Removing Rounded Head Bolt

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Hey all,

I took my head in to be checked, and he's not entirely happy with it, so I was trying to get my second head off my spare engine, and one of the hex head holes has rounded. Can anyone give us a suggestion to get it out? The only surefire one I can think of is welding a nut onto it, but I dont have a welder handy.

Any ideas?

Cheers,
Nathan

[takai]

In the head you mean?
Im pretty sure on the 1Gs that those Allen key style bolts arnt head bolts but are to access the oil galleries.
Maybe you can take pics...

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Nope, they're the head bolts. Yes, in the head. They have an 8mm hex head on them.

[takai]

Oh yeah, brain fart. 1Gs have hex headed bolts. Thats what i get for coming back to work after a project lunch.
If they have rounded there is sweet FA that you can do, you could try welding a key to the bolt, but as you said no welder. I cant remember for the life of me how much access you have on a 1G either.

[JustCallMeOrlando]

You have SFA access I've got a welder coming tomorrow. Man this is teh suck

[takai]

Yeah, thats what i thought. You should also check what sort of steel the bolts are made out of and whether the coating on the bolt will prevent a clean weld. So possibly take one of the spare bolts and weld something to it as a test.

Also be very careful around the weld as the heat is likely to make things a bit mushy down there.

[JustCallMeOrlando]

I've tried drilling them out and so i've worn any coating off them, and I think they're some sort of high tensile stuff. Meh, we'll see when I get hold of the welder.

[takai]

Yeah, they should be high tensile steel. I had a look at a spare set of 7M ones lying around the workshop and i think the conclusion was 36** grade or similar, possibly even a 4 grade.

Anyway im far too tired to be posting about this and should just go home

[joecoolmk2]

are they up above the surface of the head or down inside, cuz i was gonna suggest grinding the head off the bolt if possible.

if not possible, grind a slot in it and use a flat blade screwdriver with either vicegrips or a socketr on the screwdriver.

if you can't do that, then try a centre punch on the side of the bolt head in the unscrewing direction, or just use a cold chisel to knowck the entire head off(difficult and brutal, i know)

if you can't do that either, then just get a bloody welder from someone.

[sillycar chick]

Suggestion for next time round - give the head of the bolt a good whack with a hammer to crack the seal in the thread which occurs over time (especially if its old). Too many people dont put a little oil on the thread to stop things siezing up. I snapped a head bolt once, and we got it out of the block with oxy (oxy is your best friend when it comes to stubborn car parts). But yours is rounded, so I would suggest try hit it to crack the seal, and then try welder. Sorry to dissappoint you, but its probably your only hope! Good Luck!

[tricky]

The big brother of EZY-OUTS is possibly helpful here. I think they are called wurth's. Anyway, you drill a hole, and the actual tool is a bladed shaft which you tap into your hole with a hammer (not THAT hole ) and crank it out. Of course, a head bolt could still be a big ask.

But I vote welder since you are getting one anyway.

[sillycar chick]

Hmmmm this thread could do with a voting poll.....

[takai]

True, last time i had to pull a piece of bolt out i used a hole drilled in it with a torx bit knocked into the hole.
Probably wont work too well with yours due to the hardness of the steel.

[nihilism]

The big brother of EZY-OUTS is possibly helpful here. I think they are called wurth's. Anyway, you drill a hole, and the actual tool is a bladed shaft which you tap into your hole with a hammer (not THAT hole ) and crank it out. Of course, a head bolt could still be a big ask.

As long as the head bolt aren't as hard as the wurth.

[ed]

all else fails, drill the head of the bolt off, lift off head, and $10 says you can unscrew the remainder of the bolt with your fingers