Socket Head Cap Screw Problem

Dave;
Thanks for the suggestions
Is it possible to take out just the front engine mounting bolts and rotate the engine so that the rear cylinder is in a vertical position?
Richard

A big thank you to everyone and their suggestions
The problem is on a 990 KTM
The rear cylinder cam bridge bolt that's at the right rear position
Here are some photographs:

I had to have a easy out modified to fit the space available. I wasn't able to drive the tip into the bolt with a hammer, hence it didn't grab the bolt head


Yesterday I took a T-30 Torx and JB welded it into the socket head. Let it cure overnight. I plan on using a heat gun to warm up the cam bridge later today and attempt to loosen the bolt. I'll report back with the outcome.


Here are some views of the space I have to work with

acording to last picture:

cut a notch at 7 o'clock. hit with small chisel pointing right. you only need to get 1/4 turn to loosen it.

Thought I'd put a wrench on the Torx before heating the whole cylinder head and with very little torque the bit separated from the bolt.
I cleaned the bolt & bit with alcohol. Maybe I need to use carb cleaner or acetone.

agreed.

there's no way JB weld is ever going to be strong enough....... if the above fails I think that is going to have to come out of the frame

Wow, that's quite the deal. Good job with the pictures.

How tight are those bolts??? :huh

They look hardened too. I just had my cams out of my DL, cam caps use bolts with 8mm socket to remove. They are only supposed to be tightened to 10 nm. How the #$@ did the bolt get so tight?

I say use a dremel and use a cutting wheel to put a slot in the top of the bolt and use a long flat blade to remove the overtightened bolt. Or grind the head off and then remove the cap and use a vice grip to remove the stud.

I'm not saying 100% that this will work, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

since you already have this welded up:


And it is too long to grab, just start grinding it down until the tip will just fit inside the hex opening, and then tap it in firmly with a small hammer. Then put your wrench on it and try again.

Also, looking at it again do you have room to clip on a small pair (4WR) of vise grips?

I had the same exact issue with the front of my 950 a while back- used one of the extractors from Matco dave186 suggested. I found it to be the tool for the job- no drama, just removed the bolt like it was the proper wrench.

As a pro wrench, I have 5 or 6 different ways to remove broken/stripped/galled/buggered fasteners. No one tool works on every problem.

Left hand drill bit.

You can try one that fits tightly into the socket. Just keep going up size - either the head will come off, or the bolt out.

With the head off, center punch, and start with a small bit. Work your way up to a larger bit. Eventually it will catch and it will come right out.

Ezouts should just be called ezbreaks.

You can buy a cheap set of lefties at harbor freight. Best thing in the store.

YES! & the angle you hold the punch/chisel has to be precise to rotate the bolt head!!!!

The chisel, best bolt removal trick I ever learned. Works as good now as it did back in the 70's or before.

Don't be afraid to try "tightening" the bolt also with the chisel or your homemade tool, that may be needed to break the bond,could clear the threads just enough to give some movement and then increase the movement going back & forth slowly. If you try to unscrew all at once,whatever is in them threads may bind and strip the threads. Don't assume there is nothing in them threads even from the factory, there may be slivers left from the threading process or previous mechanical work.:eek1

I am in a bit of a jam also with a rather large seized fastener, that one will need some "thermal shock". If you decide to go that way, here is what I just bought, cheap and pretty darn cold.

Thanks for all the great ideas. Much appreciated.
There's no room to get a drill & drill bit in the space available unless I drop the engine. Been reluctant to do that but perhaps that's the best alternative in the long run.

Richard

(Sorry I got my photos in the wrong order)

There appears from this photo to be plenty of clearance to use a Square EZ-Out to remove the bolt.



Grind the tip of the Square EZ-Out to where it just fits into the bolt head, tap the EZ-Out into the bolt head until it bottoms out, use a long type tap wrench to turn the EZ-Out.
Square EZ-Outs work much better than the twist type.
If the EZ-Out toques out of the bolt head grind a little more off and try again. The bolt will come out.

I'd try using the hand-held impact driver. You could use a torx bit in a socket attached to the driver, the torx bit being long enough to clear obstructions so you can swing a hammer to the driver.

I personally would try the hammer and chisel to break it loose and get it out of there. Looks like you have plenty on bolt head to work with. Mike

PB Blaster, Aerokroil or even WD-40. Use a small torch to force capillary action into the fastener joint to try to make things a bit more slippery with several heat cycles.
Clean the SHCS with acetone and see if you can maul up the inner side walls to increase the surface area. Re-clean and try the JB weld again. You have the option of loading the JB weld with aluminum shavings to try to increase the compressive strength. Another option is to do the same but, with shim stock and let JB fill some of the gaps. Maybe do both.
See if that works cold and then again after heating the aluminum head, not the cam block, to around 200F. Do it very quickly with a butane crack pipe torch. Much hotter and the JB will start to soften. Getting the upper half of the cam journal hot will increase the pre-load on the screw and likely make it harder to get out.
Using CRC Brakeleen or acetone to pre-chill the parts is also another option to augment the heat. Don't breathe the fumes.

Looks like there is room, why can't you get a small torch flame on the head of the bolt? Heat till all the oil is burnt off. Then quickly try the punch or chisel method.

I'm still liking the hand held impact method with shim stock wrapped around hex. You can use a universal joint with a hand held impact.

I've been looking at micro torches today that run on butane. Might work. Frame rails limit access
Thanks
Richard

Plenty of good ideas
Thanks