allen bolt on clutch housing help

[JPSmit]

So, I got the transmission off and started to remove the clutch. I seem to have stripped the head (allen) of the bolt. Any ideas?

thanks
JP

 

[Grantura_MKI]

Two quick ideas, depending one what kind of equiptment you have. You may try to weld a nut over the head of the allen, or if you can fit a die-grinder and cut off wheel in the area...simply cut a grove across the head and use a large screw driver.
Good luck, David. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cheers.gif

 

[jlaird]

Or use a hardware store item called an easyout. Course it means drilling a hole first so get the right bit at the same time.

 

[Grantura_MKI]

I personally would stay away from easy-outs. Here is the reason why...they are made of hardend steel, if you break it off inside of the bolt the game is over as you will be unable to extract of drill out the broken bit.
Cheers, David. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nopity.gif

 

[Dave Russell]

Easy Outs by nature expand the inner diameter of the drilled hole, & thus the outside of the already tight bolt, which makes the bolt stub even tighter in it's hole.

I have had remarkable luck drilling the bolt with a left hand drill bit. Usually the drill will catch enough in the bottom to unscrew the bolt as you drill. Especially as the remaining bolt wall section is thinned.

"Some" Allen head capscrews are hardened to grade 8, with the head even harder, & very hard to drill. The head can be very carefully annealed.

As a last resort, if the starting hole is perfectly centered, the bolt can be drilled with progressively larger sizes until only bits of a very thin shell remain & the bits picked out.
D

 

[Gearhead]

What ever method u use lube it with some type of penetrating fluid we all have our favorites I think your better off trying the easy out method my 2cents Mark

 

[SilentUnicorn]

Daves right, ez outs work best on bigger stuff. smaller screws are best drilled out, and a left hand bit is the cats meow. if you break an ez out in a screw you will need a machine shop with a carbide cutter to get it out.

mark

 

[JPSmit]

So, here's what happened. I cut the slot in the head but then my big screwdriver was too thick to fit. I went to harbor freight and there beside the screwdrivers (for $6.99) was an impact screwdriver set. For two days I sprayed the bolt with penetrating fluid and with about 6 whacks with the impact screwdriver, the bolt is out! Hurray. Thanks for your opinions. BTW, this makes one stuck bolt, two that broke and 6 screws that needed heat to loosen in the entire dismantling. I now understand why we need to buy southern cars!

 

[Grantura_MKI]

Glad to hear!! Good luck with the rest of it.