911 Bumper shocks: rounded bolt removal advice rqd /with pic

Dyno Soar · Post by **Dyno Soar** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 7:56 pm

I hope you chaps can make out this picture.

I have stripped my bumpers off but I am having trouble with the bolts that holds the shock absorber mountings onto the body of the car. You can see them pictured above arrowed in the bentley pic.
After just 28 years the bolts have rounded off when I put my draper socket to it.

How can I get them off? they have a lip sourronding them on the bracket which messes with trying to get a set of mole grips to them.

I have been told to try a blow lamp on them to heat them up before trying to remove them. But after using all that WD40 I am really scared of fire!!

I have tried to hammer the socket down square and have a go but that didn't work. I saw that done once and it worked, but I guess not for me (typical).

I would rather NOT start to butcher it with a grinder.

How about a chisel under the bolt and a hammer?? Or am I being a thug?

Now I am scheduled to go to the paint shop in one and half weeks and this is really starting to bug me.

HELP

davidppp · Post by **davidppp** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:14 pm

Hello there.

You really do need heat.

If you have oxy acetylene or oxy propane..go for it..

Or even MIG can help....you may be able to weld a bigger nut onto the bolt head...

Then, forget WD..use plus-gas...anfd then heat agian, more plus gas..plenty smokke..and hammer on an old 12mm 12 point socket ( IIRC the bolts have 13mm heads...

That will work.

In summary..heat, heat heat..

Kind regards
david

Dyno Soar · Post by **Dyno Soar** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:19 pm

Thanks for the reply..

I only have a hobby blow torch but it can be pretty fierce when you set the flame, but its the canister type. Will that do?

Also Plus GAs is a an urban myth, it does not exist I have been to so many motor factors and I cannot find it anywhere!!

They all look at me like I am a idiot.

With heat applied and the socket back on should the bolt come out? Even though is throughly round?

davidppp · Post by **davidppp** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 8:27 pm

I reckon you have decent chance of getting it hot enough if you persist,,may take lots of gas!

If it has just rounded with the 13mmsocket, a 12mm hammered on will hold 95% of the time in my ( sadly very considerable) experience of the terminally rusty German motor..

Kind regards
David

Dyno Soar · Post by **Dyno Soar** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 9:08 pm

I shall report back to my progress. Thanks.

I hope to find some Plus Gas SOON!!!

hot66 · Post by **hot66** » Wed Feb 16, 2005 10:25 pm

Dyno Soar wrote:I shall report back to my progress. Thanks.

I hope to find some Plus Gas SOON!!!

I can confirm Plus gas is available in North Yorkshire

Gary71 · Post by **Gary71** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:15 am

Maybe also try a 'flankdrive' socket. Snap On invented it, but I understand the Halfords professional are also flankdrive, not to mention resonable money.

The other thing to try (in conjunction with heat, Plus Gas etc) is flattening the end of the socket. Grind off the chamfer on the socket lead in to give you another couple of mm of engagement on what's left of the bolt head.

Failing that as your're converting to early bumpers then just go in hard with the angle grinder...

Ian Donkin · Post by **Ian Donkin** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 12:42 pm

Dyno Soar wrote:
Also Plus GAs is a an urban myth, it does not exist I have been to so many motor factors and I cannot find it anywhere!! They all look at me like I am a idiot.

An urban myth indeed - obviously Yorkshire's the place to be

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Dyno Soar · Post by **Dyno Soar** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:06 pm

Flank Drive Socket?? What does that do when its at home then?? You will have to explain that to me mate. No idea what you talking about.

Also I am sure Ian you have just photo shopped that pic to torment me. I'm off to the best motorfactors I know in a minute to find this Plus GAs, I'll ask them for some unicorns and flying pigs while I am there aswell.
Although perhaps Plus GAs is like Carlsberg export.. the NORTH hates to see it leave.. the secret to their toughness and why us chaps down south are considered soft, as we can't undo rusted bolts.

Pretty unwell today so working in the cold Garage will make me worse but if I can aquire some Plus Gas that will be awesome!

Gary71 · Post by **Gary71** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 1:48 pm

Flankdrive is the neat idea that Snap-On had to drive the nuts from the flats rather than from the corners.

The flankdrive has the corners relieved in the socket so it digs into the centre of the flat section of the nut as you apply torque, hence much less likely to round. The sockets may be expensive but worth every penny, rounding just doesn't happen for me, I now just tend to snap the heads off rusty bolts, but hey its gets the part off! Really has to be used in conjunction with lots of heat to be sure of getting the bolt out.

Go on, just use the grinder

It will make you feel better.

willbrown · Post by **willbrown** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 2:10 pm

over here: http://www.edirectory.co.uk/pf/pages/mo ... ml&cid=880

the wonders of t'internet.

Lightweight_911 · Post by **Lightweight_911** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 3:48 pm

Alam - I can't remember whereabouts in South London you are but I would think that you could get PlusGas from one of these :

Cannons in Macaulay Road, Clapham Tel: 0207 720 2242/02890 848218

Latcmere Motor Spares in Latchmere Rd, Battersea Tel:0207 228 3907

or Lively Motorparts in Fulham Rd (Putney Bridge end) Tel: 0207 736 4763

Barry · Post by **Barry** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 8:08 pm

Alam, as David says, if you've got a welder, then few bolts can resist having a bar welded on (assuming you've exhausted other options). You do need to be able to weld quite well: simply place piece of leverery material (old long coachbolt, broken torque wrench etc) on BOTTOM edge of bolt, weld up the 'triangle' that forms between top of bar, and side of stuck bolt. Let it all cool down (otherwise you have just expanded the bolt hard into its thread!). Then give it a go, if nothing else you have just delivered some serious heat exactly where you need it.

As you may gather, if you are freeing a bolt, apply heat and allow to cool back down, if freeing a nut usually worth trying hot. Always apply oil just after heating as stopped, as the cooling pulls the oil back into the join. Next time you heat it, the oil boils up, helping to loosen it.

I used to have a Triumph TR restoration workshop, and virtually everything on those used to rust solid: e.g. front suspension was about 14 nuts/bolts per side, often most were seized, we got quite good at dealing with these after a while!

Also, don't forget you can buy 6 sided sockets: these locate pretty much all the way round the head, 1/2 inch is a fraction smaller than 13mm in theory. If not the 12mm socket idea, esp if you re-file the bolt heads to get a better purchase on the smaller size. Might also be worth trying a small pair of 'stilsons' on them, but like the moles grips, once you use these, there's no going back to sockets!

Finally, often when a bolt is cut, the pressure comes off it, and, with the bracket out of the way, moles (or stilsons (yee haa)) will probably shift it.

P.S. At times like this (and we've all had them) don't forget to look foward to the summer, the bright sunlight refecting from your perfect new paint, as strangers 'ooh and 'ahh' in admiration ....

tanick · Post by **tanick** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 9:18 pm

Plus Gas works. It also attracts the 'ladees'. A dab behind each ear before you go out....

You can get it ( and many other interesting and expensive things) from RS. http://rswww.com. Just type "plus gas" into the search.

Dyno Soar · Post by **Dyno Soar** » Thu Feb 17, 2005 10:21 pm

Thanks guys, I shall report on my success very soon.

Thanks fella's!