I was trying to remove the rear shock on my 2004 R1150GS Adventure. The bolt just kept spinning but wouldn't come out. I put a little sideways English on it and the bolt came out. Minus the threads. :eek1 Not sure if the PO put too much torque on the bolt installing it or if it sheared while riding, no idea. Either way, there is too much of the bolt left in the swingarm to remove the rear shock. I've tried an easy out, but (I suspect) because the bolt was Locktite'd in there, it won't come out. Does anyone have any ideas how I can get the bolt threads out of there? Thanks in advance!!
That's a bummer! You might be able to use the fluted style of extractors that use drill guides. If you're lucky you will find a drill guide that will fit in the screw bore enough to help guide a drill on-center. If the guides are in between sizes then use the largest guide that will fit and wrap electrical tape or some metal shim material (a beer can come to mind) to increase the diameter of the guide until it fits snugly and centered in the bolt hole bore. After drilling a straight hole then redrill the hole to the size of the largest flute extractor that will fit that leaves some meat. I'd probably use a flute bore of about 80% or 90% of the sheared bolt's outer diameter. Before trying to remove the sheared bolt, do apply heat to the remainder of the bolt to release the Locktite. You may also pre-spray the remaining bolt with WD40 or some other solution to help break any corrosion that may exist. Pre-spraying with WD (or whatever you choose) does not hurt your chances of releasing the Locktite. This kit might be useful, http://www.amazon.com/Screw-Extractor-Broken-Remover-Drill/dp/B006YDQ812 I hope this offers some help. Proceed methodically. You really only get one good shot at repairing this w/o removing the swingarm for some laser work. I have faith in this technique, so good luck.
I'm thinking abuot using a dremel to cut through one of the aluminum(?) spacers which holds the shock in place. That way I can get teh shock out and get better access to the broken off threads. Thoughts?
Looks like this: I believe the threads come out about as far into the spacer as the blue line. I'm thinking of cutting the spacers where the red line is.
If you're going to try the drill and EZout route, use a transfer punch to mark the center of the bolt for drilling. McMaster has metric transfer punches - measure the head of the broken bolt and buy that size. When you do get in there with the ezout, heat the swingarm to help soften the loctite and expand the aluminum around the bolt. I'd use a heat gun instead of a torch, the temperature can be set lower and less likely to disturb the temper of the Aluminum than a flame.
I did consider that. The problem I had with the idea was that I'm not sure that'll give me enough slack to get the right side spacer to move off the threads. If I cut on the right side, it will be able to come out. Based on the length of bolt left, I'm pretty sure that cutting where I indicated won't cut any of the thread off. We'll see. TE, thanks for the tip. I'll look into that when it comes time to remove the broken off threads. I may have a pro do that.
Doh! I don't have anything useful to add, but I'm sending you good juju. Rock on with your socks on! -B P.S. I second the need for heat. That loctite can be pretty damn strong.
As a pro, I'd prefer that you didn't mangle anymore...leave the shock alone and take the pro your swingarm with the shock stuck right where it is.
DIY is taking a chance on real risk to very Expensive repair parts. Trailer your bike to a local machine shop where they can guarantee results for a lot less than the cost of parts if you slip and screw it up. They handle this kind of issue on a regular basis and will have all the tools necessary to do it right. Just my $0.02 -John
Your goal was to remove the shock and seems to still be your first priority. Given the broken bolt, you may want to consider making fixing the bolt as job #1. Cutting the bolt may make the job of removal more difficult. I'd trailer it to a machine shop first, then continue with your shock project after this is fixed. My 2 cents........
How about a bushing that is a close fit in the swing arm with a hole in the center the diameter of the bolt. Use it to guide a drill bit to drill out the bolt. A lot of lubrication, a lot of pressure and very slow drill speed. You could also use a series of bushings starting with a small pilot hole. When you get near the final size, try a left hand drill. Perhaps the heat from the drilling will have softened e thread lock enough for the left hand bit to spin the remains of the bolt out. Otherwise, drill until all that remains of the bolt is a coil of threads in the swing arm. Remove the drill from the hole and clean out the remains often. I'd use motor oil if cutting fluid isn't easy to find. I'd leave the shock in place.
You need to contact Gillafunk. He'll know what to do. If you're not confident with what you're doing I'd quit right now and take it to the dealership or where ever and have them deal with it. I'm sure they have experience. Cutting to the left of that spacer would get the shock out of the way and give you room to work. There may be enough of a stub sticking out to get some vice grips on it. Heck once the weight of the shock and rear of the bike is off the bolt may come out easy. (Ever hopeful) There's not going to be much room in there for an easy out. I'd rather try to weld a nut onto the bolt and try that first. The heat from the welding should take care of any loctite in there. I've never put locktite on that bolt myself so who knows. That bolt is under a lot of stress. I've had mine bend a few times. I discover it when I'm taking the shock out for some reason. Some guys that ride a lot harder than I do off road complain of bending that bolt a lot. Some of them even replace the bolt with something harder. I figure it's easier to deal with a banana shaped bolt than a broken one like that. Good luck man. If everything goes south a swing arm from Beemer Boneyard is $185.
Better yet, pull the swingarm/shock and bring it to them. They'll be able to fixture it properly and it will cost less than if they had to dismantle the assembly themselves.
What larryboy said. However, your statement: " The bolt just kept spinning but wouldn't come out. I put a little sideways English on it and the bolt came out. Minus the threads. :eek1" is very thought provoking. Do you think the bolt may have been broken before your application of "sideways English" ? Once the broken bits have been removed, check the swing arm for an elongated hole where the shock bolt resides. Best of luck. BTW, Locktite gives up its grip at about 250 - 300 degrees F.
Had this exact same scenario on my '01 1150 GS three or four years ago. My solution was to cut the the shock bushing on the right side. I was fortunate enough to have a few mm of the bolt protruding from the swing arm once the shock was out. From that point the bolt came out easily. I run Bitubo shocks and had to re-create the right side bushing by using the left side bushing as a pattern. Hope that helps -Rick
