Stuck Bolt - Any ideas please?

Nemo

Nemo

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Decided to change to Hyperpro springs and started on the front suspension. Top nut undone OK but......

........I was taking out the bolt that locates the bottom of the front shock absorber in the front "swing arm". It unscrewed a bit but has now locked solid - won't even go back in. And to compound matters the T45 bit of my socket set has ringed the inside of the bolt head. A T45 "key" still gets purchase but not enough leverage to move the bolt. Feck, feck, feckity, feck.:tears:tears:tears

If anyone has any ideas I really would really appreciate it as I hate having my bike off the road. Only idea I have is to soak it in "easing" oil and keep trying.

I do have some "extractors", but if the bolt is stuck tight won't they just chew it up and make it worse?
 
Well, first step would be to spray some releasing oil on there before you do anything further, and to give it a whack with a hammer.

Next step is to try an impact driver. If you don't have one, they are cheap (http://www.trueshopping.co.uk/produ...Sealey_Impact_Driver_Set_15pc_Protection_Grip), and quite likely to do the job.

If you've screwed up the head badly enough that this won't work, then get the Dremel out (or your non-branded generic dremel-type cutting tool), cut a slot in the head, and use the flat screwdriver bit in that.

And also, of course, check that there is nothing obvious such as a locking nut on the other end.

Heating the area around it was always a good idea back in the olden days, but you probably don't want to do that if it's screwed into alloy, as heat can make those all important impurities migrate away from the heated area, leaving you with unalloyed alloy, as it were.

Oh, and edited to add, get a new bolt bought now, as that one is unlikely to be going back in.
 
lever the strut?

Have you tried levering the telelever strut up or down? Maybe the force of the spring has jammed the bolt and it no longer lines up with the holes.

D
 
I've used a cold spray from the chemist's to good effect before now.....lots of penetrating oil for several hours before (or warm paraffin and old engine oil is good) then a good blast with the spray can........it's enough to freeze a pipe so it'll certainly could a bolt nicely and hopefully shrink it enough to make a difference

Warming the area around it helps too, specially if it's ally as that expands faster than steel, but make sure you don't heat the bolt as well or it'll jam even harder in there :)

Before dremelling out a slot for a screwdriver, it's worth banging in the next size torx bit up..if the hole's ferkked anyway, you haven't got much to lose but if you twist out a slot, you're getting to the stage where there's not much left :)

If the bolt protrudes enough, you could also try slicing two flats onto the sides to get a spanner on, but you have to be really lucky to be able to do that in the space that these bolts always seem to seize in :blast
 
Where you at dude?

I see that playing a joker with your 'location' doesn't help me...... Nowhere?:nenau

Can we get the telelever arm off and work on it way from the bike?
If so, get a new bolt ordered as I will need the thread size for helicoil repair.
And hurry up, I'm going on my hols soon......;)

Timpo.
 
Excellent Bolt advice

Thank you one and all for the advice.:thumb2:thumb2:thumb2

When work finishes I'm off home to soak it in oil, hammer in a bigger torx bit and make sure there is no pressure on the bolt from the suspension unit.

Timpo - I'm Reading based and I'll try all the above before taking any more bits off - that could be disastrous.

VERY seriously: THANKS.
Morale was low and your support has really helped
 
I think it needs warmth, I seem to remember the bolt is locked with loctite but it's a few years since I took one off, but I seem to remember using a hot air gun (decorators 240v one not gas:rolleyes:)

Shep
 
Yup, the bolt is Loctited in and can be a bugger to get undone (as has been found!).

I wouldn't bother with cutting a slot, if a socket wouldn't shift it then a screwdirver is hardly going to do the job.

Easing oil, and heat should help - I'd imagine boiling water and a towel wrapped around the parralever might work. I'd not thought about freeze spray but that sounds a good idea.

Good luck!

Andres
 
Don`t buger about with oil or wd40 etc get some proper penatrating oil stuff like Plusgas. Also the bolts are held in with some special BMW loctite stuff and make some freaky creaking noises when you`re unscrewing them. What length bar are you using on the end of your socket? I used a 2ft bar for undoing the rear lower suspension bolt. Also are you supporting the front of the bikes suspension so it doesn`t put any weight on the unscrewing bolt?

Good luck!
 
Outtomunch said:
Yup, the bolt is Loctited in and can be a bugger to get undone (as has been found!).

I wouldn't bother with cutting a slot, if a socket wouldn't shift it then a screwdirver is hardly going to do the job.
Click to expand...

Eh?

I mentioned a slot so that he can get an impact driver on it. I've used this method myself more than once, and it's one of the easiest ways to deal with a rounded head.
 
That bolt is loctited in, and you need heat to remove it, the loctite will strip off the thread and jam otherwise.

If you lack for one, you can borrow my hot air gun, I'm 7 miles from Reading.
 
NorthernBoy said:
Eh?

I mentioned a slot so that he can get an impact driver on it. I've used this method myself more than once, and it's one of the easiest ways to deal with a rounded head.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can get to it to slot it, both ends are recessed in the wishbone thingy.
 
NorthernBoy said:
Eh?

I mentioned a slot so that he can get an impact driver on it. I've used this method myself more than once, and it's one of the easiest ways to deal with a rounded head.
Click to expand...

Fair dues, I mis-read your post :) Shugies right though, as the bolt's recessed it'd be hard to cut a slot.

Andres
 
shugie said:
I don't think you can get to it to slot it, both ends are recessed in the wishbone thingy.
Click to expand...

Well then I'd say that that's a real bugger.

I'd pretend that I'd never started on the job, and leave it as is...
 
First thing is heat, and lots of it, nice dry heat (as has been said, not a blow torch).

Second a bit of clarification, it the bolt one with a hex head and you have damaged that or is it a bolt with a torex head and the inside faces of the torex have been damaged, and is it fitted into a captive nut or fixing or is it just a normal nut?

If its a hex head and its damaged then get a "wall drive socket" this is a socket with little bumps on the inside faces and it drives off of the flats and not the points of the hex head. And use heat on the nut. Flank drive sockets are available at halfords.

If its a torex head and the inside of the torex is damaged then cut a slot and use an impact driver with screwdriver blade, I use a dremel to cut the slot, and again heat.

If the nut is corroded on then you can cut the nut off again using a dremel, as you will have to replace nut and bolt at same time anyway.

If the bolt is into a threaded section of the swing arm then again lots of heat, dont worry about heating up the bolt as the expansion of ali is much faster than the expansion of steel anyway.
 
Thanks again

I'll let you know how I get on with the extraction but because business is getting in the way of motorcycling it may be a slow process.

Thanks again :clap:clap:clap

Nemo
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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