stripped 10mm CV joint bolt question

[Dauner]

Doing my first engine drop on a 1989 3.2 Carrera. All of my 10mm CV joint bolts came out fine except for one, where I am well on my way to stripping out the hex wrench portion of the bolt.

The consensus from the forum to extract stripped bolts is to use the Craftsman bolt extraction set. From a visual standpoint, it doesn't seem like there is enough clearance all of the way around the head of the bolt on my particular CV/axle setup. the gap between the bolt head and the axle is pretty small.

Will the cool extraction tool work on my particular car?

2nd option looks like Vice Grips. Mine are 30 years old, so I bought a new sharp 10" set last night. 60 ftlb seems like a lot to ask from a set of vice grips on a Socket head cap screw head, but I'll try it.

Also may put the two surrounding bolts back in to relieve some of the tension.

Thanks,

Mark

[Joe Bob]

Done the grip thing a few times......

[5:04]

When i stripped mine I had to grind the head off, pull the CV off, and then it came right out.

[herman maire]

That stripped bolt tool should work, I hammer it on to get a really good bite into the bolt head.
If there is not enough clearance, just use a grinder and thin up the outer wall on the bit.

[pete3799]

Got mine with vise grips.

[Dauner]

Thanks guys.

You have for sure used Vice Grips on the larger, 10mm bolts? 10mm are torqued to 60 ftlbs, as opposed to the older 8mm bolts which are only at 30 ftlbs.

Thanks again..

mark

[schumicat]

You can try hammering in a hex drive socket/allen wrench that is a slightly different size that fits very tightly (like standard instead of metric). I'd soak in PB blaster overnight too.

[Jared at Pelican Parts]

I've used vise grips on both the 10mm and 8mm bolts. They strip out pretty easily. The key to removing them is to clean out the splines completely before putting the tool in there and let them soak for a day or two in a good penetrant oil.

Just get vise grips to clamp on there as tight as you can possibly get them. I've even used a pair of channel locks to clamp them shut. This was back when i didnt have access to a oxy torch or Dremel.

If you have a Dremel, just cut a notch along the top and hammer the bolt counter clockwise. If you're really careful, you can even cut the bolt head off.

I think you're right about the craftsman extraction tool not fitting in there. Look up Lisle 62900. I've used this set before and the bits are made of a god awful strong tool steel.

[KTL]

Clamp the vice grips on there as hard as you can squeeze them shut. Don't skimp. Clamp 'em so you have to squeeze like you've never squeezed before. Then hit the handle of the vise grips with a hammer to loosen the 60 ft lbs, if you can't get enough leverage by hand.

[KTL]

I think the square extraction tools kinda suck. I like the fluted type better. Fluted get better bite in my limited experience.

[1990C4S]

Put valve grinding paste on the Allen key (make sure it is a new one) and hammer it in. Then move to vise grips, then grind the head off.

[911lvr]

I just ground mine off with a cutoff wheel. I was replacing the CV joints anyway so I did not have to be careful.

[jpnovak]

Don't forget to put the other 5 back in to lessen the load on the last remaining. Once its free you can pull the others.

[FIG]

I cut a slot with a hacksaw and used a flat head screw driver and a set of multigrips. :-)

[Nine9six]

Originally Posted by jpnovak

Don't forget to put the other 5 back in to lessen the load on the last remaining. Once its free you can pull the others.

I'd maybe install the bolts on both sides of the one you are trying to remove, but installing and torqueing opposite the bolt you are trying to remove, appears to be counterproductive in attempting to unload the stuck bolt.

[Dauner]

Thanks for all of the responses.

I tried a fresh Irwin brand set of Vice Grips, with as much clamping force as I could muster, but no go...

Ended up using the dremel.

As a note, I hadn't ever used the "reinforced" cutting discs before. Absolutely Order of Magnitude better experience than the smaller "don't even think about using these without eye protection" brittle cutting discs. 4 bucks for a pack of 5, and I think I still have lots of miles left on my first disc...

Thanks again...

mark

[retrogarage]

Weld 13 mm nut to head of allen. Will come very easy. Done this numerous times on VW and Porcshe.

[Justin@Athens]

Originally Posted by Dauner

Ended up using the dremel.

As a note, I hadn't ever used the "reinforced" cutting discs before. Absolutely Order of Magnitude better experience than the smaller "don't even think about using these without eye protection" brittle cutting discs. 4 bucks for a pack of 5, and I think I still have lots of miles left on my first disc...
mark

Glad to see you found these. Be sure to only get the dremel brand, the HF brand sucks--same goes for the little steel brush attachments too.

On a side note, invest in a new set of quality allen keys with rounded heads for angled attack.

[syncroid]

I have two ways of removing stripped CV bolts. The first is a pliers I have nick named "Relentless" The bite on these is unbelievable!
The second method if the first fails is twist sockets.

[RWebb]

FWIW - when I first buy a used car, the 2nd thing I do is to hose down every fastener with Kroil or pb Blaster, etc. - all the suspension fasteners, powertrain stuff, essentially anything under the car exposed to the elements.

I repeat this when I have the car up in the air for anything. I rarely have stuck fastener problems - I can only recall 2x in the last couple of decades.