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Rounded off Driveshaft bolt

cliffv

cliffv

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Corona, CA
What is the most popular method of removing rounded off bolts?

Last night I was trying to remove my front driveshaft and managed to round off one of the bolts that holds the driveshaft to the CV yoke. I tried a 5/16 spline wrench, a regular 5/16 wrench, 8mm wrench, etc... Is my best bet to just cut the head off and start over? Try hammering on a 1/4" wrench? Other suggestions?

Thanks,

Cliff
 
After rounding off the head of one of my rear 8mm drive shaft bolts, I opted for an easy out socket of the correct size. Bought a set at Harbor Freight but it would not bite into the bolt head. I then went to Sears and got a set of Craftsman EZ outs, and that did the trick.
 
rocknxj said:
After rounding off the head of one of my rear 8mm drive shaft bolts, I opted for an easy out socket of the correct size. Bought a set at Harbor Freight but it would not bite into the bolt head. I then went to Sears and got a set of Craftsman EZ outs, and that did the trick.
Click to expand...

I take it you lowered the damaged bolt to the "bottom" to have more room to get the socket in? I'll have it hit sears on the way home to see what they have.

Rmart30 said:
cut off the head . pull the yoke and drill em all out and install this..http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/p43...r_1.0625_bearing_cap_diameter.html...probably can match a set up locally to fit.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, the yoke is for the CV jointed front shaft so the u-bolts won't work for this situation. Although, I may just end up cutting off the head and replacing all of the bolts with a larger hex head for future removals.

rockclimber said:
grenade.
Click to expand...

Are those available at wal-mart?

Thanks for the input.

Cliff
 
If its not too bad you can file it down and get then next size wrench or socket on it. Or you can Just use a grinder to grind 2 flat spots on the rounded head to fit a wrench. I have had to do this to jam nuts on my tierod because the get rounded off by rocks.
 
I did the same thing last year. I tried various things like filing flat spots and grabbing it with mini vice grips (full size won't fit), I even drilled a hole through the bolt head and stuck a small rod through it to use as a wrench, but either the rod bent or it ripped out the sides of the hole.

I ended up taking a cold chisel and cutting it off, after first making several slot cuts in what remained of the head with a dremel. The screw itself is fairly soft (which is why it rounds off so easily) and chiseled off without much trouble. Once the bolt head was off and the driveshaft pulled off, the shank of the screw could be unthreaded by hand from the CV yoke. And if it hadn't, there was plenty of shank exposed for vice grips.

That bolt is a special design, at least on my '92: it was a 5/16" screw with a 5/16" head (and a large flange built into the head). The usual head size for a 5/16 screw would be 1/2"...I'm not sure why they used a 5/16" head, unless it was so that you could use one wrench for all the driveshaft bolts. Anyways, a standard 5/16 screw with 1/2 head works just fine (I used Grade 8). And wil be a lot harder to round off in the future.

BTW- if you don't have one already, get a 5/16 6-point wrench and socket for driveshaft screws- 12 points are prone to rounding off heads on such small diameter heads with relatively high break-loose torque.

Good luck
 
Robs92XJ said:
I did the same thing last year. I tried various things like filing flat spots and grabbing it with mini vice grips (full size won't fit), I even drilled a hole through the bolt head and stuck a small rod through it to use as a wrench, but either the rod bent or it ripped out the sides of the hole.

I ended up taking a cold chisel and cutting it off, after first making several slot cuts in what remained of the head with a dremel. The screw itself is fairly soft (which is why it rounds off so easily) and chiseled off without much trouble. Once the bolt head was off and the driveshaft pulled off, the shank of the screw could be unthreaded by hand from the CV yoke. And if it hadn't, there was plenty of shank exposed for vice grips.

That bolt is a special design, at least on my '92: it was a 5/16" screw with a 5/16" head (and a large flange built into the head). The usual head size for a 5/16 screw would be 1/2"...I'm not sure why they used a 5/16" head, unless it was so that you could use one wrench for all the driveshaft bolts. Anyways, a standard 5/16 screw with 1/2 head works just fine (I used Grade 8). And wil be a lot harder to round off in the future.

BTW- if you don't have one already, get a 5/16 6-point wrench and socket for driveshaft screws- 12 points are prone to rounding off heads on such small diameter heads with relatively high break-loose torque.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Thanks!

I picked up some 5/16-24's to replace the bolts once I get the stuck one out.
I tried the vice grips but it's just not working out. I sprayed the whole assembly down with PB Blaster last night and plan on hitting it with some heat and the vice grips again to see if I get any traction with it. if that doesn't work out I have a 7mm 6-point socket that I'm going to hammer onto it and see if that works. Last resort will be to find a way to chisel the head off and go from there.

Cliff
 
Robs92XJ said:
BTW- if you don't have one already, get a 5/16 6-point wrench and socket for driveshaft screws- 12 points are prone to rounding off heads on such small diameter heads with relatively high break-loose torque.

Good luck
Click to expand...

Success!!!

After following this suggestion above, and a liberal application of PB Blaster, I was able to remove the offending bolt with minimal effort.
Thanks again for the input from fellow bolt head rounders! Now on to installing the 8.8 I have sitting in the driveway.

Best Regards,

Cliff
 
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