snapped bolt in santa cruz blur 4x….what now

daughter has a santa cruz 4x and has emailed to say that the back end felt loose so she checked the bolts, by the sounds of things the bolt above the shock or at the top of the swing link.

The bolt has snapped with the nut inside the link, loooking at it she is describing it as bearing/nut/thread…the remaining bolt is just turning. She cannot get purchase to stop the bolt spinning, also some rugby lad has thwacked trying to dislodge the thread from the bolt 🙄

Any suggestions on how to get this out?

Take it to a Good LBS, they should be able to fix it.

I don’t understand what you mean, If a bolt has snapped inside and both nut and bolt just spin won’t both ends just fall out?

No idea what you mean but all the bolts, axles etc on the 4X are still available from Jungle if you need spares.

In fact, I might have some stuff knocking about. If you can give me a description of what it is, I’ll have a look. Replaced all the hardware on my 4X not long before I sold it and I’m sure I still have the old bolts, axles etc knocking about in the bike dungeon.

thanks Davey awaiting pic, will be tomorrow now

Hello fianlly a picture of the snapped bolt, it is the middle of the orange sealed bearing, nut with sheared off bolt, the part sheared was a hex bolt….so what do i do next, bike will be with me this afternoon?

Looks like it should just knock through suitable drift and a gentle tap.

Drift the shock axle / shaft out from the side with the broken bolt, it’s one price that runs thru the shock & the linkage. Then you can try & remove the broken bolt, otherwise its a new shaft time- its aviable as a spare from sc-£ 15 or so.

by drifting you mean gently thwacking?

Quite!

so I am thwacking

a) the snappe dbolt in the middle
b) the orange sealed bearing
C) something else?

want to check this out prior to thwacking!

You are thwacking the shaft- which the snapped bolt in the middle is threaded into. I would suggest getting some heavy duty cable ties & securing the front triangle to the rear, this way it won’t all swing apart when you take the shaft out- makes it easier to put back together too.

You want a punch or dowel that is a bit smaller than the diameter of the snapped bolt, then use it on the snapped bolt and thwack until the bolt comes out of the other end.

DON’T hit the bearing, else you’ll be adding to you woes.

thanks an afternoon of thwacking to look forward to!

This definitely threads into a nut on the other side? On my Blur XCc it threads into the link itself so it can’t be drifted through.

snapped bolt in santa cruz blur 4x….what now

buy her a torque wrench

This happened on my stinky. Eventually I tried to drill out the bolt as I was resigned to it being a write off. Drilling into the stuck end of the bolt must have loosened it and actually unscrewed it as it fell out after a few minutes and before any damage to the frame. It’s worth a try.

This definitely threads into a nut on the other side? On my Blur XCc it threads into the link itself so it can’t be drifted through.

The 4x uses an older design- there is a internally threaded shaft that runs thru the seatstay end bearings, thru the swing link & the shock & is fastened at each end by a Allen head bolt & a pair of Alu reducers.

wouldnt it make it allot easier to let the air out of the shock too

Hello and good morrow, so thwacked out the shaft, i was very genteel and then thwacked, flewdown the garden almost getting next doors cat,

so left with the pics below, you can see the threaded correct end, but how can iget the bolt out that is snapped or is a case of a new axel/shaft?

New axle looks like the best option, quicker & easier and less chance of recurring problems.

thought so had a look on the internet but cannot see the shaft alone, anyone any suggestions or one lurking in the shed?

Is it one of these maybe?
http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/shop/cat/axles/14

I’d wait till Tuesday then give Santa Cruz UK and bell and see if they can confirm exactly what you need. Good luck 🙂

Same thing happened to me. Got a replacement axle from Jungle.
Suggest changing those Ti bolts for steel ones to prevent a recurrence.

Could drill out the bolt starting with a very small drill bit through the middle and then slowly increasing the size until it just crumbles?

Or a screw extractor if you have one.

Dealers here are open today im sure they can advise good bunch
http://www.bike-treks.co.uk/

ambleside tomorrow as it happens so will call in…….may have a play with the drill and give it a try though 😀

vice or molegrips>blow tourch gently heat the end of shaft that has the sheared bolt in it….> then try using a small flat driver with a hammer to gently tap the sheared bolt in the anti-clockwise direction…. just progressively heat it up and try it…. other option is vice grip the shaft and drill with a 1.5mm smaller bit than the bolt size. worst that can happen is you need a new one which your already looking at…..

I’m pretty sure I have a couple of those axles in the spares box from my old 4x. I’m not back at home until Friday, but if you’re in no rush, I’m happy to bang one in the post for you.

Honourablegeorge that would be, well,very honourable and noble.

She is no rush as she is riding a dialled alpine

My email is

vondally at googlemail dot com

if you could drop me a line and discuss

Many thanks

Mail sent