MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
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I used red loctite on my chainring bolts to stop them creaking and now I can't get them removed.
Has anyone any tips for getting the buggers out?
I'm guessing I'll have to drill them out has anyone else had to do this and if so what size of drill bit should I use?
numpty
And the moral of this story is.....
I learned this the hard way with some KCNC bolts. They are super soft alloy anyway and they just shredded when I tried to apply any pressure to undo them. I couldn't drill mine out so ended up sawing through the middle chainring to get it off and out of the way. I then used some mole grips to hold the backs of the bolts and just undid them with an allen key. It was brutish and messy but It did the job and a middle chainring is less than a new crank, unless it's XTR of course!
Cheers S_J I think I'll have to do the same
Try puttiing some heat on the bolts, get them glowing if you can as this usually aids in getting loctited bolts out good luck! 😐
VAR PE-35500 tool (old version VAR 352 tool)
To answer my own question, a 7mm drill bit does the job and only took about 5 minutes
Apparently some heat will soften the loctite - though I cannot confirm this with 1st hand experience. If it is just spinning the nut, you need to hold the nut by its slot. There are special tools for this. LBS should have one:
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Buzz,
I have the chain-ring bolt tool but it was not strong enough to grip them as the loctite was too strong.