Arghhh, had this happen to four bolts on my 2008 RX350. It is definitely fixable. I would try a bunch of heat then vice grips. If that doesn't work, the method that worked great for me was to drill a small pilot hole through the hole, then drill it out and tap new M6 x 1.0 threads.

 

Soak with penetrating oil over night, hit with heat, and use a vice grip.

If that's not going to work, use this kit:

Amazon.com

 

i'd just drill it i think. Is that plastic splash guard or am i looking at metal? If it's plastic then vise grips, but if metal, then i'd drill it since it's not really flexible

 

Two pieces of plastic plus a metal sheet.

 

This bolt is on the passenger side and on the corner of the splash shield.
I probably have one shot at this. Options that i'm thinking of are, the two-nut trick (if enough threads), vise grips or drill?
View attachment 415579

View attachment 415580

Like mentioned, use heat and some vise grips. I had a similar issue with a broken sway bar bolt that I used a heat inducer tool and bolt extractor socket on.

My heat inductor tool and bolt extractor socket. The tool heat up rusty bolts in about 10 seconds and they come right out. Best $100 I spent. You can use a torch instead.

 

Wow, that's very cool! I may have to pick one of these up!

 

I don't have access to electric heat, repairs are done on the street wherever the car is parked (NYC life style). Will be trying the penetrating oil and vise grip first and hopefully i don't damage the threads too much.

Is a small torch lighter good enough for this type of job?

@TheLowlander, you mentioned "M6 x 1.0 threads", is that the size of the replacement bolt?

 

I don't have access to electric heat, repairs are done on the street wherever the car is parked (NYC life style). Will be trying the penetrating oil and vise grip first and hopefully i don't damage the threads too much.

Is a small torch lighter good enough for this type of job?

Yes!! Just have a big can of butane to refill...... PB Blaster or CRC Freeze Off, from an old mechanic who snapped hundreds of those and got them out in the salt belt. If it was my car, I just used a self drilling bolt and was done with it...If you ever live where there is electricity A Miniductor with the add on flex and assorted coils is worth it's weight in gold.

 

Yes, that's what I measured the factory bolt too. I used an M6 x 1.0 factory bolt as a replacement and it worked perfectly, but even better if you can find stainless ones with a built-in washer. I've been trying to find some to share with the group, but the ones I see online don't seem to have a washer (not captive).

Before putting some more oil, I would try to wire brush and clean the surface as much as possible to make removal easier and allow the oil to soak in. A small torch should still help massively. Carguy's tool is the ultimate, but any heat should make a noticeable difference. MAP gas would be better than butane, that's what I use but I want to get a bolt buster like Carguy (Who doesn't want that?)

 

Just purchased this little guy on Amazon and going to HD to get a M6 x 1.0 SS bolt.

 

Just purchased this little guy on Amazon and going to HD to get a M6 x 1.0 SS bolt.
View attachment 415639

I have one of those small butane torches. They work well in tight spaces. You do not need to get the bolt red hot; only hot enough for it to smoke and break the rust bond so that it can be freed.

I actually bought the inductor tool for the larger rusty exhaust bolts that tend to break on every car I have tried to remove them on, but the tool works find on smaller bolts as well. A must have tool for anyone that work on older cars with rusty bolts that want better control of the flame or heat source.

 

Great for crème brûlée too!
🤣

seriously tho… that thing may be a little under powered.

any propane torch intended for soldering copper pipe will work great as long as you can protect anything nearby that needs to not get hot. Heavy aluminum foil or disposable Turkey roasting pan from eg dollar store.

 

if you use penetrating oil, try to get it up at the top so it flows down into the threads If you can get the blade of an oscillating saw (even a cheap harbor freight) you can get between the top of it and the body fender metal plastic stuff. Those saw work great, get a decent blade though.

 

drill it out and put in a self threading tech screw w/washer and your done....30 min max and easy

 

Pb blaster ,spray it

2 or 3 hours later, again

Do it all day ,let it soak overnight

Vice grips ,looks like room to take it out the back so no worry on cooking threads

 

That little torch will probably not work how you want it to. Only because i have one in my hand as i write this lol fyi eBay sells them in multi packs. There's not really any propane or map gas torches that work any good unless you spent minimum$100. Otherwise you can spend$60-80 on a bernzonatic and they're terrible... The pencil tiped ones. Damn they all suck. I've tried several. Waist of money on that style since it's barely usable for nuts and bolts..

If you wanted something worthy that you can hook up to a little blue propane tank or even camping style size... Check out Turbotorch stk9 . Those things are sweet. You'll never need another torch again most likely.

 

I believe that the butane torch would work to loosen up on the small broken rusty 10mm bolt stem. The small broken stem only needs enough heat to loosen up the rust bond so that it can be turned with a set of pliers or bolt extractor.

However, I admit that it will be a long process trying to hold the small torch steady enough to get the stem smoky hot without the arms and hands getting tired. It could take several minutes or longer depending on the mini torch actual output.