Bob LaRosa

Stripped Bolt Removal

Bob LaRosa
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Duration:   5  mins

Harley Davidsons have many allen and torx style screws/bolts. It is common to find the heads of these bolts to be rounded or stripped.

What Happened?

There are a handful of reasons that you searched for stripped bolt removal for an allen or torx screw to become compromised in this manner:

  • Over tightening: even with a quality bit, the head of a screw will round if over torqued upon. Tighten hardware to its correct torque spec as found in your service manual.
  • Wrong Loctite: the head of a screw can be compromised when trying to overcome the use of the wrong strength locking agent. Never use red Loctite where blue Loctite is specified. Never use more Loctite than what may be recommended.
  • Cheap tools: cheap (Chinese) tools are often made with inferior metals and sometimes undersized. These tools easily strip or damage, even quality hardware. Try to buy quality tools. You do not have to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on Snap-On or Mac tools. There are several tool companies that sell consistent, above average quality tools such as Craftsman, or SK.
  • You Need To Remove It

    Regardless of the reason you now need to figure out stripped bolt removal, you will not want to condemn an entire component just because one screw is standing in your way. Drilling out a damaged screw is an option but it should be saved as a last resort, as the likelihood of damaging the bolts allocation increases.

    Here’s A Great Idea

    One way stripped bolt removal of allens that works well is to use a torx bit, one size larger. Use a heavy steel hammer to embed the bit into the damaged allen screw. Then, with a hand impact, strike swift and hard. Your first strike is the most important as it will be the most effective attempt that you have. Once the torx bit is embedded, you should be able to twist the impact handle to extract the screw. The hand impact is a must for anyone dealing with frozen or stripped fasteners. Used in combination with a quality torx bit, you will be able to extract rounded or stripped allen and torx style screws.

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