Re: Damaged Bolt Extraction

Steve Austin wrote:
> 
> Paul Hovnanian P.E. wrote:
> > I'm in the process of pulling the drive plate off a vehicle to replace
> > the rear main seal. In the process of loosening the 10 bolts, I
managed
> > to bugger up the heads on two of them. The socket I was using slipped
> > off and rounded off a couple of shoulders on the bold head.
> >
> > When this happened, I stopped screwing with them in order to minimize
> > further damage. There are several methods for removing such bolts.
Prior
> > to drilling and seriously messing around, I seem to recall some
special
> > damaged bolt sockets (with helical teeth in them). What are these
> > called? Are they any good (the bolts are 14 mm, torque to 75 ft-lbs).
> > Who would carry them in the Seattle area? Any tips when using these?
Or
> > other advice?
> >
> >
> Wack the bolts straight on with a big steel drift and a good size hammer
>   before you try to loosen them again.

I've had some luck with this method in other situations. I hesitate to
try this on an installed crankshaft (wheel bearing, etc.) die to the
damage it might do to internal components like bearings.

The thing I did which may have helped (other than using a damaged bolt
socket) was to re-torque the surrounding good bolts back to spec. The
idea being that, as each was originally loosened, the remaining load was
transferred to nearby bolts, making them harder to extract (and easier
to damage).

-- 
Paul Hovnanian	paul@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 The leaders for tomorrow.