How to get a Stripped Bolt out?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 81
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From: west allis, wisconsin
How to get a Stripped Bolt out? bacially as the title states, how?? Ive been doing some work on my sisters car, and i went to go change her oil the other day.....what do i find.....the Oil pan bolt is completely stripped.....dont ask me how she just bought the POS....but ive tried a 12point/6point wrench, vice pliers, regular pliers, nothing seems to work......Im clueless how this bolt will ever come out
For little bolts like the oil pan the Vise Grips
may still be your best bet. I bet the bolt /
stud extractor is too bulky to use up against
the pan wall. Get a set of 'Grips that have
serrated jaws (not smooth), put them onto
the bolt head nose-on for maximum bite,
with as hard a setting as you can just barely
snap closed, and cocked so you have a little
"free arc" to turn loosen. You can use an
open-end wrench to torque on the body if
hand torque does not suffice.
Though why an oil pan bolt should be rounded
is a mystery... may be it's driven in so hard
that the threads are trashed and the bolt is
bound up. Or, cousin Jethro used an English
thread bolt on the metric hole on account of
he lost one of the originals down the sump at
the Quikee-Loob.
may still be your best bet. I bet the bolt /
stud extractor is too bulky to use up against
the pan wall. Get a set of 'Grips that have
serrated jaws (not smooth), put them onto
the bolt head nose-on for maximum bite,
with as hard a setting as you can just barely
snap closed, and cocked so you have a little
"free arc" to turn loosen. You can use an
open-end wrench to torque on the body if
hand torque does not suffice.
Though why an oil pan bolt should be rounded
is a mystery... may be it's driven in so hard
that the threads are trashed and the bolt is
bound up. Or, cousin Jethro used an English
thread bolt on the metric hole on account of
he lost one of the originals down the sump at
the Quikee-Loob.
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7 Second Club
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Joined: Jan 2003
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From: Grove City Ohio/Port Washington L.I sometimes
Originally Posted by Cal
MIG weld a large nut on to the drain plug, then just turn it out with a wrench. I've even gotten bolts out this way that had missing heads.
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TECH Resident
Joined: Jun 2004
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Yes the weld a nut works on just a headless bolt too...
I'd try twist sockets first... Everybody makes them... They work.
http://www.mactools.com/ProductDetai...?ItemNum=TS450
I'd try twist sockets first... Everybody makes them... They work.
http://www.mactools.com/ProductDetai...?ItemNum=TS450
Originally Posted by robertbartsch
I heard the oil drain plug is a torque-to-yield bolt....
TECH Veteran
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,055
Likes: 1
From: Hartsdale, NY
Yeh, but my Chevy dealer always re-uses head bolts and other t-t-y bolts with no issues.....
An engineer I know who specializes in metals tells me all bolts stretch and t-t-y bolts are a ploy by manufacturors to sell more bolts.....
An engineer I know who specializes in metals tells me all bolts stretch and t-t-y bolts are a ploy by manufacturors to sell more bolts.....
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
1 - don't hammer a socket onto the drain plug unless you want to take the risk of bending the metal and having it leak from the gasket.
2 - don't weld a socket onto it unless you want to compromise the integrity of the metal.
I'll give credit where its due, those ideas will work in other areas, but not for an oil drain pan. Try the vicegrips or the craftsman remover they mentioned. Otherwise you might want to consider getting a new drain pan. Since the threads are likely stripped anyway, you'll get a slow leak at the very best even with a new plug. Rubber plugs leak and don't seal properly, and there's really no way to tap that out. But i'm hoping your case won't be that bad and maybe it's just the bolt that is stripped.
If you wind up brining it to a mechanic, don't let them drill it out. You don't need metal shavings swirling around your engine, a new oil pan is pricey yes but a new engine is that much more.
2 - don't weld a socket onto it unless you want to compromise the integrity of the metal.
I'll give credit where its due, those ideas will work in other areas, but not for an oil drain pan. Try the vicegrips or the craftsman remover they mentioned. Otherwise you might want to consider getting a new drain pan. Since the threads are likely stripped anyway, you'll get a slow leak at the very best even with a new plug. Rubber plugs leak and don't seal properly, and there's really no way to tap that out. But i'm hoping your case won't be that bad and maybe it's just the bolt that is stripped.
If you wind up brining it to a mechanic, don't let them drill it out. You don't need metal shavings swirling around your engine, a new oil pan is pricey yes but a new engine is that much more.
What I did when I encountered this problem was to use a dremel with a cutting attachment. I used it to drill a slot into the head of the stripped bolt so that I could use a flathead screwdriver to loosen the faulty bastard. Hope that helps
Originally Posted by robertbartsch
Vice grips sounds good...
I heard the oil drain plug is a torque-to-yield bolt....
I heard the oil drain plug is a torque-to-yield bolt....
I use an Impact Wrench on my drain plug. Works wonders!
In all seriousness the craftsman kit is pretty nice and may come in handy later.
Brad
I had one and used:
- 6 Pt Socked Hammered On
- Craftsman Destripping Set
- Vise Grips
The Vise Grips were by far the best. I hated the destripping set. It destroys the bolt but doesn't turn it.
- 6 Pt Socked Hammered On
- Craftsman Destripping Set
- Vise Grips
The Vise Grips were by far the best. I hated the destripping set. It destroys the bolt but doesn't turn it.
Also, if the bolt isn't too siezed / stuck in the threads and just is missing the head, you can use a punch to attempt to drive the bolt counterclockwise. Depending on how tight it is, this can be an easy way to go.
do what the first few guys said and get a bolt extractor. The one I have used is a metal cylinder, with 3 differnt sizes for the extraction, and a gear that grabs the hell out of the bolt as you wrench it off.
Oh one more thing that can help. I know it sounds insane but some very stubborn bolts ( not necessarily stripped ) can be broken loose easier if you actually try and tighten them slightly first. This has worked for me on numerous occasions.
