chris walrod

Mike brings us a good point. I find even the snap-on drivers to be on the soft side. Using the stubby allen drivers is also good to do. Making sure the fastener head is clean and oil/grease free is helpful.

Apex bits are preferred by most of the race mechanics for the above reason. Snap-On's position on their 'somewhat soft' allen drivers is that they are to help save the fastener.

Anyhow, here is a link to Apex drivers -- see page 27
http://www.autohardwareonline.com/ap...FR-iiQodeC-2Wg

RS man

I had no problems with the 2 either side. As mentioned there is a snap as the bolt comes loose.
Chris, I don't think any Allen nut will fit now. The cup is now too shallow as a result of chiselling. I would have thoght that if it was loose all the hammering away with the chisel ought to have budged the bolt but the S.O.B. will not budge
Who the fuc* put on the bolt as I am sure it is way over tightened
Somedays I honestly can't be arsed with the car!

Harry

AOW162435

Harry,
You could opt to cut the rest of the bolt head off and then just forget about it. The other fasteners are more than sufficient to keep that tin in place.


Andreas

CarmG993

Harry - I had the same problem w/ the exact 2 bolts. The (1) on the exhaust clip I wound up leaving on and just bent the hanger out of the way as needed. As for the middle !@#$% bolt, that was a different story, you would think as it is a straighter shot then the surroundoing 2 it would be easier. I stripped the center, then rounded it off completely. I lost it, so I had one of my neighbors come buy who is a wrench head but on Mustangs and he wound up using a socket and he just hammered it on. It is soft metal so he got it on good and we got it off. If it didn't, the next option was to just grind the head off.
I never reinstalled it. I feel your pain. Best of luck w/ the little b@st@ard...

Dan V

Add me to the "2 bolt engine tin club". Andreas and Carm are thinking same way I did when I went through the same drama last Dec.: whack the middle bolt and be done with it. You're in good 'arsed' company Harry

jscott82

To continue the its too late for RS man, but for anyone who has not started this nightmare yet.......
I think the main problem with the middle bolt is you cannot get a socket type allen driver in exactly straight, there is bodywork in the way. If i were going to do this all over from scratch I would do the following before I even thought of turning the wrench:

1) Soak the bolt in penetrating oil
2) Make sure the bolt head was clean and dry
3) Use a short new high quality allen wrench (not socket type)
4) Give the wrench a few taps with a hammer to seat it / shock it / help the oil penetrate
5) Say a prayer
6) Turn the wrench, being sure to keep its path square to the bolt axis.

Then if it works first time, sit back and have a beer, you just saved yourself hours of heartache...

just my 2 cents

Jeff

RS man

Too late maybe but Haven't given up just yet!

I've learnt to get pissed off but never give up - got me where I am now! I'll let you know in due course if I am successful.

Harry

chris walrod

Harry, once you do get this bolt out you'll have to drill a hole in it and wear it on your neck as a necklace!!

alsaab

Hi,

of course my post will not help you this time, but I had problems with these 2 bolts too but was lucky. Heating and hammering allowed me to get them out quite easily. One thing though : I'm quite sure these bolts are not overtightened. I think the problem is the washer under the bolt head. If you use penetrating oil the day before and then put some heat on and a couple of whacks it should be possible to get them off without too much pain.

Just my 2 cts.

Alain

RS man

There,
I finally gotcha you bl**dy S.O.B. !

I learnt a few things doing this:
1. Be meticulous in your preparation and make sure you don't rush the job.
2. Make sure that the socket or whatever is sqare on and not off centre even if it is a little bit.
3. Swear as much as possible but never give up.



Harry

deleonl1

What was the final trick up your sleeve?

Doesn't look like there was any anti-seize on the bolt.

chris walrod

Awesome!!

RS man

Just to describe the process of how I removed the S.O.B.
I tried to use an easy-out type bolt extractor and I drilled the bolt shaft but found that the drill piece wasn't long enough to go further so this method was useless.

I reasoned that if I can remove the washer I can easily remove the bolt as the tension will be removed. So I then got a saw blade (just the blade as no hacksaw would have enough protrusion at the bottom to cut through the washer) and cut through the bolt and most of the washer - this took an awful lot of time. The remainder of the washer was severed by a blow of a flat-head screwdriver. Then I removed half the bolt head by repeatedly hammering and wiggling a flat-head screw driver in the slot - this also removed 1/2 of the washer. I applied more lubricant at this point as I am sure there was more space for the lubricant to get into the nooks and crannies without 1/2 the bolt and washer and I proceeded to use the hammer and chisel technique. After about 5 minutes of hammering, spraying, hammering, spraying and more hammering the bolt eventually yielded. I haven't the energy to change the spark plugs this week but I have the final laugh.

Harry

mcpiaseczny

Congrats! You should hang that sucker up on a wall in the garage as a warning to all other bolts.

Mike J

Great job! Its pretty satisfying once you see the bolt starting to unscrew but before that, man, its hard on the old blood pressure!!

Cheers,

Mike