How best to remove a rusted bolt

[Piero]

Hi Guys

On a Triumph GT6 Rotoflex rear vertical link, there are two main bolts that go right through the V link.
One that bolts through the lower wish bone, and an other that hold the radious bracket one end and the shock the other end

basicley the sit about 4 inches inside of a cast steel vertical link.

they ALWAYS rust solid, holding the vertical link is just one part of the problem,

I made up a stand to bolt the Vlink stright, and tried to press it out with a 20 tonne press, not going any were,

so what to do????

I have NEVER seen good results arise from drilling out rusted or brocken bolts,
and I am not sure if heating then is a good thing.

you cant get new ones, so i am a little stuck on what to try next

any one have any ideas

 

[Screwdriver]

Is the part removed or still held in an awkward space under the car?

 

[Piero]

fully removed

 

[Screwdriver]

Soak them for as long as possible in either easing oil or diesel. Clean them up and use heat. A LOT of heat. I'm guessing a press is going to risk one end or other of a V links you might have to fabricate a spacer to stop the link spreading and binding, then either drift or press.

Welding a nub either end of the bolt is a good way to get it hot.

S.

 

[SmartWerks]

Soak in penetrative oil, then turn bolt back and forth to break the rust and punch through. If that fails as above but I'm not a fan of using heat.

 

[MattF]

I have NEVER seen good results arise from drilling out rusted or brocken bolts,

Bad results in what way? The trick with drilling out pretty much anything is never to drill the piece out to full width. You want to remove as much of the core material as possible but leave a thin wall intact. That prevents damage to the mating surfaces, but weakens the bolt/pin/screw to such a degree that you can easily remove the remaining metal by various means, either before or after parting the pieces it was holding together.

Unless you happen to go off line with the drill, (this happened to me the other week when I was drilling a dowel pin out. Working freehand, as there was no realistic way to clamp the pieces, and the pin was off centre too, so I ended up making the retaining holes slightly oval at one end), you'll cause no damage whatsoever to the pieces. It's always a bit at the mercy of Sod's law though, as my bracketed example demonstrates.

 

[God mode restorations]

As said above.is a good method of removing a rusted in bolt...i have also had good results with heat on things like king pins on 7.5 tone lorries and stuff like that..but if all else fails.try this place as they have lots of stuff for gt6..web address is . www.wolfitt.com.....

 

[barracuda816]

This is a coincidence, I am doing the exact same thing this weekend. The bolt has mushroomed and bent on the threaded end now. I tried penetrating fluid a 50t press with heat and a hammer and heat. It will now spin but is going nowhere. I am going to try carefully with a 1mm cutting disk.

 

[Turbo]

Have you tried using home made penetrating fluid? The recipe is 50% atf or pas fluid and 50% acetone or cellulose thinners. Loads of info online about this mix.
I tried this on the adjustable lift arm off a tractor which are notorious for completely seizing (it's a 30mm threaded portion that screws into a casting). Normally they require loads of heat, pipe wrenches and scaffolding poles and even then they often break before unscrewing.
I tried to move it with a large stilson and 10' of piping but it wouldn't shift (I had no heat available). I soaked it overnight in the pas/thinners mixture and next day you could see where it had penetrated right through the threads. Tried unscrewing it again with only a short pipe on the stilson and after one small crack it unscrewed no problem!

 

[Bill Edwards]

If it can be submerged then yes, a 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF is the best.

It sounds like your job requires heat, that works far more effectively than anything, particularly if you can get it red then quench it in water. Then marvel at how a 10 inch spanner will undo that thing that wouldn't budge with a scaffold pipe!

 

[Piero]

Here is a the GT6 vertical link with the long bolt intact, as you will see, there is a non removable bracket welded to the hex bolt end,
the other end is the long threaded end

the bolt runs some 4 inches through the V link

 

[Piero]

here is the one I need to remove, (with the threaded end cut right back

 

[Rig Pig]

Heat, oil and a big cheater bar and when it snaps a sharp set of drills & a centre punch

 

[Piero]

As can bee seen, the lower bolt has been removed (the slight ovaling was done by previous owner)
Just proving there are a pig to get out

 

[Wendelspanswick]

I had the same thing on a Triumph Vitesse 2L, I sawed the bolts flush with the casting, heated the whole vertical link assembly in the forge and used a hammer and punch once the casting was a dull red.
You could do the same thing with a BBQ.

 

[Piero]

As there are cast, I am a little reluctent to use heat, as you can never bee sure if it will be as strong.

its a Suspention link, I really dont want it to give way on me!!!!

 

[Screwdriver]

Looks like it has already mushroomed. You're not pushing that out.

At this point I'd be seriously considering drilling it out. Leave one or two mm on the diameter, go as deep as you can then insert a suitably sized drift.

But before then, there is plenty of meat there to weld on a lever. That does two things, lots of heat (nothing better imho) and a lever to give it a twist. I doubt if it will press out before it can be wiggled loose, it's in so tight, the amount of force required to break the seize is probably higher than the ductile strength of the metal, meaning it will distort and expand in the hole.

Get a big lever on it and once it has a tiny amount of play, you can drill it to a decent depth and push it with a drift as above. This helps in a number of ways. Because you are pushing the bolt with an insert drift from,say, half way down (iyswim) the drilled section is being pulled and being thinner can distort slightly in your favour.

 

[MattF]

As there are cast, I am a little reluctent to use heat, as you can never bee sure if it will be as strong.

Strength shouldn't be affected by heating. The thing cast can be a cow for occasionally is cracking, if there are stresses in it, but with a piece for an application like that, I'm guessing that would be a non factor unless you do something like introducing thermal shock by quenching or the like. Slow heat and slow cool are usually safe with cast.

 

[doubleboost]

Plus Gas
"Oxygen Plus Accetyline / Propane"

 

[Piero]

As there is a welded bracket on one end. Which sits against a lug.
It can not be twisted.