yip, missed that. buuuuuut, not a punch. a drift. directly on top of the bolt head. it's not so much to tighten up the head of the spline. more to loosen the head of the bolt on what it is securing and the bolt thread on the threaded hole.
...getting deja vous here, make your mind up love! :- "get yourself an appropriately sized punch and hammer and just start tapping away at the top of the fastener. it will tighten up the spline of the bolt and slacken its grip on the threads." you're making this up as you go along ain't ya..
aww god. if it helps you sleep at night bold boy, deffo. if living by the sea and every broken part is at least 24hrs away doesn't teach how to remove all kinds of fixings. then nothing will.
hmm, swore i saw something there... anyways, here's another top tip. small bolts, screws ext where you think locktight may have been used. or even just seized and you have a decent soldering iron. use the biggest tip that will fit inside or on top of the fixing. give it a heat. then maybe a tap or two.. then boom. out it comes.
Glad you picked it up, it was for you alone. i've always had an understanding that advice from this part of the country is the finest to be found in Scotland.
An update for anyone interested - finally some success and with a method outlined here. Admittedly wasnt me who did it though. Before mangling the head and throwing a tantrum, I figured id go to the local garage and ask gif they fancied a quick go at it, they managed to crack the bolts using a small spline bit which was a bit bigger than the the 3mm hex holes, and used a small wrench to break them open. Thanks again for everyone who took the time to offer advice and opinion! No doubt ill be back to moan again in five mins when the next simple task stumps me...
If you don't mind destoying the screw, I've had success using mutli tool, and cutting a groove in the head, across the middle for a flat screwdriver. Make it long and deep, so you get nice engagement. As for the cutting itself, start from the mid hex hole and cut towards outside, do it for each side (left and right from axis). If the screwdriver difficult to use by hand, take large pliers to grab the flat section of screwdriver, and use pliers to apply torque, while holding screwdriver straight.
You know those Tools arrived.. And low and behold the Wera Hex Key Undid mine No Fuss. I just had to give them a really good Tap with the rubber mallet to seat them and they came out smooth as butter...
