Don't Break The Bolts !

The most challenging feat in restoring my 79 Pontiac Trans Am was the water pump. The culprit? The most critical of four studs holding the water pump to the block had broken off flush with the block. Most likely it was sheared off when someone made an attempt to replace the pump. Years of use and weather had completely rusted the stud to the block. I drilled a hole and hammered in an extractor, which promptly broke when I tried to back out the stud.

Knowing what I know today, I would go straight  to drilling out the stud and tapping the hole. The "easy-out" extractor is no solution, just an additional headache to building my muscle car hardened steel stud has broken off because the threads are locked, an extractor with a similar diameter is also likely to break.

Nothing would drill out the hardened steel extractor. The tool acturer of the extractor even mailed a special bit to me at no cost. The procedure was to drill dry, no lubricants, using good pressure and high speed. I am a tenacious guy and able to get the most stubborn nuts in the most difficult places to reach, but this was impossible.

The trick was to heat the block surrounding the stud sufficiently so as not to cause too much of a temperature difference, which could crack the block. This was done with an oxyacetylene torch without oxygen--just gas, nice and easy. Once the surrounding area was hot, the welder hit the stud with a blast of oxygen gas mixture, which ignited the stud and extractor. Once the smoke settled I had a rough hole I could drill out, tap, and insert a helical thread into to get to the original thread size--and fortunately, no cracks.
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Automotive Shop Safety Checklist

Use this list to establish safe working habits and monitor your safety awareness.

1. Avoid a messy shop. Clutter invites sloppy work habits; also, spilled grease and oil create fire hazards, especially in combination with power tools or a welding torch.

2. Keep parts and automotive tools on shelves or in cabinets where they can be located easily and aren't lying about the floor inviting accidents.

3. Maintain sharp edges on cutting tools such as chisels and drill bits. The better the tools work, the less you'll have to.

4. Store any toxic chemicals in locked cabinets where they will be kept safely out of children's reach.

5. Always read tool and product health and safety warnings. Labels on chemical containers often list emergency antidotes such as washing the exposed area. When using chemicals that can be corrosive to exposed skin, such as phosphoric acid rust remover, keep a supply of water handy to rinse off any chemical that comes into contact with your skin.

6. Install a first-aid kit in your shop where it can be reached quickly.

7. If you are spray painting, install a ventilation system and wear a mask approved for the painting products you are using. Professional painters wear masks or suits ventilated to an outside air supply and paint in filtered spray booths that draw awaytoxic painting fumes.

8. Never work underneath a car that is raised off its tires unless it is securely supported by professional-grade jack stands.

9. Double up for safety. If you are working on an engine that is mounted in an engine stand, take the precaution of supporting the engine's weight with a chain or cable suspended from a sturdy overhead support.

10. Wear safety glasses and protective clothing when welding, grinding or cutting metal, sandblasting and similar activities, and when pouring toxic or corrosive chemicals that could splash against the skin or into the eyes.

11. Equip your shop with at least two fire extinguishers. Make sure the extinguishers can be easily reached and their location is clearly visible.

12. Use parts-cleaning fluid, preferably a biodegradable solution in a parts washer, for degreasing parts. Avoid cleaning parts in gasoline.

13. Be alert to the danger of shorts and sparks from old wiring. Disconnect and remove the battery before working on the car. Make sure your shop wiring will support the current load of your tools.

14. Develop the habit of anticipating the possible consequences of your actions. For example, never weld near a gas line or the car's gas tank. Remember that body panels may be backed with undercoating or upholstery. Welding on these panelscould cause the car to catch on fire.

Tool Time - A Guide to useful tools and heavy equipment

If you're serious aboiut working on your car, truck or motorcycle, you need the right tools. Whether it's basic maintenance or a complete restoration, a job isn't even worth starting without proper equipment. Start your tool room with sockets, ratchets and wrenches. Domestic cars use SAE thread sizes; most imports require metric, and older British models use British Whitworth (BSW). Always buy the best you can afford. Cheap tools will irreparably damage bolts, and you can be sure they'll break at inconvenient times. Sears Craftsman, Stanley, Snap-On and S-K Tools (now manufactured by Ideal Industries), are four recommended brands. Harbor Freight is a reliable discount source.
Ensure you're getting American-made components. Sadly, the market is filled with substandard imports, mostly from Asia. They look fine at first glance, but they are often poorly made. Popular socket drives are 1/4-in, 3/8-in and 1/2-in. Buy a set for each drive with a range of socket sizes, including a cushioned socket for spark plugs. Be sure to add a few adaptors and extensions. Boxed and open-ended wrenches are essential, too. Companies like Gearwrench offer designs with a built-in ratchet feature. Buy a sturdy torque wrench, as well. Whether you're installing a cylinder head or just tightening lug nuts, matching the correct torque rating is imperative. Quality screwdrivers, Allen wrenches in SAE and metric sizes, pliers in a range of types, and the all-impoirtant Visegrips will round out your tool collection.

Assuming you've got at least a 10 1/2-foot ceiling (11 - to 12-foot is better), a home garage lift may well be the most useful tool investment you'll make. A two- or four post lift takes the difficulty and possible danger out of working under your car. The adjustable height allows you to change oil, grease the chassis and perform many maintenance chores, not to mention basic troubleshooting. Raise it to mid-range and you've got the perfect height for cleaning and detailing.  You must have a crack-free concrete base of at least four to five inches, and 20 feet of garage depth. Buy an accessory jack from your lift supplier and you can do brake jobs, suspension work, exhaust-system repairs and more. A service/storage lift lets you store two cars in the space of one. Lifts are best utilized with 220-volt AC power, but 110 volts will work --just more slowly. I've had a Backyard Buddy for 12 years and wonder what I ever did without it. Reliable lift manufacturers include Backyard Buddy, Bendpak, Direct-Lift, Dannmar, Superlifts, Mid-America Auto Lifts and Eagle Equipment. Prices range from around $2,000 up to $10,000 for a professional, in-ground hydraulic unit.

You'll definitely want an air compressor. This useful device can fill your tires, supply air to tools like die grinders and pneumatic saws, and provide high-pressure air for painting, cleaning parts and powering an impact wrench, orbital sander or  a media-blasting cabinet. They come in many sizes, through most air tools require at least 90 psi. I have a Craftsman 150-psi/6-hp/33-gallon model mounted on wheels, so it can be moved easily around the garage. Stationary units that supply air through permanently installed copper or galvanized steel hard lines are available from many manufacturers, including Craftsman, DeWalt, Summit Equipment, Ingersoll Rand, Campbell Hausfeld, Puma and Chicago Pneumatic.

With your air compressor, you'll want an abrasive blast cabinet. TP Tools and Equipment is the best manufacturer, and they also carry a full line of tools, paint systems, spray guns, compressors and air tools. TP blast cabinets come in many sizes, up to eight feet wide, so you can remove rust and scale, effectively cleaning and stripping large parts. Most units come with built-in vacuums; TP blast cabinets require 80 psi compressed air capability.

A sturdy bench grinder, with at least two different-sized abrasive grinding wheels, is useful for grinding, polishing, filing sharp edges on tools and many other tasks. Some units are mounted on pedestals for maximum flexibility; smaller grinders can be attached to a workbench. Be sure the abrasive wheels have a flexible shield attached to deflect any wayward particles.

That's  a quick review of the basic tools you'll want to consider. Comprehensive manufacturer web-sites, listed here, make it easy to comparison shop. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish when you have the right tools and equipment.