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Snapped a hanger last week, finally got round to trying to swap it last night as I've been riding other bikes and waiting for parts etc.
Problem is that someone's been here before me.
There's the remains of an Allen key jammed in the bolt on one side.
Obviously, tiny countersunk steel bolt in very aluminium frame, right on end of chainstay so plenty flex.
Ideas ? All I can think of is drilling/smacking off the head and hoping I can moley the remains out although the dropout will make purchase awkward. I don't see slotting the head working well this time. Don't have any welding kit either...
Long shot but big block of wood underneath and bash a suitable size Torx bit in until enough purchase to remove?
If it was just a screw with a rounded head I'd be happy (er)
Unfortunately someone has sheared an Allen key in the head and it's still there so there isn't anything to jam an oversize head into otherwise sacrificial T25/T30 would have happened already...
All I do know for sure about this piece of Allen key is that it's survived a lot of riding since I've had the frame so I'm dubious about the theory that it shouldn't be jammed in there too tightly...
What I'm really worried about is screwing this up worse than it is already...
pics?
Nothing of it exposed to get molgrips on to? Hammer it out?
Bend/break/crack hanger out?
Can you drill the bolt out from the back side?
You might not even have to drill it all out.
It might wind it's self out as the drill bit grips it.
getting the drill bit straight will be impossible from behind.
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Not the best pic.
Hopefully you can see the head of the Allen screw is full of someone else's snapped key...
blimey
Did the new hanger come with bolts ?
Yep.
So I don't care about the bolts, I just want it all gone with no frame damage.
Looking at how the hanger went, I think this was basically fatigue.
Cut a slot in the bolt (and remains of allen key) using a Dremel cutting wheel, then use a slotted screwdriver to drive it out? Or a slotted bit on a breaker bar?
Can you drill in a tiny (mm) drill bit into the remains of the allen key, wait for it to get stuck then try reversing the drill, or simply pulling out the snapped bit?
Not the first time I've considered whether a dremel belongs on my 'must have' tool list.
Problem with drill would be it's only a 2-3 mm key so any drill bit would either be so tiny as to have no real twist strength or would have to be with the intention of buzzing the head off...
The broken Allen key is probably harder steel than the bolt, so will be hard to drill out. What about drilling two holes opposite each other in the bolt head and and using a pin spanner? I would also be considering whether you can 'cut' the hanger from around the bolt - including things like tapping a chisel into the cut to widen it and crack the hanger on the inaccessible side... just some ideas.
As another suggestion what about a hacksaw at an angle through the old hanger and into the bolt head being careful not to touch the frame? once there is enough of a slot in the edge of the bolt a screw driver at an angle in the slot to drive the bolt anti-clockwise?
getting the drill bit straight will be impossible from behind.
Stop being a tit Al. 😆
^ Wurzlcube's suggestion is probably the approach I'm going with but not the execution.
The hanger itself is in a cowled recess so a hacksaw could only approach one side and at a steep angle to avoid the chainstay.
If only the b..... thing wasn't countersunk.
Argh.