Broken Rear Axle Swing Arm Pinch Bolt

[mdisher]

Snapped my pinch bolt while removing the rear wheel tonight.

Thoughts on best way to solve this problem?

Drill it? Broken Bolt Extractor? I've never used one successfully that I know of.

-=MD

 

[FJRay]

If just the head broke off it's possible to weld a nut on it and it will back out. the heat from the welding will break loose any corrosion or loctite. If it's broken off inside the hole you need to drill it. I would use a drill bit the size of the hole to get a center and then drill the bolt with a smaller bit. If you can get a LH drill bit some times it will back the bolt out . Good luck, it's a pain to get broken bolts out of aluminum.

 

[RossKean]

Never heard of that pinch bolt breaking before. (Torque is only 17 ft-lb.) Corroded in place??
I don't believe that there are any threads on the outer part of the bolt - the swingarm is only threaded past the "split". If that is broken off below the surface, it is going to be a bitch to drill it out!

I second what Ray says about trying a LH drill bit. Some penetrating lubricant too. I think the split in the swingarm is too narrow to get anything in there to turn the shaft of the bolt. (maybe it could be spread a tiny amount??)

Good luck!

 

[mdisher]

Yeah, corrosion. Broke off at the slit. I'll order an easy out, drill it per Ray's suggestion and see how it goes.

What should I spray in there to start penetrating given that it's all aluminum?

-=MD

 

[philter]

If you can't get it out without a bunch of trouble, just blue loctite the nut on the other side, it's not going anywhere anyway. Over engineering, I think.

This was a dumb idea. LOL

 

[RossKean]

If you can't get it out without a bunch of trouble, just blue loctite the nut on the other side, it's not going anywhere anyway. Over engineering, I think.

What is that going to do?

I wouldn't say that the setup is over engineered but agree that you could PROBABLY get away without a pinch bolt (but I wouldn't).

Worst case scenario is to buy a used swingarm on eBay. Lots there for a Gen II - some for under $50 including shipping. For example:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/06-Yamaha-FJR-1300-Swing-Arm-Frame/163165605662?hash=item25fd6d8f1e:g:qLcAAOSw51xbV2qS:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!04730!US!-1

 

[RossKean]

Yeah, corrosion. Broke off at the slit. I'll order an easy out, drill it per Ray's suggestion and see how it goes.
What should I spray in there to start penetrating given that it's all aluminum?

-=MD

Kroil or Liquid Wrench or PB Blaster. Some people have had especially good luck with a 1:1 mix of acetone and ATF. Heat is also helpful but be careful with open flames around acetone! Note: Acetone will be very aggressive toward paint.

 

[Fred W]

No, that is a ridiculous suggestion. Without a pinch bolt there is nothing to prevent the right side of the swing arm from splaying out. I would not ride it with no pinch bolt intentionally.

If you cant get the bolt out you can take the swing arm off and drill it out on a drill press, slightly oversize it and retap as needed. Or, if you wanted to go ghetto, drill it out and put a through bolt with washer and lock nut.

 

[RossKean]

... Or, if you wanted to go ghetto, drill it out and put a through bolt with washer and lock nut.

Don't think a through bolt will work very well. While there is a small hole on the underside of the swingarm, it would have to be enlarged to accommodate a nut. The split is perpendicular to the run of the swingarm,

 

[lnewlf]

gonna need a realll long bit to go thru [and bolt]

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, I said drill it out. Thats what I meant. Make the hole bigger. If you went at it from the bottom end the bit wouldnt need to be very long. I wouldnt do it with a hand drill. Need a drill press to get it straight. Might even be able to run the old bolt out with a normal CW twist drill bit from the bottom.

 

[RossKean]

Don't see how you could do a through bolt...

Unless you also drill up from the bottom of the swingarm on the other side of the (vertical) split to create enough space to accommodate a nut.

 

[mcatrophy]

Pinch bolt is longitudinal, no "bottom".

(Click on image for larger view)



[edit - RossKean beat me to it]

 

[lnewlf]

just bustin' phred's nuttz

 

[FXRS]

Wow, interesting to see this thread. Last year on my '14 ES, no corrosion, doing a simple install after having new tires mounted that same rear pinch bolt snapped off on me too.

I was using a high end, no problem torque wrench set 17 lb-ft and it just snapped (didn't even feel like wrench was about to hit setting either).

Rode over to my long time trusted mechanic to take a peek at it. He took a number #2 pencil, jammed the eraser end into the hole and backed out the remnants Got lucky I guess but wanted to throw it out there if someone is reading this in the same situation i.e.- also minus any apparent corrosion issue.

Good luck to OP, hope you get it solved ok!

 

[mdisher]

I bought a drill and easy-out set today, will try that later in the week when I have time. Shitty part is, it's sitting on the center stand with a block of wood under the headers, and not up on a lift so it will be fun.

I think I'll be able to get it out or what's left of it. I guess some anti-seize is probably in order.

Keep in mind this is an 06 with ~75k on it. Street value is about $4-5k, so... While the idea of putting new swing-arm on for cheap isn't too hateful, that does sound like a shit ton of work, especially without a lift, if I can't get it out

But I think we'll be OK.

I'll report back when I'm done.

-=MD

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, sorry. I was visualizing a different pinch bolt configuration. Doh!

 

[RossKean]

Swingarm swap wouldn't be too awful to do but far easier to remove the bolt if possible. A nuisance for sure but not terribly expensive or difficult.

I would let the penetrating lube do its work overnight. A little heat would help but not so much that the oil cokes!

 

[Millrat]

Find/machine bushing to fit in non threaded hole hula drill guide for your L/H drill bit. A micro torch maybe?