so a combo of over tightened, over blue Locktited and a cheap ali 5mm hex has left me with a bolt with a circular hole (no longer hex) can’t budge the bastard Dont have a workshop or welder or I’d weld a spanner to it, cant get wd40 in What to do chaps, dont want to drill as will knacker hole which is required
More imfo please, does it get hot? Is it steel, stainless? Whats does it connect to? Steel/alloy. How long has it been in? Can you still ride the bike?
Thanks for you tips chaps Recon I’ll take it down to Andy @Bulldog I’m confident he has bailed our other fucking idiots before Its under the seat holding a Hepco & Becker C-Bow bracket on, I recall in my rush to fit it blobbing a ton of locktite on and Geoff Caping the bolt ( really need to buy a torque wrench) Lesson learned - reinforces the saying “enthusiasm doesn’t make up for experience “. I just made that up
Screws into frame Alloy bolt maybe 3 months Yep bike still servicable, taking off H&B C-Bow frame to fit pannier rails to see how Oxford Heritage panniers look
Ok so dont mess it up too bad cos you still have the option of getting a welder or some heat on it. Be patient, If you can get something on to it, try working it 1mm tight 1mm slack no more than 20Nm at this stage. Try a different make / model of Hex key on it, do you have Imperial?
I've got some superwrenches I picked up at the Bike Show that are supposed to be ideal for jobs like that. Various sizes, including a small one. About £50 the set of four on Ebay. You can always ride up to Woburn and borrow mine (give me notice to bring them in to work) if you don't want to buy any. Iirc Wayne @Havit has some and reckons they are excellent.
Pick a suitable sized Torx key and hammer it into the head where the hex should be then you can try to undo the bolt after you warm it up possibly with a heat gun or small blow lamp to soften the Loctite ( which grade did you use ? ) the light blue one in generaly soft and comes out fairly easily.
These work pretty well and cheap enough just to try https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Screw-Ex...item1cc5c38f69:g:z4gAAOSwbtVZU3Uz:rk:100:pf:0
I’ve used this method and it worked. The other solution is to weld a nut on to the stripped head, the heat from the welding helps release the thread and you can get a decent grip on the nut that’s been welded on.
Please can you give us. Photo? You can get a kit from Halfords or off Amazon/eBay for £15 for removing rounder hex bolts or rounded screws etc I used one today to remove a hex head pin from a rear caliper, hex was totally rounded, drilled in 3 or 4mm and set to with the remover tool Came out nice n quick
Well, as its possibly now dead, hit the thing dead on to shock the threads then whats left of the open head like oldyam said force an oversize torx bit in with a hammer then turn it very slowly and gently without jarring ie a wobble free movement should do something. If that didnt work as its aluminium drill the centre out and tap.
I don't know where you are geographically, but if you are near J3 of the M40, I may be able to help using my assortment of tools...
So Boltgate solved Bought one of them screw removing jobbies, no good Heated the bolt, no change Smashed a Torx into the hole, no joy After more expletives than I thought I knew, I just bashed to bejesus out of the head with a screwdriver and club hammer and it budged, went round and round for ages bashing the shit out of it and my knuckles and hey presto after just two hours the little turd is out Thanks for all your input Going to buy a torque wrench now and be more liberal with screw lock - user error
Glad it is solved. Couple of tips. Most bolts applications do not need lock-tight. Vibration is the usual cause of loose bolts or nuts. If properly torqued bolts should not come loose. Use lock-tight only on bolts that are not routinely unfastened as part of normal maintenance. When I use lock-tight, I use a toothpick to put a small amount of it on about a quarter of the threads. It naturally spreads out over the threads when the bolt is threaded in. Don't soak the entire tread area. Only a small amount is necessary. And let it dry properly before riding.
I never use locktite at all. I alway like my fixings lubed no matter where they are, callipers included. If it’s tightened right with correct nut/washer combination then it never really gives any problems. My pet hate is dry seized fixings. Every time I buy a bike I go round the thing undoing bolts, nuts etc, lubing them and refitting them. I pick on the nasty looking areas that need most service work first. It really pays off!!