If you try an ez out use the square ones, drill the hole, cobalt bit works well in grade 8. It broke near the top of the threads. The engine is going to only operate for a short period of time before the head gasket is going to fail because the head isn’t clamped to the block in that area. If it can’t be gripped, try to carefully turn it out of the hole with a hammer and chisel. The head bolts are outside of the valve cover on those heads, so the bolts had corrosion built up in the path where they go through the head. In such a case, it often works to carefully use a punch or chisel and drive on the outer perimeter of the bolt to turn it counterclockwise. First I drilled into the bolt and put in an easy out, heated the block, went to twist, and the easy-out broke off INSIDE the bolt, INSIDE the block. I ended up scrapping the block and swapping in a turbo motor.. In hindsight, I made a couple mistakes. We all thought he was screwed but while he was sulking or raging, not sure which, I was easily able to back out the broken part of the bolt. A bolt remnant that has broken off flush or below the surface of the work piece will usually be loose in the threads. Broken Head Bolts on 2002-2009 2.8, 2.9, 3.5, 3.7 & 4.2L GM Engines The AERA Technical Committee offers the following information on broken head bolts for 2002-2009 2.8, 2.9, 3.5, 3.7 & 4.2L GM engines. These head bolts look so wimpy I want to go with something stronger if I … Mox-nix. Ford used what today would be grade-4. Re: Dang, 3 broken head bolts in aluminum block! But that probably means yer gonna haffta remove cylinder head to gitt access to yer busted bolt shank. The threads in the block don't start at the deck. It was broken off flush inside the block. I broke a water pump bolt off in the block during the winter, and finally got around to trying to fix it yesterday. My buddy broke an ARP head bolt off in his 402 ls2 build. Mr. Roboto, thanks for the offer but I think I'm going to go with ARP bolts. And if you’re lucky, there’ll be enough of the broken head bolt exposed above the deck of the block to get a Vice-Grip pliers on to remove it. Unless you bottomed the bolt, you should be able to gently tap it out with sharp center punch. It is broken off far enough down in the block that you can't see it. If you’ve worked on an older car for more than five minutes, you’ll know what it is to give a bolt your all with a lefty-loosey, and the head snaps off as if it was the tightiest of righties. Torque 40-ft/lbs. Its happened to me before on a phase 2 2.2l. The Broken Bolt Extraction Kit makes removing a broken bolt from a cylinder head much quicker and allows you to salvage the original hole threads. The tool allows you to drill out the exact center of the bolt and after the bolt is drilled out, the bolt threads are removed in a “spring-like” shape. The tool allows you to drill out the exact center of the bolt and after the bolt is drilled out, the bolt threads are removed in a “spring-like” shape. It broke right at the point where the threads started (it looked like there was a bubble internal to the bolt where it broke). Machine shops and dealerships have had numerous reports of bolt breakage during the removal process of the cylinder heads for these engines. You can use grade 5 or 8. The head gaskets blew becailuse of this and when I attempted to do the head gaskets, one bolt broke. Always use COARSE into castiron engine block. The Broken Bolt Extraction Kit makes removing a broken bolt from a cylinder head much quicker and allows you to salvage the original hole threads. After drilling the hole use a Dremel and a carbide burr to square the hole, the ez out will fit like an extension in a socket and drive the bolt …