My first busted bolt. I don't know if i should laugh or cry. Pat myself on the back like I just passed through some sort of wrencher's rite of passage or curse at the engine gods.
The bolt let loose on the "kick starter stop". Its a small metal tab that the kick start grabs onto to keep it from freely a full 360 degrees (I later learned that a spring keeps the kick starter firmly pressed against this tab which in turn disengages the gear on the kick shaft when not in use).
FYI - this isn't the last busted bolt either. Stay tuned...
I hit the forums to find out what to do. There are various options. One is to drill out the bolt starting with small bits and increasing until you get close to the hole threads. By that time the bolt should break apart and it can be picked out in pieces. That seemed too risky. I don't have a drill press to keep it nice and straight.
I went with the "easy-out" method. Its a hardened steel left handed bit that grabs the bolt and twists it out. The "easy-out" method sounded, um, easy!
Until you break the tip!!! #@!%##%!!! Because these are hardened steel, they also happen to be very brittle. Now it becomes a much larger problem. The hardened steel tip is still in bolt and its almost impossible to drill out.
Can't see it, but the tip is in there and it won't drill out with my hand drill.
I used Craig's list to find a cheap mechanic to get this out. I hated putting this into another dude's hands, but I couldn't get it out. $100 later this is the end result. Drilled it out and a helicoil thing in there. Dude scratched the gasket surface a bit too. I don't feel great about it. Hopefully lesson learned (not!).
I put some red Loctite in there to be safe. Time to put this one behind me and move on.
