Removing Stuck Bolts
Stripped Allen Head Screws
- Assuming there is no space to simply grip the bolt with vice grips, cut a slot in the end with a Dremel tool and use a flat blade screwdriver.
- If your allen key wrench is rounded where it inserts in the screw, just cut off the rounded part.
- Use a dab of thick Hot Stuff on the end of the allen wrench. Wait for it to cure, then unscrew the damaged allen screw.
- Pick a couple of strands of wire from a wire brush, stick them in the socket, force the wrench in with the strands and turn carefully.
- Tap a torx bit into the bad allen screw. If you have a set of 1/4 inch drive torx bits, find one that's a little bit big and tap it in, then use a 1/4 inch drive handle and screw it out.
- If corrosion is holding the bolt in place and heat can be safely applied, try heating the area where the threads are before you use any of these methods to remove the bolt. It seems like the corrosion can be 'melted' with heat and the bolt will come out easier. The heat may also reduce the tension on overtightened bolts when applied directly to the bolt as heat expands (lengthens) the bolt slightly.
More Serious Methods
- You can use an easy-out. Drill a hole (the size will be given on the easy-out), then screw in the easy-out. The thread runs opposite of the bolt threads, so the tighter you turn, the better it grips. It is made of very hard steel so if you break it off in the hole, you just made your problem worse.
- Weld a nut on the end. The heat from welding will help loosen it up as well.
- Drill a hole using a reversible drill and a left handed bit. Sometimes you get lucky and the drill bit will spin that bolt right out.
- As a last resort, in case you have a one of a kind thingy that can't be replaced and money is not an issue, there is a procedure called E.D.M. or Electric Discharge Machining. It can burn an exotic alloy bolt out of a much weaker metal without damaging the weaker metal. See the EDMTT homepage for more details.
Last update: 06:25 PM Sunday, September 26, 2004
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