How to remove bolt stuck in Hobie threaded insert?

My Hobie Adventure was making a creaking noise that seemed to be coming from the "click-n-go" thing (holds the pedals to the kayak). So, I wanted to remove the click-n-go things, but one bolt was stubborn and got stripped. I drilled off the head (luckily, no damage), but now I've got to get the bolt out.

Any suggestions?

They make left handed drill bits for reverse drilling a broken bolt, which should also reverse it out.  Have to be pretty small, but seems like it would work.

EZ Out.  Use a really good high speed metal bit.  EZ out threads in 'backwards."  You'll get it. If not come over my house we can figure something out.  I have an anvil, you know...

All of us are glad to watch your experimentations without risking our own equipment for attempted improvements. Where else can we witness first hand, bungee cord used for idler pulley and chain adapted to eliminate Hobie's subpar drive cable. Good luck on bolt extraction and the suggestion of a left handed tap might just work. Deep gratitude sent from your readers.

I prefer left hand bits over an EZ-Out, personally.  EZ Outs are good, but I use other extractors first.  If you don't want to buy anything, you're more than welcome to bring it here and we can get it out in a jiffy.

Maybe try a little PB Blaster.. 

Since it looks like you still have a little bit of the bolt sticking out, one quick solution that sometimes works is to tighten the chuck of a drill onto it as if it were a drill bit, then back it out.

I’ve also filed flats on the sides of a busted bolt so that a wrench can hold it.

Since it looks like you still have a little bit of the bolt sticking out, one quick solution that sometimes works is to tighten the chuck of a drill onto it as if it were a drill bit, then back it out.

I’ve also filed flats on the sides of a busted bolt so that a wrench can hold it.

I thought about that, but the problem is that the bolt is really (really) stuck in there. The other 3 that came out were very difficult to remove, and I was luck that none of the others were stripped. It's a 2011 kayak, and I'm sure those stainless bolts (in brass fittings) had never been removed before.

I'm planning to get some left-hand drill bits, start fairly small and, if necessary, work up to nearer to full size (they are 1/4" bolts), and hope that I don't trash the threaded insert before the bolt cries uncle...

You could also Dremel a slot for a flat screwdriver

If you use an EZ Out make sure your drill is in reverse and when you try to remove the bolt go at a slow speed.

Can't tell from the foto - is there enough of a nub to get a set of vice-grips locked onto it? I'd also be soaking the bolt with some liquid wrench or other penetrating oil for a while. Good luck!

Cheers,
Brad

My only advice is to tread carefully... I was in a similar situation and tried using a left handed drill bit only to have it snap off, making extrication that much more difficult. In hindsight I wish I'd used something to penetrate/eat the rust before trying the left handed drill bit.

I solicited advice on another forum:
https://www.stripersonline.com/surftalk/topic/884257-idiot-tax-paid-bolt-extractor-broken-off-in-transducer-mount-bolt/#comment-18498966]

Some interesting ideas were tossed around. I'll likely end up trying the alum concoction.

Anyways, don't do what I did.

Got it!

It was slow and tedious, but here's what worked for me...

1. Drilled down the center with a 1/8" LH drill bit.
2. Tried using a bolt extractor. However, it wasn't gripping at all, which was not surprising since it said to use a 7/64" drill bit (Doh!)
3. Drilled out the 1/8" hole with an 11/64" bit (RH bit, because that's all I had).
4. Then I got the idea to use a 1/4-20 tap to clean out the remaining stainless that was stuck in the threads.
5. I couldn't get the tap to start, so I drilled out the hole with 13/64" (RH) bit, which is the recommended size for 1/4-20 tap.
6. I could then tap the threads down about 1/4", but the tap was a thru-tap, so it would hit the bottom at that point.
7. I needed to tap threads down to about 3/4", so I used my angle grinder to cut off the bottom of the tap, in effect making it a blind tap.
8. Finished tapping the hole.
9. Done!

I'd say the key was drilling thru the bottom of the stuck bolt. Of course, that was the most nerve-racking part too, as it would have been easy to drill thru the bottom of the fitting and the plastic below it too. Fortunately, that did not happen. Anyways, once the bottom of the bolt was drilled through, it was just a matter of (carefully...) getting the remaining stainless out of the threads.

Triumph!

Great job!