HELP !!!!!!!!! Need advice.

[Kray]

Hi all.

I went to loosen the hex bolts that hold the tank in front and noticed that the hex heads had been stripped. I think this was done when it was serviced but I can't say for sure. Anybody have any advice on how to get these out.. Are they 5 MM ?

They also seemed to be torqued in incredibly tight. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin

 

[ponyfool]

Hi all.I went to loosen the hex bolts that hold the tank in front and noticed that the hex heads had been stripped. I think this was done when it was serviced but I can't say for sure. Anybody have any advice on how to get these out.. Are they 5 MM ?

They also seemed to be torqued in incredibly tight. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin

Had the same problem. Drape a heavy protective covering over the tank and triple tree and drill them out. Replace them with real bolts. Takes maybe 15 min to do it right.

 

[Kray]

Hi all.I went to loosen the hex bolts that hold the tank in front and noticed that the hex heads had been stripped. I think this was done when it was serviced but I can't say for sure. Anybody have any advice on how to get these out.. Are they 5 MM ?

They also seemed to be torqued in incredibly tight. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin

Thanks for the reply. So those things a pretty soft huh? Do you happen to remember what size bit you used?

 

[v65]

Here is what Hudson did, seems easy enough.

 

[spalkin]

You can also Dremel slots into them and use a large screwdriver with a square shank and a small adjustable wrench.

They're probably just tight, not frozen tight.

There's also just enough of a rounded lip on them to get a small pair of Vise-Grips on them. Just carefully mask right up to them.

 

[ponyfool]

I tried the Dremel routine, but there just wasn't really enough space. I used a bit that was the same size as the outer perimeter of the head. Nothing scientific. Once you break through to the bolt, you'll know. It was simple really.

 

[NYPete]

Everybody should have a set of stripped bolt and nut removers as a first resort. Instead of trying to drill(possibly off center) and ez out the bolt and possibly breaking a hardened ez out in the hole. A broken ez out is extremely difficult to remove. They work very good on rounded and/or rusted bolt heads and nuts.

There's a few kits with somewhat inexpensive prices.

They can be found here-SEARS

NYPete

 

[JamesK]

Hi all.I went to loosen the hex bolts that hold the tank in front and noticed that the hex heads had been stripped. I think this was done when it was serviced but I can't say for sure. Anybody have any advice on how to get these out.. Are they 5 MM ?

They also seemed to be torqued in incredibly tight. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin

Had the same problem. Drape a heavy protective covering over the tank and triple tree and drill them out. Replace them with real bolts. Takes maybe 15 min to do it right.

Last time i had the tank off i noticed/felt the inside in my two bolts looking worse for wear. So i proceeded to order replacement OEM bolts.

Which bolts did you use instead and where did you buy them, since they are metric - thanks.

 

[Kray]

Hi all.I went to loosen the hex bolts that hold the tank in front and noticed that the hex heads had been stripped. I think this was done when it was serviced but I can't say for sure. Anybody have any advice on how to get these out.. Are they 5 MM ?

They also seemed to be torqued in incredibly tight. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Kevin

Had the same problem. Drape a heavy protective covering over the tank and triple tree and drill them out. Replace them with real bolts. Takes maybe 15 min to do it right.

Last time i had the tank off i noticed/felt the inside in my two bolts looking worse for wear. So i proceeded to order replacement OEM bolts.

Which bolts did you use instead and where did you buy them, since they are metric - thanks.

OK. I drilled them out. I used progressively larger drill bits to get the head loose and then I popped the heads off with a small chisel. At that point the studs just screwewd out by hand. I had to move the tank back to get at the bolts. I replaced the bolts with a pair that came with a GPS mount I bought. Everything worked out fine. Thanks for the ideas.

 

[ponyfool]

Last time i had the tank off i noticed/felt the inside in my two bolts looking worse for wear. So i proceeded to order replacement OEM bolts.Which bolts did you use instead and where did you buy them, since they are metric - thanks.

I bought stainless metric hex headed screws at the local Ace Hardware store.

 

[lnewlf]

I have had good results just driving in the next size up torx bit..If it won't unscrew using gentle pressure then use a impact driver- works every time!

 

[Auburn]

Put a little anti-sieze on them when putting back together. Helps keep the dissimilar metals from reacting with each other. Also, you may find it better if you can time your tank bolt removal to when you have less fuel in it and if you loosen the bolt at the bottom rear of the tank. Lets you slide the tank forward and take some of the pressure off the bolts. Really helps when putting them back in to align the holes.