Broken pin on diamond

[eresle]

So, I have one diamond with a broken pin. The pin has snapped off below the surface of the diamond shifter body. It is undrillable (but I guess you all already knew that. I had to try right?) Has anyone successfully removed a pin that has has snapped off below the surface? And how? Local heat to ruin the temper of the pin? Attacking the pin with a tc drill or diamond tipped dremel tool? I am a bit shy of damaging the body of the shifter as replacements are close to 100$ plus shipping to Europe.... If I can get the pin half out I can find a replacement pin. Dimensions I already have (courtesy of searching this site) But how to get it out.... any hints appreciated.
Also, what about the broken end? Can I just leave it floating around inside the T20? I watched a youtube video that suggested that would be fine but really? Is that ok? What are the chances of that small bit of very hard steel getting wedged up and causing BIG damage?

[Mike]

I don't have any suggestions on getting the pin out besides drilling it. As for having the pin floating around, I have always taken mine apart to remove the broken pin but I've also pulled apart transmissions after using them for a couple of years and found old pins in there. They didn't seem to cause any problems.

[Muscat]

I was successful by using expoy glue adding very small amount to tip of drill I flatten to size of pin. Let it dry/harden 24 hr. Then slowly pull it out in a twisting motion.

[eresle]

Well, I have spent the evening trying to drill the pin out. Result; a small shiny spot in the middle of it. I can't see epoxy working, the pin seems fixed very solidly. Heat didn't make any difference and a diamond tipped tool in a dremel didn't do a lot. Tomorrow I will pick up a few fresh masonry bits and try to get an edge on them with a diamond cutting disc. Then try drilling again. Slow, heavy and lots of oil seems to be the suggestion from the internet. These pins are grade 8 as far as anyone knows right?

[eresle]

Hi Guys, took a while to get this fixed but I am up and running again. The broken pin resisted all efforts including welding a tab to it and trying to twist it out. Eventually a friend of a friend bored it out using a very fine and accurate abrasive jet. He works at some high tech metal place. New pins were sourced from the UK, 1/4 x 3/4 is not exactly a common metric size...
While putting the max back together I went for the split shift but with a slightly different end result. A remote set of levers mounted between the main control levers. It took a bit of work but nothing to strenuous.
The rods from the shift lever bar to the diamonds had to be remade as they needed to be longer. Rebar was the material I used, I had it lying around. Anyone else doing this should know you will need to get the rebar hot when bending the angles at the ends. The bends need to be very tight and cold bending will not do it. It is also easier to make both ends and then weld together to get the correct length. Or so I found. You might be cleverer than me!
The lever bar was mounted on 30mm box section to give it a standoff from the wall of the frame. This was needed as I added two more levers to the bar for my remote control rods. Without the standoff the extra levers would have fouled the frame. The battery box area is the area I am talking about. Photos should make it clearer I hope...
The lever bar was cut as per usual split shift modification. However I also braced the short length of tube I slipped over the cut ends. This stiffened up the action a lot and was necessary as I had added the extra levers and remote connections. Hopefully this is also clear from the photos.
The new forward/reverse levers are 16mm tube welded to pieces of 20mm tube that was split and opened up to allow it to slip over the tube at the bottom of the main levers. Doing this mod does mean pulling out the main levers and the shaft they pivot on. Not a major job, just awkward to get a decent thump on the shaft I found. A dollop of grease between the new gear levers and the control levers is a given.
Two pieces of 15mm flat served to connect the new gear levers to the short levers added to the old bar. 8mm bolts act as all the pivots. The gear levers had a tab welded on to give a pivot point.
I apologise, this is the most terrible description ever but I hope the photos make it all clear.

The photos only show one lever fully connected. But the other is a mirror image. You will notice I left the original single lever in place. I got bored with cutting dust everywhere and it isn't in the way.
I had to trim out the centre of the floor tub but not so much. No photo of that.
The whole point was to get the forward/reverse control up near the drive controls. This makes driving a whole load easier I have found. So the extra work was totally worth it.