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Don't despair. There is always A Way Out.
The seat bolts are hella tight. Add some water from having a cab... makes it tough.
Some ways I have gotten stuck bolts out.
1. Torch. Not appropriate here.
2. Impact. The head's already too chewed up for this.
3. Use a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel. Grind six flats on the bolt head, making it into a hex head bolt and use a socket on it.
4. Drill off the bolt head. Going to be tough, these bolts are hardened.
5. Use the dremel and cut the head off. Make 4 or 6 cuts leaving the center of the bolt sticking up. It should be small enough to fit through the hole in the seat track.
6. Use the dremel to grind a slot in the head to make it into a slotted screw. Use an impact driver (the kind you hit with a hammer, not a rattle gun) to loosen it.
7. Get an induction heater and heat the bolt that way.
8. Weld a nut on the damaged bolt head.
9. Using a TiG, heat the bolt up with the torch. Careful here or you'll weld the bolt to the threads. This doesn't work with a MiG.
10. Under no circumstances use an easy out. It will break off and you'll need an EDM to get it out.
A buddy asked me what he should do with an easy out kit he inherited. I told him to clean it carefully, oil it nicely, and give it to someone he doesn't like .
I replaced my seat bolts with 12 point 190ksi ARP rod bolts.
Don't despair. There is always A Way Out.
The seat bolts are hella tight. Add some water from having a cab... makes it tough.
So I just tried option 2. It snapped a socket in half. I have no clue what happened to these bolts. I did notice they had white residue on the tips of the bolts, so I assume someone added some kind of loctite at some point.
My replies to your suggestions above. Thank you.
2. Impact. The head's already too chewed up for this.
-- I manage to hammer on a 9mm bolt that was fully in place. I used an electric impact gun (for lug nuts) and it just ended up splitting the socket in half
3. Use a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel. Grind six flats on the bolt head, making it into a hex head bolt and use a socket on it.
-- I kind of did this with #2 above, but I think with hammering on the socket, it put too much stress on the socket - just worried if I have enough room in the seat rail to succesfuly make a hex shape...
4. Drill off the bolt head. Going to be tough, these bolts are hardened.
-- Yeh, not ideal
5. Use the dremel and cut the head off. Make 4 or 6 cuts leaving the center of the bolt sticking up. It should be small enough to fit through the hole in the seat track.
-- What do I do once the head is cut off?
6. Use the dremel to grind a slot in the head to make it into a slotted screw. Use an impact driver (the kind you hit with a hammer, not a rattle gun) to loosen it.
-- This was suggested, but not sure what you mean by impact driver his with hammer not rattle gun..?
7. Get an induction heater and heat the bolt that way.
-- I think that was suggested above, $400 is a bit too much...
8. Weld a nut on the damaged bolt head.
-- Would using JB Weld work? Or do I need someone with an actual welder. Concerned this will totally render my seat useless as I won't be able to put it back until the bolt is off.
9. Using a TiG, heat the bolt up with the torch. Careful here or you'll weld the bolt to the threads. This doesn't work with a MiG.
-- not sure what a tig or mig is, but wounds like I shouldn't do this regardless.
1/2" socket banged on or jb welded to the bolt. Then 1/2" impact gun. With a big impact you can be pushing down on the bolt. Or drive it to a machine shop and have it welded.
Don't despair. There is always A Way Out.
The seat bolts are hella tight. Add some water from having a cab... makes it tough.
Some ways I have gotten stuck bolts out.
1. Torch. Not appropriate here.
2. Impact. The head's already too chewed up for this.
3. Use a dremel tool with a cutoff wheel. Grind six flats on the bolt head, making it into a hex head bolt and use a socket on it.
4. Drill off the bolt head. Going to be tough, these bolts are hardened.
5. Use the dremel and cut the head off. Make 4 or 6 cuts leaving the center of the bolt sticking up. It should be small enough to fit through the hole in the seat track.
6. Use the dremel to grind a slot in the head to make it into a slotted screw. Use an impact driver (the kind you hit with a hammer, not a rattle gun) to loosen it.
7. Get an induction heater and heat the bolt that way.
8. Weld a nut on the damaged bolt head.
9. Using a TiG, heat the bolt up with the torch. Careful here or you'll weld the bolt to the threads. This doesn't work with a MiG.
10. Under no circumstances use an easy out. It will break off and you'll need an EDM to get it out.
A buddy asked me what he should do with an easy out kit he inherited. I told him to clean it carefully, oil it nicely, and give it to someone he doesn't like .
I replaced my seat bolts with 12 point 190ksi ARP rod bolts.
Easy out saved my bacon when I stripped my oil pan drainplug though. It will always have a special place in my heart for that.
well the Dremel cutting wheel was not very effective. I could only really square off two of the sides to make a hex. There's just not enough room in there.
so I've resorted to JB welding on a 3/8 inch socket. Hopefully by tomorrow night after it's cured I will have some good news to share. Otherwise I'm not sure what I will do next.
Ah that's kind of neat device. You think it'd be more effective than an impact gun? The post prior said this not a rattle gun, so I'm assuming there's some benefit to the manual tool?
Ah that's kind of neat device. You think it'd be more effective than an impact gun? The post prior said this not a rattle gun, so I'm assuming there's some benefit to the manual tool?
The benefits seem to be from the downward force in conjunction with the rotational force. This is especially useful with screws because the screwdriver tips like to "cam out". The shock is also helpful. If the JB Weld fails, try using the Dremel to cut a slot straight across the center of the screw head. Then use this impact screwdriver with a large slotted screw tip and a big hammer.
Watch your aim and don't smash your hand or fingers.
Clever gizmo -- ouchie price. But I really like the localized heat idea.
I've had some luck with a new-ish product from CRC, Freeze-off. It doesn't heat, it chills. The idea is the same: to use expansion/contraction to break the bond between bolt and threads. You'd have to be careful to put absorbent materials around the area to keep from soiling the carpet.
I have one of these from umpty seven years ago. They're great tools. Need a good bit of room to get a proper swing at them though, and of course the tool needs to be held in place.
With the situation OP is in I would strongly recommend against electric or pneumatic impact guns of any kind. If you're splitting sockets you're using cheap sockets. Get an impact socket -- black in color. If you JBWeld or hammer something on there, use leverage rather than impact. 1/2" drive breaker bar and a length of pipe (I've been known to use a jack handle). Add pressure slowly. You'll have much more control.
With the situation OP is in I would strongly recommend against electric or pneumatic impact guns of any kind. If you're splitting sockets you're using cheap sockets. Get an impact socket -- black in color. If you JBWeld or hammer something on there, use leverage rather than impact. 1/2" drive breaker bar and a length of pipe (I've been known to use a jack handle). Add pressure slowly. You'll have much more control.
Yes it was a cheap socket, and made worse by hammering it on. I used another cheapish socket to weld it on.
I am worked on the rear door side seat bolt so there is just enough room to use a standard size breaker bar and maybe 1/4 rotational distance. Other wise i have to do it at an angle to clear the back seat (which is how I think the stripping started in the first place).
So i think i have two options tonight, try breaker bar and hope the position of the socket head lines up with the 1/4 rotational distance i have, or try the hammer impact and hope I can hold it and hammer in the tight spot.
Any chance you have tried tightening the bolt ? Yeah I get that it's stupid tight but just thinking about breaking whatever bond is there . And the hand held hammer impact works very well . But only if you have room to swing the hammer . It has saved me many times removing brake disc Phillips screws that hold the disc on . Good luck
If you remove the underbody tray, can you see the bolt from under the car? You can try heating from the bottom. You can dampen the carpet to keep it from burning up then.
Well i waited 12 hrs for the JB weld to cure, not the 15-18 recommended and I was just curious how hard it was, and did a quick test, and it came right off the bolt with very little force... Is that last 3-5 hrs make or break for this stuff? (I got the steel reinforced highest strength stuff.)
My hammer impact drive came, and so I cut a nice grove in the bolt head. But sadly after a few solid hits the flat head bit that came with the driver (Craftsman brand) twisted and snapped.
Originally Posted by 996C438
Any chance you have tried tightening the bolt ? Yeah I get that it's stupid tight but just thinking about breaking whatever bond is there . And the hand held hammer impact works very well . But only if you have room to swing the hammer . It has saved me many times removing brake disc Phillips screws that hold the disc on . Good luck
I have tried tightening. And see image above, broke and twisted the bit.
Originally Posted by amargari
If you remove the underbody tray, can you see the bolt from under the car? You can try heating from the bottom. You can dampen the carpet to keep it from burning up then.
Yes, I was wondering the same. Guess I'll be going back up on the lift (thankful for the Quickjack now). I am nervous about torching anything under there, but maybe worse comes to worse I can drill from bottom.
It sucks that this is so difficult for you. At this point I would drill the head off of the screw and then driil and tap a new thread on center of the original thread. Center punch as close to the center of the existing thread as you can. Use a new drill bit that is about 1/16" larger than the thread size with a low RPM drill motor. Stop drilling as soon as the head is off. Once the head us off and the seat is out of the way, use a drill that is the 60% tap drill for the thread of the screw and drill out the remaing screw. Now use a tap that is the origanal thread size to cut/clear the thread.
10-26-2023, 10:17 PM
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