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Hi, Meanmtn. I agree with T_Bone re getting the broken easy out out. Chip it to pieces with a center punch, but be prepared to re-sharpen your center punch once or twice. And be very accurate with it. You can remove protruding broken studs by welding a heavy flat washer to them and then welding a nut to both washer and top of stud. Allow to cool before trying to turn it out. If the stud is broken off down the hole and is big enough, you can drop spring washers down the hole, one at a time, and weld them to the broken stud until you get to the surface then treat as for a protruding stud. I learned this trick from an ex-employer who told me about a welder and fabricator in the local town who used to do it. The first time I had to do it was about 4 years later when a Cat D9G I was operating broke the idler recoil spring retainer bolt and blew the head off the recoil spring housing, breaking 5 out of 8 one-inch Grade 9 bolts in the process. Three of the five were broken up to 3/4 of an inch down the hole. That used up a few 5/8 spring washers but I got ALL of them out. Good thing too. The machine was around 900 to 1,000 miles from the nearest Cat dealer. As it was, we had to fly a Cat mechanic with all his tools, including all the press gear for re-comprssing the springs, in from Perth, 1,600 miles away. (The job was in the far North of Western Australia.) If the stud hole is too small for the spring washer trick, you may still be able to use a welder to get it out by sliding a length of copper pipe down the hole and building up a bit at time with weld inside the copper pipe. "A bit at a time" is because, if you go for broke, you may melt the copper and finish up welding your broken stud to the threads in the hole. If using a stick welder, this is best done using small electrodes and stopping very frequently to chip your slag and blow it out the hole. Migs weld cleaner but the gas shroud around the welding tip may obscure your view a bit. I have used this method down to 1/2" studs broken off down to about 3/8" to 1/2" below the surface. Hope this helps. You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
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