So, trying to reinstall some parts back onto my car now that I've got a garage with a roof height that's not ridiculously short.

 

Tailgate struts back in, but snapped one of the lower bolts just above the tiallights.

And another that holds the bonnet (sorry, hood ) onto it's hinges.

 

Can't get vice grips onto either. Any suggestions?

When I do that, I drill a hole in the bolt and use an easy-out bit, or just drill the bolt out completely and retap the hole.

Edited February 7, 201511 yr by Dee2

Easy outs can be problematic. If you have a reversible drill, buy some left-handed drill bits, and go that route. Use a center punch to mark the broken bolt before drilling. 

Never seen a left handed drill bit. So the aim is to get something smaller than the bolt & drill into it? By spinning the wrong way, try to break it loose from the thread?

I'm pretty sure you can get left hand drill bits from MScdirect.Com or McMaster carr. If the bolts snapped because they were hard to turn while unscrewing, drilling out is what you will likely end up doing. Another trick I've seen is weld a washer to the snapped end, and use it to turn the bolt.

Weld a washer to broken bolt.

 

Weld Nut to the top of washer.

 

Let cool for 5 mins.

 

Use a wrench on the nut to remove.

unfortunately, they've snapped off just low enough into the nuts that nothing is sticking out