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Rounded off allen bolt

noobie

noobie

Clueless in most things
I'm removing the pillion pegs on the strada and first 3 bolts come out lovely, 4th, the head rounds off, to make it worse it's recessed.

Tried the usual over size torx bit, no joy. So today I tried the oversize torx bit but putting in a big dollop of liquid metal into the alley key head then hammered the torx bit in. Followed the instructions where it says in 2 hours it will be able to be drilled and tapped andddddd it was like chocolate pudding :dunno:

so I've cleared it out, refilled and re hammered the torx bit and will leave it now till tomorrow morning but I suspect it will still be softer than my gentleman's sausage whilst imagining Hilary Clinton naked.

If that fails I'll go down the easy out route.gr0n:
 
C

CBRDEAN0

Registered User
noobie said:
I'm removing the pillion pegs on the strada and first 3 bolts come out lovely, 4th, the head rounds off, to make it worse it's recessed.

Tried the usual over size torx bit, no joy. So today I tried the oversize torx bit but putting in a big dollop of liquid metal into the alley key head then hammered the torx bit in. Followed the instructions where it says in 2 hours it will be able to be drilled and tapped andddddd it was like chocolate pudding :dunno:

so I've cleared it out, refilled and re hammered the torx bit and will leave it now till tomorrow morning but I suspect it will still be softer than my gentleman's sausage whilst imagining Hilary Clinton naked.

If that fails I'll go down the easy out route.gr0n:
Click to expand...

Before the easy out - slowly drill in to the head with a drill the same size as the bolt thread.
The head will eventually drop off and allow removal of the peg.
With any luck - once the tension is off the threads - the rest of the screw will just unscrew.
 
Centaur

Centaur

Site Pedant
Club Sponsor
Don't do it, Noobie.

noobie said:
I'm removing the pillion pegs on the strada and first 3 bolts come out lovely, 4th, the head rounds off, to make it worse it's recessed.

Tried the usual over size torx bit, no joy. So today I tried the oversize torx bit but putting in a big dollop of liquid metal into the alley key head then hammered the torx bit in. Followed the instructions where it says in 2 hours it will be able to be drilled and tapped andddddd it was like chocolate pudding :dunno:

so I've cleared it out, refilled and re hammered the torx bit and will leave it now till tomorrow morning but I suspect it will still be softer than my gentleman's sausage whilst imagining Hilary Clinton naked.

If that fails I'll go down the easy out route.gr0n:
Click to expand...

Please don't EVER use an easy out. When it snaps, as it will, you are truly fucked as you cannot drill the easyout out! :bang:
 
noobie

noobie

Clueless in most things
I might get the local dealer to do it, saves me stressing, I just have to check what mood he is in before I ask :-0)
 
slim63

slim63

Never surrender
Club Sponsor
As above take the head off it & remove the peg, if you are lucky you may be left with enough of a stub to grip & turn out or at least you will have better access for drilling & rethreading as needed
 
Last edited:
andyBeaker

andyBeaker

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
Can't remember how the footrest is attached on the Bird (don't have them in cars, nice plush carpet instead@tu*) but......

- try drilling through the bolt with a relatively small HSS bit, once through quickly reverse the drill while what is left of the bolt is still hot - worked for me once
- a replacement footrest will be cheap, might be,worth sacrificing the existing one to get the bolt out (known as 'lateral thinking':-0))
 
noobie

noobie

Clueless in most things
It's on the multistrada Andy, I intend to enjoy myself so do not need a pillion foot peg set.

I'll take up the advice and drill/snap the head off, remove the pillion arm/pegs then deal with the stump of a bolt.
 
S

stormer

Registered User
If the tension is the reason the screw is tight then removing the head is OK as long as there is sufficient shaft left to grip for removal. But...if the thread is tight in the hole then you may end up with a bigger problem. Try tapping a centre punch with hammer on the screw head face out towards the periphery in the anti clockwise (undoing) direction of the thread. The shock blow together with the unscrewing action of the punch usually works.
 
Centaur

Centaur

Site Pedant
Club Sponsor
Doubt it is tension.

More likely to be a steel bolt in an aluminium frame and so dissimilar metal corrosion. :eek:
 
DEG5Y

DEG5Y

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
Centaur said:
Please don't EVER use an easy out. When it snaps, as it will, you are truly fucked as you cannot drill the easyout out! :bang:
Click to expand...

There are two types of extractor the fine thread type spiral like the Draper set (type 1) which snap easy or there is another type (type 2) the spiral on these is more coarse and don't snap as easily.
Type 2 you have to hammer these in before you try to undo the bolt.
 
Squag1

Squag1

Can't remember....
Club Sponsor
Refer to post about bread soda and super glue or google same.
 
noobie

noobie

Clueless in most things
Huzzaahhh, oops :-0)

Well as I mentioned, I left the hammered in torx bit into the allen head along with a good splurge of liquid metal at 4pm yesterday and this morning at 10.30 am I went down to the garage and can confirm after 18 hours that yes indeed liquid metal is now like metal, it's just a shame it was like mercury. I've had spunk dry harder.8ree!

So I centre drilled the bolt with a small hss drill then opened it up drill bit by drill bit then used a larger hss drill on the head to allow a larger easy out. Banged the head to break any seal then used the easy out and viola bolt is out:yo:

After all that to remove the pillion pegs, after I took them off it didn't look right so I've put them back on but with new bolts and a man size lashing of the brown stuff for now.

It was as was mentioned, steel bolts going into an alli frame part so the brown stuff was also applied at the end of the bolt closest to the head and on the frame where the two meet.

Thanks for everyone's inputs

For those who do not like walls of text

it's now out but I put it back in.
 
5

57grant

Registered User
I bought a specialist set of Screw, Allen key, bolt removers with a reverse thread. They actually work, I will look at what they are called and post it here later. Whoever named "easy outs" should be shot, they never work!

Good luck

Grant
 
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