When an EZ out doesn't work try this

[RickB]

Hi folks,

As I was taking off my airbox spitter tubes and check valves to clean them I broke off one of the hollow brass fittings in the block. Dallas was really helpful in helping me but no matter how I tried the brass fitting would not budge using an EZ out. I spoke to my nephew who is a mechanic and he said that when working with soft metals like brass the ez out actually expands the fitting out and hurts rather than helps and that more often than not you end up breaking the EZ out off in the hole and then you are in real trouble. So he suggested buying a set of left handed drill bits and drilling the brass out and as you increase the bit size it will eventually spin out on the bit. Mine didn't work like that I drilled it out as far as I felt comfortably drilling and then used the EZ out and voila! it came out. I then used my shop vac with a small hose attached and sucked out any shavings. I'm not to worried about the shavings because Dallas explained that the pressure is actually going out of the airbox so chances are any remining shavings will be forced out the spitter tubes.

Just food for thought because Lord knows anybody that works on a bus WILL eventually break something off.. Might be a good suggestion for an under the tree Christmas gift. A set of left handed drill bits. Who'da thunk?

Obviously use your discretion when doing this. I'm not sure it would be wise to cause a bunch of shavings to meet an injector or a main bearing...

Rick

[Sammy]

My left hand drill bits work great on removing broken axle studs from rear hubs.
Sometimes we get lucky.

[luvrbus]

I never had luck with the spiral ez out on brass but the drive in square heads have always worked for me.    good luck

[gus]

I've owned a small set of LH drill bits I got from HF a couple of years ago and they work amazingly well.

Even though they are made in China they are the hardest steel of anything else I have now or ever had??

Sometimes when I'm having trouble drilling something hard I get one of those things out and they cut right through. I don't understand any of this but I liked them so well I got another set.