work.

Or remove it and get a good drill bit or put it in a mill or drill press.

Or...buy a spindle on eBay or a new spindle from honda. Not the end of the world, cost wise.

Rear knuckles/spindles are on eBay for under $100 shipped.

search "Acura TL rear knuckle"

 

Man... I was hoping I don't have to remove the spindle really but yeah I thought about it too . A lot of bolts in that area are rusty as well . Let me look at again see what I can do...

 

Remove the spindle that how. Good luck trying hit it with a regular drill.

 

Those 17mm head bolts will (should) come out easy. Obviously, you'll need the right tools.

If they don't come out...reciprocating saws (sawzalls) and angle grinders with cutting discs are cheap AF. Slice and dice. I just replaced all the rear arms on a midwest driven, 11 year old TSX.

If going the sawzall route, buy metal cutting blades with fine/medium fine teeth patterns.

 

I would say removing the spindle is my last option but for now I will try my best ...

 

Removing the spindle took me (not exaggerating) about 5-10 mins per side. My stupid UCA castle nut folded inward and locked itself to the ball joint thread. Not worth struggling with shit. Remove. Makes life easier.

 

Let it soak over night with some PB blaste and in the morning hit it with a propane torch. Should help

 

Its aluminum (the knuckle). I wouldn't use any heat on it. Heating parts up should be the absolute last (if ever) resort. My opinion is to avoid doing that.

 

Ok guys got it fixed w/o removing the spindle or torch . Let's the photos do the talking ...

 

Le where did the car came from? its looks like the car has been driven in cold climate state.

 

But how'd you get it out?

 

ohio

 

First , I used the first bit ( top one ) then the second one next to it then third one ( the one on the dreamel ) to make the hole larger I then used to grinding stone ( I've used 3 of this ) then a regular drill bit to clean up the rest . The final step is retap then new bolts ... it came out vey clean hole as you can see from the photos .

 

Wow, I would have never thought a dremel bit would work. Great job

 

you will have to get that kinda bits that I used otherwise it won't go thru the steel ( EZ-out) . Lol