Dam it..rounded a bolt

[eskimo]

Hey,

Was in the process of removing the plenum from my 20v BT so i could clean the ITB's.

Went to take the last bolt off and thought I had the allen key all the way in but i didnt and ended up rounding the inside of the bolt & now cant get the dam thing off

The stuck bolt is the one under the strut brace on the driver side(the most difficult one to get to). Ive tried everything I could think off to get the sucker off.

Any one have any ideas that I could try to get it out?

[B1NZ]

Vice grips?

[eskimo]

Don't have a pair small enough, going to get some small long nose ones tomorrow AM but was hoping to get this done tonight.

[fivebob]

Are you sure you rounded the socket in the bolt and not the allen key? Usually the sockets are way harder than the keys.

Get a fresh allen key and make sure it's in all the way, gentle persuasion with a hammer may help

[eskimo]

Yea pritty sure it was the bolt, tried 2 different sets of keys, cant really get a hammer in there either.

[Dell'Orto]

Tap an 11(?)mm socket over it on an extension, will come out pretty easy. Are you using ball end allen keys?

[Dell'Orto]

Are you sure you rounded the socket in the bolt and not the allen key? Usually the sockets are way harder than the keys.

Get a fresh allen key and make sure it's in all the way, gentle persuasion with a hammer may help

Nah I did one on the rear of the plenum in my car, they're quite a bitch of an angle with straight allen keys.

[eskimo]

Are you sure you rounded the socket in the bolt and not the allen key? Usually the sockets are way harder than the keys.

Get a fresh allen key and make sure it's in all the way, gentle persuasion with a hammer may help

Nah I did one on the rear of the plenum in my car, they're quite a bitch of an angle with straight allen keys.

How did ya get it out?

[eskimo]

Tap an 11(?)mm socket over it on an extension, will come out pretty easy. Are you using ball end allen keys?

Tried that with a 10mm as 11 was to big, was too loose and the socket just spun on the head.

Yea used ball ended and flat ended ones as well. She's stuck in there real good, given it a squirt of crc and let it soak for a bit. still not budging.

[sergei]

Tap an 11(?)mm socket over it on an extension, will come out pretty easy. Are you using ball end allen keys?

Tried that with a 10mm as 11 was to big, was too loose and the socket just spun on the head.

Yea used ball ended and flat ended ones as well. She's stuck in there real good, given it a squirt of crc and let it soak for a bit. still not budging.

If it is completely rounded and you don't have other methods, you could find a flat screwdriver that almost fits in there, and hammer it in...

[hachiroku3]

theres a product you can buy that i cant for the life of me remember what is called. its like an iron sand that you can put into or around the bolt(if its not a internal hex bolt) and pretty much turn it no matter how rounded it is.

i used it on the exact same bolt on another 20v i worked on which was also rounded in the same place. the product comes in a little red container and i think it was a loctite product but i cant quite remember.

if you can find it, it will definitely be able to get it out. could try asking at local repco etc and see if they know of it.

[eskimo]

Cheers, ill be off to repco shortly to see if I can find it. Gota head down to Tauranga today and not back until tomorrow so will have to wait till then to see if it works.

If not ill try the screw driver.

Thanks
JH

[Dell'Orto]

Tap an 11(?)mm socket over it on an extension, will come out pretty easy. Are you using ball end allen keys?

Tried that with a 10mm as 11 was to big, was too loose and the socket just spun on the head.

Yea used ball ended and flat ended ones as well. She's stuck in there real good, given it a squirt of crc and let it soak for a bit. still not budging.

May have been 3/8" I used then, have to be reasonably brutal when mashing it on

[petrolhead]

Use a double hex socket as it will be a hell of a lot easier than trying to hammer on a single hex.

[RS13]

theres a product you can buy that i cant for the life of me remember what is called. its like an iron sand that you can put into or around the bolt(if its not a internal hex bolt) and pretty much turn it no matter how rounded it is.

i used it on the exact same bolt on another 20v i worked on which was also rounded in the same place. the product comes in a little red container and i think it was a loctite product but i cant quite remember.

if you can find it, it will definitely be able to get it out. could try asking at local repco etc and see if they know of it.

Valve grinding paste. Cheaper than the loctite screw grab stuff. Basically a thick paste with little bits of grit in it, works quite well for lightly damaged screw heads, I'd definitely give it a go with an internal hex.

[nzhogrider]

theres a product you can buy that i cant for the life of me remember what is called. its like an iron sand that you can put into or around the bolt(if its not a internal hex bolt) and pretty much turn it no matter how rounded it is.

Its called screwgrab or alternatively regrip. I wouldn't use valve grinding paste, it is a lot finer than these products and may just roud it out completely. The metal flakes in the screwgrab or regrip are bigger sharp edged pieces which help to create grip with the aid of a hydraulic carrier fluid, which conincidentally smells like bad toejam. Great product except for the smell, has rescued a fair few fasteners of mine in my time.

[Stott69]

If all else fails grab some rod and a welder and weld a arm across the head, replace screw once its out

[RS13]

I wouldn't use valve grinding paste, it is a lot finer than these products and may just roud it out completely.

I've used it plenty before, works well as long as the fastener isn't absolutely chewed out.

[.:O4AGTZ:.]

Kneadit!

Put some in and shove the allen key in. The more the better. Let it set for a decent amount of time and give it a go. Although in this example you would be sacrificing the allen key as well most likely.

I dont know if it would work but Kneadit is so bloody useful on bikes. Especially on race days when you loose the balls off the ends of levers etc and need to get through scrouteneering.

[eskimo]

Didnt manage to have ago at getting it out last night or tonight so will give it go tomorrow and see how I get on. Thought about using kneadit last night. Will have to replace the bolt any way