[quote=desmond]Maybe you guys can help, I broke the head off a small bolt in my ATV’s rear differential. What is the best way to get the bolt out?[/quote]
You can try using an extractor. It kinda looks like a tap except it has left-hand threads. You carefully drill a hole into the center of the broken-off-bolt, and then using a t-handle, twist the extractor into the bolt. Because the extractor has left hand threads, as you drive it deeper and it catches, you’ll be twisting in the direction that loosens the bolt.
Two caveats: 1) it works miraculously well on small bolts, but I’ve never tried it on anything larger than about ~1/4. It’s probably worth a stop at Tool Depot to ask the guys there what they think. 2) your rear diff is a cast housing, which is much softer metal than the hardened steel of this bolt. Be very careful when you drill, and even then there’s a chance you might still ruin the threads. Your next step at that point would be to try replacing the shot threads with a helicoil.
