Well two shit quality Allen head bolts have rounded off so cannot be removed. If they were visible I would just drill them but they are recessed inside a cnc part which I don’t want to damage. Anyone got a non damaging way to get them out ?
Tempted to suggest driving a slightly oversize Torx bit into the damaged hole. You’ll need to invest about £5 in a couple of Torx bits. Would also suggest, if you have a soldering iron, heat the bolt up to try and weaken any Loctite. Andy
Any pics Ian? Bit difficult without seeing it, but as already suggested- Heat - Have they got Loctite on them? as you’d need plenty of heat to soften that before they’ll even move, give it large with the gas gun then drive in a Torx bit, leave the Torx bit in place then douse it with cold water to shock it and then try an impact driver . If that fails , and this is a bit difficult to judge without seeing position / construction of item , drill the heads off the bolts and remove your nice CNC bit and you can then get to work on what’s left of the studs with heat and a footprint type wrench, I’ve got one that grips more the harder you pull it. Good luck
I have a set of these and experienced some success if there is enough of the Allen hole left! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Laser-Tool...41&hvtargid=pla-563615169968&psc=1&th=1&psc=1
Thanks guys. I will attempt removal using the ideas above and if no good I will order some torx or those other bits above.
I had similar with a pin on a rear brake caliper , the oversized Torx bit didn't work , I ended up drilling it out , started with a 5mm the then gradually progressed to 8.5 mms , I then used a tap and plenty of cutting oil to clean out the rest.of the bolt , worked a treat , just took my time .
Hell fire Ian, David Bailey’s job is safe with you about ! From what I can see I’m for drilling the heads off One other thing to try before you do this, …have you got any valve grinding paste or carbo- grip that you us on pushbikes to grip carbon fibre seatposts?? If you have anything like that, dip the end of the Allen key / Torx bit in it to get more grip and stop it coming out
Were these bolts supplied with the CNC part of are they OEM bolts. Either way if you intend to re-fit the part later, then try ACCU or Stig Fasteners. Both good quality suppliers or if you are after a more cosmetic look then you can try some polished tapered socket head bolts or Proti bolts. Any of these will be a lot better quality than that which has rounded. You might also want to try an Easy Out bit on the bolt. Drill a small pilot hole into the chewed recess of the bolt head and insert the easy out bit, which will bite into the bolt material as you try to loosen it. Plus one for heat application.
You could also try a left hand drill bit. Put your drill in reverse and as the drill bit is going into the Allen bolt there’s every probability the Allen bolt will unthread itself.
Agree re the easy outs, I buggered some Allen heads on a tidy and got some easy outs from amazon and they were brilliant
I removed the shit standard Allen bolts and fitted the apparently shit replacement Allen bolts supplied with the cnc part. I needed to remove the part and found the supplied bolts were still shit ! This is the first time they were going to be loosened since they were fitted. I need some better bolts as Rod suggests. Quite why on an £18k bike they still fit bolts that are not fit for purpose is beyond me.
One of the very reasons why I replaced the Swiss cheese bolts on mine. Not fit for purpose as you say. These bikes, despite their elevated price tag, are still built to a budget and part of that saving comes from using shite bolts and fasteners. It's been prevalent on Ducatis for the last twenty years so it's unlikely to change anytime soon. As and when you remove a fastener I recommend replacing it with something more becoming of an £18k bike. It doesn't require a fortune but it will save you a lot of aggravation in the future IMHO.
I've removed quite a few rounded allen head bolts will a cheap Speedout screw removal?easyout kit from Ebay they only cost £3.29 from Ebay , i use them fitted in a socket and it's worked perfect everytime so far. would really recommend them
Well it going to have to be a drill ! Out of the 8 bolts 3 came straight out, 2 came out using rubber bands but the other 3 are cracked loose but won’t move any more even after using torx, easy outs, rubber bands, screwdriver. It looks like the heads are going to have to be drilled off. The captive nuts that the bolts go into must be tapered slightly or something as even if you try to tighten a bolt in they seem to nip up really tight and make a ‘crack’ when they do loosen. Even two of the heel plate bolts rounded off when I went to fit the carbon heel plates so they must all be utter crap quality.
Had to drill the heads off the last 2. One of the remaining threads screwed out using my fingers, the other is stuck like shut to a blanket. I wouldn’t care, there cannot be many threads left in.
