Aww #%@*!, Removing damaged fasteners tips and tricks.

Probably the last thing you want to see doing routine maintence

Everyone has seen it or come across it at least once in their lifetime while working on their ATV or motorcycle, a damaged fastener. This can happen by the fault of not being patient, using the wrong tools, or just plain ignorance. Damaged fasteners are commonly found on used equipment since most neglected ATVs are hastily maintained with a pair of vise grips and a hammer by their cousin “Earl”. Often times though even relatively new machines can come in contact with “Happy hour Harry” on the assembly line or dealership neglecting to tighten or over tightening a bolt. There is also the fact that certain fasteners just wear out over time if they are taken in and out frequently. What ever the cause broken, stripped, buggered fasteners can be a real pain in the rump. What follows are some quick tips and tools that can make repairing these “Uh-Oh’s” into “Hurray!” and leave you looking like and ace mechanic.

Bolt-Out(tm)

The most common damaged fastener is the bolt with a stripped or rounded head. Before you barrow that pair of vise grips from Earl’s tool box try some of these tools instead. Bolt extractors for example the Bolt-Out(tm) by Craftsman.  These type of tools look like a socket with sharp fluted reverse spirals inside to grip the head and turn it.  For stripped phillips and flat head screws first try taking in hacksaw or rotary tool with a small cut off wheel and cutting a slot in the top then try removing the screw.  If that fails or there is insufficient room to get those tools in the space try a screw extractors such as the GrabBit(tm) which contains a pilot drill on one end and the extractor on the other.  These work well for relatively small bolts and screws.

GraBit

For larger bolts and screw you will need to use larger screw or bolt extractors such as Easy-Outs(tm).  These require you to drill the appropriate sized pilot hole fairly centered in the bolt.  These can be the saving grace on bolts with broken heads where there is no stud exposed for a stud extractor.  One thing to be aware of is extractors are made of high carbon steel that is very hard, seldom do they break but they can break or twist apart and if you twist one off into a stud they are almost impossible to remove and most common drill bits will not drill into them, more on that later.

Having discussed some common methods of removing fasteners that already had damaged heads or were broken off in the hole lets look at some techniques to eliminate having to resort to those measures.  The most common ways a bolt head gets damaged or broken are, using the wrong tool, wrench, or socket thus rounding off the corners.  Another way is simply the bolt is rusted or corroded in the threads “locking” it in place.  This happens for a variety of reasons but its mostly chemical reactions between dissimilar metals, air and moisture.  I could go into detail on which metals react with each other but for the sake of this discussion I will forgo the explanation.

Ok so the bolt is stuck and will not move under normal circumstances using the correct tools, so what do

PB Blaster penetrating oil

you do?  First try the  easiest solution grab a can of your favorite penetrating oil.  Use it liberally let it set a few minutes and try to remove the bolt.  If it is a bolt and nut combination or its not a blind hole make sure you spray the backside as well as most oils are designed to “creep” into the threads but this generally doesn’t get too far.  Chances are if the bolt is really rusted in there penetrating oil will do nothing so it will be on to a bit more of a persuasive measure.  If you remember one of my other articles I recommended that an impact driver should be a part of any tool box, well here is where it can become a life line.  Using the impact driver (with either a socket or screwdriver bit) you can shock the bolt in an attempt to free the bond of rust or corrosion.  The impact driver does two things at once: first it shocks the bolt then it simultaneously turns it counterclockwise in an attempt to loosen the bolt or screw.  Usually it only takes a few good strikes of the hammer to free the bolt and in some cases the bolt will then come out by hand.

Typical impact driver

CAUTION: What follows should only be attempted by professionals with proper safety equipment and knowledge of the tools.

Welding Torch

The next step and probably the most extreme is using heat from a oxy-acetylene torch to heat up the bolt in question to aid in its removal. This technique is best done with two people, obviously this can only be performed by someone with the right equipment and knowledge on how to use it properly and safely. Ideally welders and metal smiths would use what is called a rose bud for heating up metallic objects but in this case a rose bud is probably going to apply too much heat over a large area. Instead use a number 4 or 6 welding tip on the torch body this way the heat can be more focused and controllable as not to accidentally damage other parts from the intense heat. Before you start remove any and all combustible materials from the work area, this includes the fuel tank and carburetor to reduce the risk of fire from igniting fumes. Also depending on the bolt in question it may be necessary to make a crude heat shield from some sheet tin, old license plate, or a piece of steel to protect rubber, plastic, electrical wires or any other thing that could be damaged by indirect heat. The key to this technique is to heat only the bolt or nut while using some of the above techniques and this should allow the bolt to free itself from the rust or corrosion without damaging the head or threads.

And last but not least if heating the bolt won’t make it budge, it may be time for desperate measures,

Thread tap

drilling and re-taping. The key to this solution is starting your pilot hole as centered on the broken, buggered head as possible. Using progressively larger drill bits, drill into the bolt until you have removed all the material of the original bolt. Now using the correct sized tap for the new hole you just drilled create new threads and replace with the appropriate sized bolt.

I saved the best tip for last. The one that could keep you from ever having to resort to the above mentioned solutions for removing stubborn fasteners. Anti-seize compound plain and simple, use it anytime you put a bolt or nut back in place especially into blind holes. Anti-seize compound nearly eliminates corrosion and rust forming on the threads which is the basis of causing a bolt to get stuck into a threaded hole. As with anything always consult your service manual for proper torque values for each fastener to eliminate damaged threads.

Anti seize compound/lubricant

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