Updated profiles!! ...I love it.

Just kidding, thanks - now we know we're talking to a Texan and a Canadian.

ANOTHER method I've used is to take a chisel and tap on it as to rotate the allen bolt, but that is one of the last resorts as it tends to ruin the head. These are SERIOUS bolts, I wound up having to drill straight through one and insert a punch to get torque on it...it eventually broke loose.

It was one of the allen bolts holding the front shocks onto the spindle/wheel carrier.

You can pound the center of the allen hole, but you will concentrate more "punch" with a punch...also, you won't stand the chance of boogering up your allen socket.

Be patient, you don't want to ruin anything...but I guess the most you may screw up is a caliper, and they're not that bad used.

 

Success!!! I was able to remove the lower bolt.

I put a 6 points 10mm wrench through the hex socket and applied pressure as I used the impact wrench on the hex socket. See picture.

With one impact wrench hit. The bolt came loose.

Just as I suspected, the lenght of the 10mm allen head socket twisted under the impact wrench and not transfering the force of the impact wrench to the bolt.

I could also have used this technique to remove the strut bolts.

---
anthony

 

What you have effectively done is taken up the "slop" that an impact gun situation doesn't work well in. IN other words, if you use say a regular 19mm socket to remove a seized lugnut, it may not budge because the thin walls and tolerances of the socket when compared to the lug nut aren't too exact - so the impact may not work.

NOW...throw on an IMPACT socket and wallah!

Same issue with your wrench on the allen wrench shaft, coupled with a few good knocks of an impact, you took up the loose tolerance of said allen key and the impact hit was efficient enough to do the job.

Now make sure you use copper anti-seize on those threads during reassembly.

 

Right on money re WD40 (W ater D esolvant 40...th attempt) The correct tools are expensive but they work. We used a 10 mm hex and needed a breaker on the bottom bolt last night to crack it. (broken retainer spring at r/r wheel e-brake shoe) The set came from Mac Tools at 150 usd but did the trick. Best of luck.