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So a quick 30min job has once again not gone to plan.
Needed to swap out a wheel speed sensor and was going smoothly. Bolt started undoing easily enough... except it obviously wasn't.
Have soaked in WD40 and tapped with a hammer before trying my cheap Rolson molegrips but they don't seem to have enough bite, just spin and stripped the bolt threads a bit.
Worth investing in better grips and trying again after a bit of heat?
Would a drill chuck grip it enough in reverse?
Any other methods before I run it down the local garage asking for help.
There's about 8-10mm sticking out and as the car is only on axel stands access isn't great for drilling and using an easy out.
Thanks
Mig weld a bar on it. Assuming the heat won't terminally damage anything it will help with extraction.
Treat yourself to some decent water pump pliers.
Or...
Two nuts tightened up to each other and then loosen with spanner on the inner one.
If not enough threads, drill out about 5mm and hammer in a torx.
File/grind two flats into it for a spanner.
Plenty of heat and a decent set of molegrips,
if there enough to get something on it then file some flats first then some adjustables.
Thanks all.
No welder unfortunately.
Will try two nuts and also buy decent grips.
Then move onto something like doomanic linked.
Those type of tools @doomanic linked are great to have in the tool box. Saved me many a time working on old shitboxes. Quite useful on seized rotor bolts too.
Also WD40 or gt85 isn’t much cop. Get some plus gas or diesel.
also try going back in half a turn first as well.
Just realised I forgot to add the image in my first post.
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Depends on the diameter of stud left, too big or small, then no it won’t.
One of those will undo a rounded Allen bolt by gripping the outside of the head. Should also work on a stud if the size is right.
I’ve had way more success with those type than easy outs.
Worth owning anyway. Cant comment on that particular model tho, I’m sure they’re all quite similar.
Thanks, looks like it's an M6 bolt so right at the lower limit of the sets.
If a bolt has already sheared the head off, then molegrips/double nuts/<any other of cold method> is very unlikely to work.
And seeing a photo, heat might work, but you'll struggle to get enough heat into a casting like that. Heat cycling the remains of the bolt, might help loosen it, but I've had/seen varied success. However I've also seen heating bolts like that, harden them to the point nothing will drill them, and requiring the entire casting to be replaced.
Personally, I'd take the brake disc off as it's likely to be drilled al the way through, and drill it from the other side with a good quality drill bit (you'll need a 5mm drill for a M6 bolt) without even attempting to heat it, and re-tap the thread.
Back in the day I had a sheared stud in the head of my rd250, less than you have and split vertically so it basically looked like a sharks fin. At 18 with minimum tools I was stumped, but my elderly neighbour looked at it and suggested drilling through the remnants horizontaly then inserting a nail through the hole. So I did that and the nail gave sufficient purchase with molegrips to turn it and extract.
I think I'd be doing the double bolt method first, but plus gas it to death obviously
Take a hacksaw and cut a vertical slot in the bolt, heat up the metal and then get a big flat head screw driver in the cut slot.
It looks a solid lump of metal it is going into. Heat it as much as you can and then add some heat. Worse can, liquid metal can't be seized
To get sufficient heat into that you'd need either an induction heater or oxy/act which you obv's don't have. The welder option as above. Repeated & ever desperate attempts at removal could hinder your chances. There's a number of factors that affect how much torque you can apply to this before it shears off further down, under flush or releases and comes out cleanly. If it's a through hole there may be a rusty portion of the thread protruding at the rear or corrosion may have crept up the hole. If that's the case clean everything up to prevent it binding on the way out. Can't tell from looking what size of thread that is? M6/M8 These could both easily be sheared off using hand tools so proceed with caution. I'd file or grind two flats on that stud allowing your molegrips to get a solid hold. Ensure flats are aligned to allow free movement of molegrips. From there I'd heat everything as hot as you can get it with a hot air gun/blowlamp/wife's hairdryer etc. Give the end of the bolt a few solid blows with a hammer. Get the molegrips engaged as solidly as humanly possible & attempt to work the bolt back and forth in tiny increments. Stuck studs and bolts will twist along their length and the small movements help release the threads nearest the outside first. Take your time & apply more heat and impacts from the hammer every few minutes. It;s a process that's not to be rushed. Don't be tempted to swing on the molegrips.
Good luck.
Thanks all, yeah it's an M6.
Will have one more go and then take it to the garage to weld before I do too much damage.
Drilling a bolt out can be much harder than it sounds, can destroy bits and you'll want to use drilling oil - the bit gets very hot very quickly.
As others have mentioned plug-gas or other brand penetrating oil, not WD40- can't remember what brand I'm using at the moment, might be in the WD range, but its quite a miracle worker, so def worth giving that a try
This stuff is good - I have 4 older cars and in the full rebuilds of my 2 Volvos have only snapped two bolts.
I clean the absolute shit of any exposed threads (wire brush, thread chasers, hack saw blades), blast some MAPP heat into it then blast it with Rost Off. Bolt out!
Cracking effect
By cooling the material surface down to -45°C, micro-fine cracks occur in the corrosion layer at the connection points. These "crack open" the rust, ensuring better penetration of the active agent
Visual cold indicator
When cooled to a minimum temperature of -5°C, the sprayed area turns blue. The processing temperature is achieved.
Optimum rust removal
Rust is quickly penetrated and loosens seized up screws
Heavily rusted screw connections are loosened without damaging them
Can't you just put the new sensor on, and then put a nut on the stud to secure it, instead of using a bolt?
No, with the sensor fitted the thread isn't exposed, snapped about a CM into the old plastic fitting which then just slid over to remove.
New sensor friction fits through the other hole so maybe this bolt was just belt and braces.
dooosuk
Free Member
So a quick 30min job has once again not gone to plan.
Those bloody 30 minute jobs always turn into multiday epics for me, even on mountain bikes. Lol
Good luck sorting it mate. 👍
Those bloody 30 minute jobs always turn into multiday epics for me, even on mountain bikes.
Tell me about it! 😖 I stupidly swapped a steel deurailleur pivot bolt with a whizzy titanium one, without realising it needed loads of copper grease on it. Two of us spent much of an afternoon before getting the sodding thing out! Swapped for alloy ones as a breakaway function and always carried a spare with me.
‘Course, not an issue with a S/S…🤪
Here’s your tool. Cheap and effective. Minimum bolt size 6mm.
https://www.tradetools.com/force-stud-extractor-818a