Rounded off bolt on carburetor boot

[michiganadam]

Hi, a while back i posted about how one of the bolts on the carburetor boot came out, and the o-ring blew out, where the carburetor boot is bolted to the head. I never fixed it. I got around to fixing it today, and guess what? The upper bolt is the one that had come out, the lower bolt is in so tight i can't remove it. I rounded the head off with the correct size wrench There's not enough room to get vice grips on it. I have the carburetor removed from the boot and pushed off to the side, along with the airbox pushed off to the side.

I have oxy acetylene and oxy propane torches but i'm a little bit uneasy about using a torch near the boot like that. It's going to put a hole in it.

What should i do? Thanks.

[J6G1Z]

Drill & an E-Z-Out?

Good luck
J.

[michiganadam]

theres not enough room around it to do it at all.

i could probably dremel the head off and then take the boot off and then use vice grips on the remainder of the bolt.....but i dont have a dremel. I don't have ez-outs either though......heh.

I suppose maybe i'll buy a dremel...

[scottly]

Please post pics of the damaged head of the bolt. If there is enough of the original hex left, you may still be able to remove it with a 6 point box end wrench. (you may have to modify the wrench by grinding the face flat, so it engages the maximum amount of the hex.)

[J6G1Z]

Well there are only so many ways to remove a stubborn or stripped bolt. For future referrence, next time you are faced with a nut or bolt that is bound up & won't loosen. Try tightening it first. Just a little bit, just enough that the bolt moves barely. Then switch to loosening. You should be able to loosen the bolt at least as much as you just tightened it, or maybe more. Then switch off between tightening & loosening until it works free & loosens.

Another tip is to "Ping" the bolt with a ball peen hammer. Before you try to loosen the bolt. You carefully strike the bolt square on the end with the hammer (Or maybe a chisel if you need an extension). We're trying to drive the bolt like a nail. This will often break free the bond that occurs. That is if you can get a good square blow on the bolt.

Now that we are beyond this point, you will have to get more creative. You can still try Pinging the bolt if you have the room. I think that I'd remove the side panels, seat & fuel tank first to create more work room. You may have to pull the airbox also. Are you sure that you cannot get a drill in there to drill a small hole in the head of the bolt? You just need to drill about 1/4" deep or so. Sometimes you can rent a set of E-Z-Outs from an automotive parts store or tool store. They are not very expensive & can probably pick up a set at SEARS or Harbor Freight, etc. I recently had to E-Z-Out an oil drain plug on an XR600 that had been rounded off & vise grips couldn't grab it. Works pretty slick!

You can also weld a large nut onto the head of the bolt & turn it out that way.

Your dremel idea isn't a bad idea. It might be slow going & you will have to be carefull not to cut the intake manifold.

I'm about out of ideas at this point.

Good luck
J.

PS. Whatever you do, make sure that you stuff a clean rag inside the intake port to keep the crap out.

[Lefty]

If you buy a dremel, and I believe EVERYONE should own one, how's about getting a cut off wheel for it & cut a slot in the head. Then take a 1/4 flat head screwdriver fitting( or a stubby flat head with a square shaft) & clamp it with some small vise grips & turn left a bit first, like J6 mentioned, then turn it right. PBblaster is your friend, and if you don't have any, go get a can. This stuff works great.
 If all else fails & you have to destroy the intake, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? Intakes do pop up on Ebay & there may be one on there right now.

[thumperdh]

If you buy a dremel, and I believe EVERYONE should own one, how's about getting a cut off wheel for it & cut a slot in the head. Then take a 1/4 flat head screwdriver fitting( or a stubby flat head with a square shaft) & clamp it with some small vise grips & turn left a bit first, like J6 mentioned, then turn it right. PBblaster is your friend, and if you don't have any, go get a can. This stuff works great.
 If all else fails & you have to destroy the intake, ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right? Intakes do pop up on Ebay & there may be one on there right now.

I'm with lefty on this one. The only other thing i can contribute is TAKE YOUR TIME.

Also more PB blaster! 

[scottly]

There isn't much clearance between the bottom bolt head and the boot. I would still try a 6 point box end wrench, but you will need a very thin wrench, like in the attached pic. These were sold as "ignition wrenches", and were used on things like the nuts attaching the wire to ignition points. You could also grind down a regular box end wrench until it's thin enough to squeeze past the boot.

[Lefty]

Whatever it takes, right? if you have access to a bench grinder,  go to it!