Bolt with no access to the head?

[Hobby_Man22]

Not sure if they have blind bolts like they do blind holes. Anyways, the trailer light mounts on my jetski trailer constantly get crooked and are bolted to the box end of the frame. Its a galvanized box frame. Didnt feel like taking it off to see what the head of the bolt was attached to, but the only part accessible from the outside is the nut of the bolt. To my surprise when I put my wrench on the nut to tighten it up a bit it actually did instead of just spinning the entire bolt. Must be a double nut type thing inside the frame to keep it from spinning. Guess we'll see. But its annoying to have a nice ez loader galvanized trailer and the tail light mounts get crooked after one 20 mile trip to the boat ramp.

 

[Gear Box]

Could it be a nutzert that has gotten loose. Which would require a replacement.

 

[mm08822]

Do the exposed threads run all the way to the frame? If yes, place double nuts against the frame. Add a star washer between frame and first nut.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

Probably a Carriage bolt. Could be a weld or clinch stud.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Could it be a nutzert that has gotten loose. Which would require a replacement.

I just gave the nut like half a turn and it tightened up as much as I think it needed. I didnt go crazy with it. It was a bit loose which explained why they both kept getting crooked. Got new led tail lights installed too.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

Probably a Carriage bolt. Could be a weld stud.

That makes sense. So their is probably a bracket inside the steel tubed frame that you squeeze the bolt through from the opposite side?

 

[DGersic]

Not sure if they have blind bolts like they do blind holes.

My Dakota has a bunch of things where it is hard to get to the bolt head, so the original assembly is attached with a bolt that has a sheet steel wing welded to it. This allows the bolt to drop in to the hole, but it can only rotate 1/3 turn before the wing jams against something, allowing the nut to be torqued down with only access to the nut.

These are probably great in the assembly line. They **** for repairs later. Attempt to remove the now rust welded nut, the wing pops off the little tack weld, and now you have a bolt with no access to the head.

 

[wssix99]

If there is no access hole or cover to get inside the tube, then the nut is probably welded inside the tube before they close it up.

Galvanized hardware is tough because the thickness of the coating is not precise. Unless the bolt is large and can really be torqued down, it might come loose. This sounds like situation for some threadlocker!

 

[Hobby_Man22]

If there is no access hole or cover to get inside the tube, then the nut is probably welded inside the tube before they close it up.

Galvanized hardware is tough because the thickness of the coating is not precise. Unless the bolt is large and can really be torqued down, it might come loose. This sounds like situation for some threadlocker!

It already had a nyloc nut on it. We will see if it stays in place now after tightening it up a tad.

 

[wssix99]

All the nyloc nuts on my aluminum jet ski trailer seemed worn out on delivery. (Most of them are on adjusting parts.) So, I'm looking at replacing all of them. After each subsequent use they loosen up and don't hold as well.

For stay-put fastening without thread locker, Nord-Lock or Wedge Lock washers have been my go-to solution. The trick is just finding the proper finish for galvanized compatability.

 

[Hobby_Man22]

All the nyloc nuts on my aluminum jet ski trailer seemed worn out on delivery. (Most of them are on adjusting parts.) So, I'm looking at replacing all of them. After each subsequent use they loosen up and don't hold as well.

For stay-put fastening without thread locker, Nord-Lock or Wedge Lock washers have been my go-to solution. The trick is just finding the proper finish for galvanized compatability.

Technically nyloc nuts are one time use. I always re use them though.

 

[Wrench97]

The bolts could be attached to a bracket inside the frame like this.



Or have a "flag head" these are angled but they also come with straight pieces.

 

[wssix99]

Technically nyloc nuts are one time use. I always re use them though.

Me too, but I have found that a few of them don't hold well on the boat trailer. The suspension isn't like a car's and the wheels aren't balanced, so I expect there is a ton of vibration back there. (I'm not willing to ride on the jet skis to find out...)

Some of the welds holding the bunks on my new-ish Triton trailer broke this year, which is very disturbing... Fortunately, the bunk that broke caused one ski to lean inward on the other towards the end of a drive and nothing got demolished. Had one of the other welds given out, I would have created a bunch of road art on the interstate. (Weld checking is now on my regular maintenance regimin.)

 

[rsanter]

Locktite

 

[dscheidt]

Technically nyloc nuts are one time use. I always re use them though.

Real nylocs have a spec for the minimum amount of drag. If it meets that, it’s reusable. If you need a wrench, it’s probably okay. The inserts get cut, and if used with power tools can melt.