Hey all, this is my first post and I did some searching for axle vent on the site and couldn't find anything so I'll ask..
I have a 95 Ram 1500 4x4 that has a pinion gear going out so I started to replace with one from a wrecking yard. In the process of removing the rear brake splitter/axle vent bolt it snapped off (Argghh).
The bolt is hollow and does double duty as the vent and brake splitter attachment bolt.
I tried to drill it out but the threads are not coming out the way I thought they would. How do I replace it? Is it threaded in the axle tube or what? Any thoughts, suggestions, condemnations???? All help is appreciated.

 

How about tryingan easy-out?

 

Thanks for your reply "rabbler"
I forgot to mention that I did try the easy out but the metal seems too soft as it cracks and expands without turning. The bolt on my old difff came out easy, of course it looks like it has been WELL lubricated over the years so no rust worries there. Now I have some place to start.
The bolt measures .433 so it must be 11 mm and the pitch matches a tap I have that is 1.25 pitch. Now just to locate an 11mmx 1.25 and tap it out.

Moral of the story is use Liquid Wrench and work at it. I was in a hurry and thought I could "muscle" it.

 

I was wrong, it is a 7/16 x 20 bolt. I found a tap the right size and tapped it out starting with a 25/64 drill bit. The remainder came out when I drilled it so I just had to clean up the threads. I used a sealer on the threads and it worked like a charm.