Broke a Tap in the head

[Del]

Advice needed gentlemen - I was cleaning out the threads for the exhaust studs when the tap broke off in Number to inside stud - Ive bought some Titanium Nitride drill but there not even touching it - harder than a whores heart

I've just ordered a 4-Flute Tap Extractor and a  Solid Carbide Drill Bit which will be here next week and if these dont then Im going to have to remove the engine and take it to an engineers to get the tap removed

Unless that is if you good gentlemen have any other cunning plans to aid the removal of this effin tap - its about 3mm recessed

[Andre]

.

[seth]

i think what your doing is the best way as you cant get hold of the broken tap .
if that doesn't work its a head off and spark eroded hopefully you'll get it .

[Red Biker]

That's a real bummer Del, good luck with it!

[Teufel]

I don't understand how you could break a tap if you were only cleaning the thread.
BUT, I once got my boss to TIG weld a small piece of steel to a broken, recessed stud.
It wasn't a tap but if it can be welded it's a possibility.
Maybe grind the other half of the tap smaller and weld it to the piece in the head.
I know it's tricky but Phil (my old boss RIP) was an ace welder.

[grog]

Had a big read on broken taps. Bottom line is always use lots of lube and never chinese taps. Seems lots break taps doing simple clean out jobs, no idea why. Laser or electric disintergration looks the best option. Another option, never tried, is heat cherry red with oxy, cool with co2 or a can of freon. Then a centre punch n hammer should shatter the tap. Bit by bit just keep at it. Heat, cool n shatter. Just what i read, no reco from me.

[Andre]

Not a lot of ace welders around. Met one a few years ago. Always on the road for more or less special and lucrative work. Told me that he considered himself more a metallurgist than a welder.

Sorry can't really contribute much helpful stuff. The only (possible) helpful thing was that you don't have to take the engine out as the head can be taken off with the engine still mounted. But then I thought that it was probably better to take the whole engine to the engineer so no crap gets into the head during his work, Plus saving a couple of gaskets and warding off potential mishaps like snapping a bolt  ). Deleted my previous post because Del was already going the better route.

[gsxbarmy]

Don't know if this article any help Del

http://gsx1400owners.org/forum_test/index.php?topic=317.0

[Andre]

Had a big read on broken taps. Bottom line is always use lots of lube and never chinese taps. Seems lots break taps doing simple clean out jobs, no idea why. Laser or electric disintergration looks the best option. Another option, never tried, is heat cherry red with oxy, cool with co2 or a can of freon. Then a centre punch n hammer should shatter the tap. Bit by bit just keep at it. Heat, cool n shatter. Just what i read, no reco from me.

Never Chinese taps (or anything else Chinese for that matter). I am worried about what the red hot/ cooling method would do to the head.

Maybe sourcing a good used head would be the best path to take as I imagine the work done by a specialist can be big $.

[Snapey]

Had a big read on broken taps. Bottom line is always use lots of lube and never chinese taps. Seems lots break taps doing simple clean out jobs, no idea why. Laser or electric disintergration looks the best option. Another option, never tried, is heat cherry red with oxy, cool with co2 or a can of freon. Then a centre punch n hammer should shatter the tap. Bit by bit just keep at it. Heat, cool n shatter. Just what i read, no reco from me.

While you're getting the tap cherry red you're also doing a good job of melting the aluminium head. Did someone tell you that one on April fools day Grog?

Find someone with an EDM spark eroder.

[grog]

as i said Snapey, not my reco but were doing it an alloy head car motor. didnt damage the head. agree electric method is best, repco got a broken bleeder out of caliper for me, thats what they used. didnt realise it was april already.

[T 24]

I have taken out several broken bolts by welding an A2 nut to broken bolt through a nut using Certaniun 707 SP rods. I know, the thread tap is not the same material than bolt, it's much harder, but 707 SP is also meant to lenghten twist drills. And drll is close to tap.
It doesn't matter if you break threads of that hole, it's easy to rapair with helicoil. It's sronger than original thread.

[Eisenfarn]

I know this is an old thread, but gotta know, did you get the tap out??

[Del]

@Eisenfarn I ended up taking the engine to an engineering company and they got it out for me

[Eisenfarn]

Bugger :(