Sheared Bolt

stevieVTR · Post by **stevieVTR** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 10:28 pm

F*^K!!!
Sheared one of the rear footbeg bolts which currently hold the bracket for my high level Scorpions.

Any advice on how to remove the bolt and any idea how much its going to cost?
Anybody?

delmeekc · Post by **delmeekc** » Mon Mar 22, 2004 11:14 pm

oops, which, one of the bolts that goes into the subframe? has the head come off? snapped inside? stuck? etc?

I'm sure it can be fixed, some how.

got a photo?

when dya want me to do it?

can you ride it? (to me)

Del.

stevieVTR · Post by **stevieVTR** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 3:05 pm

The head has sheared off leaving the bolt in the sub frame so the bracket holding the N/S High level can is only held by one bolt instaed of two. I may have cross threaded

as the bolt was tight going in but then again that one was the same when I removed/refitted it last time.
Where is Blue Water?

Stormtrooper · Post by **Stormtrooper** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 3:39 pm

drill out sheared bolt using small drill about 4mm say & use (easy out)type extractor, this should work but you may have to re-tap the 8mm hanger thread though... hope this helps.....

delmeekc · Post by **delmeekc** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:42 pm

M25 Dartford Crossing

stevieVTR · Post by **stevieVTR** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 7:50 pm

Thanks Stormtrooper, thats what I thought the answer would be.
Del, I take it thats the same Blue Water as the shopping centre my missus keeps banging on about!!

delmeekc · Post by **delmeekc** » Tue Mar 23, 2004 9:03 pm

yep mate

Del

Druid · Post by **Druid** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:05 pm

Stormtrooper wrote:drill out sheared bolt using small drill about 4mm say & use (easy out)type extractor, this should work but you may have to re-tap the 8mm hanger thread though... hope this helps.....

Nooooo, don't be tempted to use a stud extractor, they're one of my pet hates.

Unless you are very careful, it's very easy to break these. So instead of having a sheared high tensile bolt, you have a sheared high tensile bolt with a hardened steel centre. A drill will not make any impression on this, and it will need to be removed using spark erosion - which is not cheap, and will require the subframe to be removed.

Carefully drill out the broken bolt, increasing the bit size gradually. If you get it right you will drill out the bolt, leaving just the threads left in place. These are quite easy to remove using a tap. Alternatively, drill the hole out oversize and tap it to take the next size up - ie 7mm hole, 8 mm tap (I think the footrest hangers are 6mm).

Or take it to someone who knows what they're doing (the very last resort for me)

ex-viffer · Post by **ex-viffer** » Thu Mar 25, 2004 9:49 pm

Druid prophesied:

Nooooo, don't be tempted to use a stud extractor, they're one of my pet hates.

Unless you are very careful, it's very easy to break these.

While that's true (i've broken a few screw extractors), if you take it slowly and carefully, use the largest extractor you can (a good quality one), and drill several holes progressively bigger and shallower so you get a tapering hole that fits well, you should be OK. Once you've got it in, wind it in very gently, and slowly increase the pressure on it. Be prepared to quit if it's not budging.
I just did this on my sump plug (see earlier posting), and I was half-expecting the extractor to snap, so treated it accordingly. When it finally did let go, I thought: "Crap! Here we go - it's snapped!", but it was just the sump plug coming loose.

Other things you could do are use a left-handed drill (runs anticlockwise), which tends to loosen the stud as it bites in, or drill a series of holes as Druid says. Worst case scenario with this is you'll bugger up the thread and have to put a helicoil in, which isn't too bad. I've also heard of guys that have gently tapped a stud out using a punch at an angle to loosen it, or loosened one up using heat, but I have no personal experience with those, just screw extractors.

Good luck.

- Ian in EnZed

RQ · Post by RQ » Fri Mar 26, 2004 12:16 pm

Interesting stuff, I'm going to have to use similar tools to take out one of the bolts holding the front axle in, as I wrung the head, and now no allen keys will fit the friggin thing. Don't necessarly need to do it, but I'd prefer to do it while I have time, not when I really need to do it.

Anyone else with experience of using those tapper / extractor things ?

RQ.

Pete.L · Post by **Pete.L** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 1:14 pm

Yeah Ive yused them in the past.
Would rater reccomend an Impact driver before you get to that stage. If I cant remove a bolt normally I'll pull out the impact driver and a lump hammer(no point doing it by halves) and give it a good whack before I knacker the head. Can save a lot of grief in the long run.
Pete.l

Druid · Post by **Druid** » Fri Mar 26, 2004 8:54 pm

RQ wrote:Interesting stuff, I'm going to have to use similar tools to take out one of the bolts holding the front axle in, as I wrung the head, and now no allen keys will fit the friggin thing.

Use a Torx bit that is a tight fit in the hex hole. Tap it in with a hammer, and it should grip well enough to turn it. It's better if you use a proper bit & a ratchet, rather than one of the bent metal torx keys.

reposado · Post by **reposado** » Mon Mar 29, 2004 9:36 am

I used an easy out on an old suzuki katana exhaust bolt that had broken in the head...took every thing slow and easy...snapped inside and as mentioned above a normal drill will not touch them, thankfully had a mate who worked in a garage...he got it out, cost me many beers, had to re-thread the hole.

RQ · Post by RQ » Mon Mar 29, 2004 12:17 pm

And here comes the stupid question........Whats a Torx bit ?!?

Pete.L · Post by **Pete.L** » Mon Mar 29, 2004 1:40 pm

The head Looks a bit like a six pointed star
Pete.l