Help, bolt heads rounded off!! FFS!!

[MGgeordie]

Having treated myself to a nice set of leather seats for my Eunos Roadster, I set about removing the old ones yesterday. It looked like it was going to be a breeze until the head of the last bolt on the drivers side seat became rounded off!! And to make things worse the same happened with two of the bolts on the passenger side! Now I did use the correct size hexagon socket but still managed to balls it up. Now Im stuck with the old seats firmly in the car and 3 out of the 8 bolts rounded off!! Why are simple jobs never bloody simple???

Anyway, can someone please tell Me how to remove bolts that have rounded heads?? Will I be better off just taking it down to my local garage? Are they likely to deal with stuff like that regularly?

Cheers!

[HustleRussell]

Grind 'em off if you have access, a garage will be able to deal with it for you (if you're that way inclined).

[Eighteeteewhy]

Drill them out, however this will risk damaging the thread.

Can you hammer a smaller socket onto the bolt?

[Fubar1977]

How well equipped are you?

Could you weld a nut onto the rounded head and use that?

[MGgeordie]

Got no welding equipment, not that well equipped to be honest just basic tools. Dont want to drill it out due to risk of damage to thread. To be honest it seemed that tight I think if I hammer a smaller size socket on that will simply round off as well. Maybe its a job for the garage....its got to go down to have a new leccy window cable fitted anyway (another DIY job but a lad at work attempted it on his & it took him 6 hours...fook that! LOL!)

[steveo3002]

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=121815&am...

irwin bolt grippers work very well and should do the job if theres enough room to get that oversize socket in there

[Manicminer]

steveo3002 said:

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=121815&am...

irwin bolt grippers work very well and should do the job if theres enough room to get that oversize socket in there

I've got that exact same set, they are the business and have saved me loads of grief.

Have a look at eBay item number 310216660884 too. I have a set of them and they are ace, they are really shallow and you just use a normal 22mm socket to turn them.

[Manicminer]

Ps if they are like a lot of old cars where the bolts go through the floor to outside make sure you soak them above and below with some freeway or plus gas or similar.

[(steven)]

Manicminer said:

I've got that exact same set, they are the business and have saved me loads of grief.

Have a look at eBay item number 310216660884 too. I have a set of them and they are ace, they are really shallow and you just use a normal 22mm socket to turn them.

Irwin. Same here.

[joema]

What size bolt? Could you use a near size imperial socket or similar and beat it on? You would probably lose the socket so you would need a few.

Those bolt grippers are worth a go though. And drilling maybe the only way but you can always rethread


Good idea for next time is to get some six sided sockets. For old bolts I'd reluctAntly use any 12 sided. They've saved me countless headaches.

Edited by joema on Sunday 28th October 15:31

[NiceCupOfTea]

IIRC they don't come out of the bottom of the car, but inside a box section. If it is the rear bolts, your problem will be access. Be very careful if welding or using heat with all the carpet, etc.

[juliethotel]

try filing down two sides of the bolts so you can get a spanner or grips on them?

[TheLordJohn]

steveo3002 said:

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=121815&am...

irwin bolt grippers work very well and should do the job if theres enough room to get that oversize socket in there

Wahey, it took a few posts, but we got the right answer!

[Ynox]

Either the Irwin bolt grippers or mole grips would be my shout. Take your time, make sure they're gripping on tightly then apply force. Also spray with plus gas or similar before trying to undo the bolts.

[SMGB]

Also try tightening them first to break the rust. This uses the edges of the bolt you havent damaged attempting to undo them. I have had good results with a gator grip but not everyone likes them. Also heating them up can break the jam. but as noted you will have problems with the trim, and I bet you need to get the seats out to remove the carpets.

[TheLordJohn]

Don't use mole grips, as suggested above. If the right sized socket had rounded it off, vise grips will do sh!t all!

[Prof Prolapse]

TheLordJohn said:

steveo3002 said:

http://www.tooled-up.com/Product.asp?PID=121815&am...

irwin bolt grippers work very well and should do the job if theres enough room to get that oversize socket in there

Wahey, it took a few posts, but we got the right answer!

Agreed.

Everybody who owns an old car should own these.

Good with a blowtorch... (not so useful in this scenario though).

[markmullen]

Those gator grip things are useful like that, like a big socket with retractable spikes which surround the bolt head.

[mat13]

When access is difficult i have had succcess in the past using a punch to tap round the damaged bolt enough to break the rust, then it can usually be removed with a decent set of molegrips.

[Platinum]

juliethotel said:

try filing down two sides of the bolts so you can get a spanner or grips on them?

This has worked for me in the past. Luckily I was able to remove the part that the bolt was attached to, before filing; which made things a lot easier.