How to get a Stripped Bolt out?
07-03-2004, 03:26 PM
#1
Staging Lane
Thread Starter
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: west allis, wisconsin
Posts: 81
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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
07-03-2004, 04:33 PM
#3
TECH Addict
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: IL
Posts: 2,561
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Try the sears craftsman bolt extractor set- It's like a socket with splines in it. It will cut into the bolt and bite harder as it is turned out. I think they are around 30 for a set.
07-06-2004, 09:12 AM
#4
Moderator
iTrader: (11)
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: East Central Florida
Posts: 12,604
Likes: 0
Received 6 Likes
on
6 Posts
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.
Trending Topics
07-13-2004, 07:50 AM
#8
7 Second Club
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Grove City Ohio/Port Washington L.I sometimes
Posts: 2,064
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
07-15-2004, 05:53 PM
#9
TECH Resident
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 840
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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
07-20-2004, 04:00 AM
#11
TECH Veteran
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Hartsdale, NY
Posts: 4,055
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.....
07-24-2004, 09:07 PM
#12
Staging Lane
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
07-31-2004, 10:37 PM
#13
TECH Enthusiast
iTrader: (19)
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 740
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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
08-01-2004, 09:56 PM
#14
11 Second Club
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Fayettenam, North Cakalki
Posts: 1,252
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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
08-12-2004, 12:17 AM
#15
On The Tree
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Indianapolis
Posts: 170
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
08-14-2004, 09:22 PM
#17
TECH Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Arlington, TX
Posts: 1,364
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
08-18-2004, 08:12 PM
#19
On The Tree
iTrader: (5)
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Illinois
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
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.
