Stripped hex head bolt - removal?
- Thread starter stickshift
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OP
stickshift
Well-known member
Applied heat and 2 of the pivots were removed. Third pivots got a lot more heat than the first two and the bolts still wouldn't budge and were just starting to strip. Fourth pivot is the one with already partially stripped bolt and that wasn't moving either.
That must be it!
Let me grab my heat gun. BRB.
I don't want to apply a lot more heat from a heat gun because of the plastic cover.
So you were right, threadlocker was used, which makes sense - this is commercial gym exercise equipment. For my home use, threadlocker is unnecessary as these bolts are readily accessible and I can check them for tightness every year or two.
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OP
stickshift
Well-known member
I might opt for drilling out so that I can salvage that flange/washer retainer piece, which is apparently no longer available per the gym equipment parts websites.
So when drilling out, the idea is drill out the head and then pull the pivot pin from the other side? How would you get the threaded portion of bolt stuck in the pin out?
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I'm thinking it looks like a stainless steel screw, and galled threads .
OP
stickshift
Well-known member
Or maybe too much loctite? I got a couple of them out after using a heat gun.
What worked for me in a similar situation was a spline bit instead of torx. A torx may well do it but I found the finer ribs on a spline bit grabbed much better after tapping it into fastener hex head with a small hammer. The splines really resist slipping and grip in more/multiple places. I found the torx did not 'grab' in enough places and wanted to deform the hex more. But every situation is different, good luck. Here's a pic of a 'spline' bit...
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bob15
Well-known member
If you change your mind Vibra-tite works real well. It doesn't harden and "freeze" a bolt like a thread locker, but rather just keeps it from vibrating loose.
https://www.vibra-tite.com/threadlockers/removable-reusable-threadlockers/vibra-tite-vc-3-threadmate/?cookie-state-change=1553943412374
OP
stickshift
Well-known member
Thanks for the tip. I have some Vibra-tite that came with a scope, and I never opened it, assuming it was just another threadlocker, and I already had an opened container of blue Loctite. I'll give it a shot.
DSLTRK
Well-known member
This.
Unfortunately ss bolts tend to gall and bind if they have been installed awhile. Even if they were torqued correctly.
A slot cut into the head may work but not likely. Every galled ss fastener I've come across acts as a chinese finger and eventually will snap if forced enough.
What I do is slowly drill out the bolt to preserve the internal threading, then re tap using lots of oil.
OP
stickshift
Well-known member
Got the last 2 pivot pins out by hammering a torx wrench into the stripped heads. Even after the first couple of turns, it was still very tight, so there was more than threadlocker holding the threads tight. Does galling increase resistance to loosening even after the bolt has started moving?
ezover
Well-known member
it mite scratch the heck out of the plastic but it looks like there is enough there to get a bite with vice grips.
Strouty
Well-known member
Galling is a distortion of the threads, commonly happens when stainless is over tightened. I encounter it often and usually the mess that is made results in breaking the hardware off and I am dealing with 3/8” stuff.
knobby
Well-known member
Not quite.
Galling is when two pieces touch 'well enough' that they actually weld themselves together on a molecular level. Many stainless steel alloys are notorious for doing that, especially if the two pieces are the same alloy and 'clean'. Once the two pieces gall, often the only way that they will come apart is destructivly.
Hence, never-seize.
Dingleburry
Well-known member
Center punch or cold chisel and hammer.