Stuck bolt, now what? It's just got worse...

[.....]

Hello chaps,

I've got a stuck allen bolt in my lower fork clamp - the bolt rounded off as I tried to undo it. I hammered a slightly larger torx bit into the head and tried turning it with that but no luck. It did turn but the bit kept slipping out and the force needed to turn it just felt wrong - it was a two handed job on the ratchet and quite a bit of effort. I thought before I made things much worse I better stop and ask for advice. I've tried using penetrating oil and a bit of heat as well.

Here's the bolt as it stands:

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/baldgit/DSC01835.jpg

Is it going to be a case of drilling it out? Can this be done with a hand drill and should I use a left hand drill bit?

Thanks

[Tristan.]

If it turns with the torx bit, I would carry on doing it, with plenty of decent (not WD40) penetrating spray. Do up the other bolts first, as if they're loose then the fucked bolt will be under tension still, as the clamp expands with that head. if the others are tight then then once the initial turn is done it wont be under tension.

[Carl_steveo]

If the above fails get a dremmal drill and cut a slit in it so you can get a screwdriver bit in it. Then try that by hand if you still cant do it then gently go at it with a drill with the screwdriver bit in it until its out.
____________________
Current: Honda Nsr 125
Live: Sunderland
Luke "cant be arsed to read your post, but suck my balls anyway."

[.....]

[.....]

Right, the head of the bolt is now too mullered to get any purchase with the torx bit. What would be the next thing to try?

And to make matters worse, I noticed my Halford allen key socket was rounding off the heads so I gave it ago undoing another bolt with a set of allen keys and one of them snapped off in the bolt It's just not my day. There's nothing sticking out so can't get a grip on it.

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v619/baldgit/DSC01836.jpg

Any ideas on that one?

The thing that confuses me is that these bolts all got taken out a month ago and were torqued back up correctly, what could be causing them to seize like this? Should I have used something like copperslip on them?

[----]

I'd try hitting it with a decent punch (heat it up a bit first)
You could try cutting a slot into with a dremmel then get onto it with a flat impact driver.
That way has never worked for me but the punch usually does.
____________________
DRZ-400sm

[.....]

I don't think cutting a slot into the original mullered bolt is an option as it's just to bashed up now - I kept having to go up a size in torx bits to try and get them to have any purchase on the bolt.

Any ideas on what to do with the other bolt with the allen key bit stuck in it?

[Pete.]

It does sound like the thread is torn if you had to use that much effort to turn it.

What I would do is remove the other two bolts then use a 1mm cutting disc in a mini grinder and cut that one off in the gap to release the head. Then I would drill out the threaded part with a drill slightly smaller that the minor diameter of the bolt just in case the thread is not ruined. If it isn't this should cause the bolt to screw itself right out the back.
____________________
a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[.....]

Thanks Pete, I went to B&Q to see if they had a cutting disc there but only had the larger ones. I looked at the Dremel discs and they were £26

No left hand drill bits either.

[stirlinggaz]

hi,
im far too cheap to buy the proper dremel stuff & have found these sort of things to be quite handy for cutting slots in bolts & stuff https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/6-X-MINI-DIAMOND-CUTTING-DISC-SET-ROTARY-TOOLS-/400123965161?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item5d293f2ee9

though tbh,nowadays i just buy the full kit, as it works out cheaper, like this https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/105-pc-HOBBY-ROTARY-TOOL-ACCESSORY-KIT-/150433969656?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item23069035f8

( last one i bought came in a handy aluminium case) means you can use the things a couple of times & chuck them away.

but tbh, i'd be more tempted just to drill those bolts out, using a small cobalt drill bit (i use a 3mm bit then work upwards) & then work your up through the drill bits till you have 99% of the bolt out, then just run a tap through the threads.

if the original threads are stripped, just cut the next size up.
then fit some nice shiney s/s bolts.done this a few times recently on snapped exhaust mount stubs & the like without any problems.
cheers,
GAZ

[Pete.]

[silky666]

You have a number of options .. all of which I have used successfully over the past year or 2.
Give me a shout if you need any of the tools.
1) Drill it out - 2 sub options here:
a) drill out and keep going up in size until the 'thread' gets so thin that it spins out.
This often happens much earlier than you expect .... ie: once you have drilled out a large portion of the bolt (but still well clear of the thread), it relieves the stress on the thread and simply starts to spin.
Often the drill bit will 'catch it' and you can reverse out the thread.
IMPORTANT: Make sure you use a cobalt drill bit. They are expensive, but the consequences of snapping off a drill bit in the bolt are horrendous. Trust me, i tried to save money and used HSS bits, snapped one off and then had to take it to an engineers for them to work their magic.

or b) drill and then use a reverse thread extractor.
I have a set of these

2) Get some freeze spray from Halfrauds ... heat the surrounding clamp ... then freeze the bolt. Then tap it round using a chisel and some brute force.
It will spin easily due to the expansion/contraction of the metals. (that spray freezes to about -20)

I used the freeze spray on a similar recessed oil drain bolt (only KTM would have a recessed bolt in the sump) on my bike last weekend. Worked a treat.
If that fails then drill it ... That has worked everytime for me.

oh! and I have a Dremel with all the little cutting tools if you want it.
____________________
There's nothing that shouts "Poor Workmanship" more than wrinkles in the Gaffa tape.

Gaffa tape is like "the force" - it has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together.

[silky666]

[Ed Case]

[TUG]

[silky666]

[Vincent]

Use Petes method of cutting the screw in half and remove after you have the forks out but instead of using a dremmel to cut the bolt, can't you get an old fashioned hacksaw in there?

[----]

[chillyman0]

flat head screwdriver to one of the edges, hit it hard to get a little groove almost then angle the screwdriver and hit it again in the direction that you want the head to go, thats usually what i do. either that or find a bolt thats about the size of the mashed I.D. with backward thread and forge it to cut a thread in the bolt, keep tuning and you should be able to get the bastard out.
____________________
preivious : 2007 Skyjet 125 (died), 1991 gsf400 (problems, rotting in garden)
1996 gsf600n (sold)
current : 1996 VFR750 for sale, PM for info! 2000 E1 ZX-9r

[chillyman0]

[stirlinggaz]

"if you're going to use stainless screws for re-assembly be sure to coat them, or any other bolts if it comes to that, with copper grease because they're buggers for 'galling' the threads over time.
Best of luck, Ed."

hi,
yup, i should have said, if you ever want the replacement s/s bolts back out, its worthwhile putting a bit of copper sip on them.

i might be tempted to try freeze & releae spray, halfrauds stock it.(Loctite,iirc)
but i'd use decent hex bits rather than hex keys.
i have a set of 7 or 8 (i only ever use the 4,5 & 6 tbh) that i got off ebay a few years ago, one of the best things i have bought, just stick them on a breaker bar & give it a sharp whack.
if that fails, drill the f*ckers out!
cobalt drills arent as expensive as you might think, i bought a set of black & decker piranha bits, cost me about 18 quid for the set of 13 bits & tbh, they wernt much better than ordinary hss bits.
so i got a pack of 10 x 3mm & a pack of 10 x 5.5mm de-walt cobalt drill bits for a tenner off ebay & they have been the best drills i have used.
i just drill a 3mm hole, then run the 5.5mm bit through, then, if needed, i run a bigger titanium bit through to finish it.
just remember to punch a hole in the centre (i have a habit of drilling squint ), then drill slow, keeping the bit cool & use plenty of cutting oil. ( i use any cheap thin oil)
cheers,
GAZ[/b]

[.....]

Thanks for the help everyone.

I think the method I'm going to try will be drill it out with a reverse thread cobalt drill bit. They look pretty pricey, can anyone point me to some reasonably priced sets? I've thought about using extractors but heard they can break pretty easily and then you're really stuck.

And stirlinggaz, I know I shouldn't have used those allen keys in there really, but my Halfords Pro socket was just rounding them off.

[Vincent]

[stirlinggaz]

hi,
i wouldnt bother with extractors or the like, if they snap, then your in more sh*t.
i found reverse thread drills a bit too costly,for what they are & just used good bits, less than 10mins work to remove 2 x M8 bolts, about 45-50mm long/deep.
cobalt drill bits are only a couple of quid each, even for the good ones,
good luck,
cheers,
GAZ

[MrJames]

Heating and freezing aluminium is a bad idea as it can cause it to crack after dealing with many tricky bolts before by the time you've spent all this money on trying to remove them and possibly failing you could have paid a shop to remove them lol