removing tight bolts
Moderator: martauto
-
willisssteve0
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:00 pm
anyone got any home made tricks for removing bolts trying to change the front hubs need to take the calipers off from the 2 back bolts but cant get the f***s to move dont have a torch to heat them up also cant lossen the hub bearing either with the car weight on the wheel with lots of leverage??? i keep bending and breaking sockets???
-
Elecblondie
- E30 Zone Regular
- Posts: 782
- Joined: Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:00 pm
- Location: Southampton
First thing is the basics (sorry for being obvious), nothing you do is going to undo it if it's held stronger than the socket can handle. Are you using the least sided socket you can use/the correct fitting? Also use the thickest drive you can and use a proper breaker bar to drive it, obviously longer is more leverage. Use penetrating oil to attempt to free it a little. Buy the right socket from somewhere like the halfords pro range so you can take it back if you break it and try again (keep the receipt).
When I did the wheel bearings on my e36 I had the same problem and the only thing i had available was a big spanner, which as you'd expect kept coming off, so I hammered a piece of wood between it and the neighboring wall hard enough that nothing was going to budge. Then did a lot of jumping up and down on the spanner until it rotated. Took forever mind you and quite a bit of wd40. As far as the bolts to the calipers are concerned make sure you've got good perpendicular access and the socket sits well, if needs be tap it in it should sit on its own then use the longest bar that will fit to drive it, I'd end up smacking it with a rubber mallet but it hurts when it goes wrong. If you still find the socket can't stay in with the requisite amount of torque then sacrifice the bolt, you could try tapping (smacking) on a socket of the size one tighter, maybe in imperial to grip better be careful though trying this a friend broke the CPS mount off the timing chain cover on my e36
. If everything fails then you can often have better luck if you remove whatever it's attached to in this case the strut and work on it off the car, with a vice. Certainly be easier to wield a torch at if necessary.
When I did the wheel bearings on my e36 I had the same problem and the only thing i had available was a big spanner, which as you'd expect kept coming off, so I hammered a piece of wood between it and the neighboring wall hard enough that nothing was going to budge. Then did a lot of jumping up and down on the spanner until it rotated. Took forever mind you and quite a bit of wd40. As far as the bolts to the calipers are concerned make sure you've got good perpendicular access and the socket sits well, if needs be tap it in it should sit on its own then use the longest bar that will fit to drive it, I'd end up smacking it with a rubber mallet but it hurts when it goes wrong. If you still find the socket can't stay in with the requisite amount of torque then sacrifice the bolt, you could try tapping (smacking) on a socket of the size one tighter, maybe in imperial to grip better be careful though trying this a friend broke the CPS mount off the timing chain cover on my e36
. If everything fails then you can often have better luck if you remove whatever it's attached to in this case the strut and work on it off the car, with a vice. Certainly be easier to wield a torch at if necessary.
For sockets, don't use what your auntie bought you for Christmas (if she's like mine they will be from pound land or the car-boot sale)
Halfords professional are some of the best out there and not that expensive, lifetime guarantee too, just like Snap-on and Mac tools.
As has been said, use the correct size and if you can use a 6 point socket (single hexagon) then do, calliper carrier bolts are not usually what I would call 'silly tight' but a 24" 1/2" drive breaker-bar will shift them, they might be tight all the way out because they are thread-locked, I usually re-apply some medium thread lock to mine too.
Halfords professional are some of the best out there and not that expensive, lifetime guarantee too, just like Snap-on and Mac tools.
As has been said, use the correct size and if you can use a 6 point socket (single hexagon) then do, calliper carrier bolts are not usually what I would call 'silly tight' but a 24" 1/2" drive breaker-bar will shift them, they might be tight all the way out because they are thread-locked, I usually re-apply some medium thread lock to mine too.
-
willisssteve0
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:00 pm
well 4 hours 2 tins of wd40 a bottle jack and some extreme bravery i managed to get the front on changed using halfords pro tools on to wheel 2 :S
-
Morat
- E30 Zone Team Member
- Posts: 8943
- Joined: Thu Feb 09, 2006 11:00 pm
- Location: The Peoples Republic of Yorkshire
I was swearing at this myself once - then I borrowed a 36inch bar with a 1/2" drive on the end. CREEEEAAAKKKK done. Amazing what a bit of leverage will do.
Of course someone had to tell me to move the steering over to one side first DOH
Of course someone had to tell me to move the steering over to one side first DOH
E30 Touring 0.35 cD - more slippery than prison soap 
Praise the Lard... and pass the dripping!
Praise the Lard... and pass the dripping!
Lucky for me, I was dismantling the front suspension for rebuild anyway, so once I had the struts off I took them to my local generic tyre centre and asked them to remove them with an air gun. Job done in two minutes and they didnt charge me a penny.
Sounds like yours are still on the car though
Sounds like yours are still on the car though
-
willisssteve0
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:00 pm
yer just one bolt lefton the caliper got 6 feet ov leverage but the springs are just compressing this one is gonna go mega time
-
willisssteve0
- E30 Zone Newbie
- Posts: 64
- Joined: Mon Mar 10, 2008 11:00 pm
8 hours work for 2 wheel bearings thats pathetic but oh well all done down to brute force thanks to all! 
-
tourer-dan
- E30 Zone Regular
- Posts: 482
- Joined: Wed May 25, 2005 11:00 pm
- Location: romford, essex
I love jobs like these......
Replacing the lower arms on my mates Fiesta (max 45 mins a side) took me 3 days and an angle grinder. The arm came off in about 5 bits in the end. At the START of the job he said 'I don't expect you to do it for nothing' I thought about £30-40. After all the drama and wasting my days off fixing his car he got me a bunch of flowers. A BUNCH OF FLOWERS.
It certainly didn't feel like no dinner party.....
Sorry to hijack the thread.......
Replacing the lower arms on my mates Fiesta (max 45 mins a side) took me 3 days and an angle grinder. The arm came off in about 5 bits in the end. At the START of the job he said 'I don't expect you to do it for nothing' I thought about £30-40. After all the drama and wasting my days off fixing his car he got me a bunch of flowers. A BUNCH OF FLOWERS.
It certainly didn't feel like no dinner party.....
Sorry to hijack the thread.......
