To make it more real, cover it in rust, make it cold outside, and give yourself 1 inches of space to work. Or do as I do. To remove the fastener...Take 5 of your tools and throw them away. Sit in the corner for 4 hours. Take a hammer and bust up the area around the fastener. Make sure your finger gets cut. Then, weld a nut on it, making sure to overheat something next to the bolt. Make sure you strip the treads on that welded nut, and then, go out and buy a cobalt drill bit (Way bigger than the fastener) and drill out everything, ruining the part. Then, order a new part. Easy peazy! :) Seriously though, I've used the torx bit hammered in the hole several times before. For me, the ez-outs either don't grab, or they shatter. But it's probably because I have cheap ones.
My sentiment exactly, doing the suggested " unscrewing" in a tight space,on a rusty bolt rarely works as one wishes.It ends usually with the screw head broken evenly ,flush with a surface
So glad I watched this. Had a $45 dollar crimp tool with interchangeable jaws held in place by two button head socket head cap screws(learned that lingo from you). One of the screws was frozen in place and I stripped hex attempting removal. Tried tapping in a triple square driver per your recommendation and it too stripped. Went to yet a larger diameter triple square driver tapped into place and VOILA, with a distinct click, out came the sticky screw. Until I get a replacement screw, I'll just store the triple square driver with the crimping tool. Made my day.
Been trying to get a hex bolt loose for 3 days until I came across this. Just so happen to have a torx bit socket set on hand. Worked easy the first time. Thanks bro
Only problem with the pliers and grinder method is these socket Allen caps are usually recessed inside something so best bet most of the time is a torx or triple square bit socket but all of these are great methods good job Chris @ClientGraphics
Yep the mechanic I take my car to has 'accidentally' completely butchered my recessed M8 brake disc screw (highly suspicious as he's very experienced), so when I went to replace my disks I hit a brick wall but I actually have a T45 bit in my tool box to try on it tomorrow!
Here’s an old Red Green quote (you’ve probably heard one of his sayings like “A grinder and paint make me the welder I ain’t”) but this one fits this situation “Remember, I’m pulling for you. We’re all in this together”! Lol
I stripped one of these metric hex bolts by using imperial wrench on a hex cap bolt with loctite on it. When I was about to use one of these destructive methods you suggested, I recalled I have a pair of Vampilers and it worked.
I've got a rounded out M8 Triple Square Socket bolt to deal with, I think I'll look for a slightly bigger sized Hex bit and mallet that in before using the impact driver to try take it off. Interesting tricks and techniques, thanks for sharing !! A great and informative video.
I use the torx method most often. Sometimes I will use the left hand drill bit to slightly drill the hole larger to go up a size in torx. Hammer it in about 1/8th of an inch. Take a 3/8 impact and feather the trigger while pressing hard on the back of the tool. Works most of the time. I find this works best with electronic impacts since they often can be made to go slower.
I've got an air impact driver. Is it a bit dangerous to use of these with a torx bit to remove stuck countersunk bolts? I don't want to make the situation worse than it already is. I could buy an electric driver with variable speed if it is more likely to work.
You never know when you can use these tips. Sway bar links are a good example since they can directly be in the elements with salt and other materials that cause them to rust and round out easier.
Just wanted to say big thanks for this video it helped me out I used the Torx bit and hammer and impact gun to remove allen key head cap from throttle body so thanks again
All my fastners are usually flush. So I'd have no socket option. i.e. steering wheels, batteries, seat mounts... I'm always looking for the best to get them from the top only?
OMG! So glad I found this. I'm putting together a monitor stand for working at home and TWO of the hex screws were stripped. Since they were really small, I was able to use some ordinary pliers from a generic tool kit I already had.
Thanks. I ended up drilling out the sunken 8mm hex and then hammering on a 12mm triple square; the bugger came off once I'd got the ugga dugga onto it. 😊
i usually have the best luck using the Dremel to create a slot which also heats up a bolt really good and might even unsettle lock tied if used and even expand the hole where the bolt is screwed in. i have to admit that it can also cause for the bolt to split in half when trying to undo it with a flatheaded screwdriver or other tool that fits. and then a drill is needed after all.
I’m assuming you mean the Doyle branded one, right? Yes I have it and the regular Pittsburgh and an older Craftsman USA for fun. Still waiting for the Amazon one to come in so that one is a week or so out🤫
@@ClientGraphics no... www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-professional-adjustable-wrenches-93943.html I believe ones above have better construction than normal Pittsburgh wrenches, perhaps even Doyle
Not a real world test. Try it on a real car that has seen ten winters in Minnesota. These were all clean threads. When I did a brake job on my '14 car, the threads on the caliper were all brown rusted. Fortunately it was a bolt head.
Those "mushroom head" Allen bolts are a real PITA. If they decide to seize, the torque necessary to dislodge them far exceeds not only what their -now stripped- slot could exercise, but also anything you can carve or try to grip them with. Bolt extractors are usually no good because of the mushroom's shallow depth, giving them no purchase. What has always worked for me was to simply drill through the bolt (with an undersized drill bit!) and THEN try to hanmer a bolt extractor in there. TONS of grip in this case, nothing otherwise
Replacing the diverter valve on my Audi A4 and stripped out 2 of the hex screws. Barely any room. Got one out with a vise grip and the other with Irwin bolt extractors
My bolt is stuck on the side of my motorcycle engine. I tried the torques bit. I can’t hammer but so much unfortunately. The bolt is also partially sunk in and in too tight of a spot for any time of pliers
This is really good. I have countersunk hex slot bolts they I want to get off. The hex slots are rounded so I'm going to try the torx bit method. Can you use an air powered impact driver or is that too aggressive? You can't control the speed of the impact driver. I'd buy an electric one if that was safer to use. I do have an impact drill so would that work as well as a dedicated impact driver?
hey man great video... I want to ask you though what triple square are you using in the video and also what mm hex is that you are trying to remove? thanks man!
I have never used them myself, but that is what I've seen from the comparisons like here and over at Project Farm. However, the bolt extractors (the ones that look like sockets and have those same teeth just on the inside) work REALLY well. Even the cheap DeWalt ones from Home depot did well for me. I have nothing against DeWalt other than their price tag, but they really aren't the "industry standard" in mechanics tools like ratchets or bolt extractors.
@@scytheakse well glad they work for you but they don't work for 99 percent of us mechanics there normally to soft and or the fasteners are to damaged to use them
@@woodworkerroyer8497 bolt extractors work very well and project farm does great videos screw extractors on the other hand like speed out brand and there 4 different metal variants dont work 99 percent or more of the time and if you get them to work then the tool is harder then the screw
Hi, I have a woodchipper with pretty badly stripped allen bolts that are around 7mm big. What type of extractor would you recommend I try to get those out? Thank you-
Since your bolt is already destroyed, which is why you're using any of these methods, use a bolt extractor socket. They make some marks on the outside of the cap head but so what. They have an absolute grip on the bolt that gets tighter as you increase the torque to remove the bolt in question, which is far more than most of these methods do. There's no drilling, no welding, no clamping, to question of breaking the tool.
I don’t typically check out Napa Carlyle items as most of the extractor items will be rebrands of something. There really aren’t too many hex Allen specific tools like the two that I first test in the video. I would say both work as described.
the problem I run across is usually these stripped allen/torx fasteners are on a vehicle and have only 2-3 inches of clearance - if that, and most of the stripped bolt removers can't be fitted into them, or even if they can fit by hand, there isn't room to hammer them in, let alone get a power tool. I wish automotive engineers would just stick to regular bolts instead of the annoying allen/torx ones
Yes it is highly annoying. As a mechanical designer we end up using some exotic fasteners because of other design constraints like lack of room or better performance. We use a work around and that creates problems for the maintenance person or repairers down the line. But we got our job out on time ;) Tbh a lot of the time the person speccing the fittings wasn't the one who started the design.
Does it have to be an impact drill? Whomever assembled my mountain bike messed up the rear breaks and since they used power tools to assemble it, it came all pre stripped from head to toe(even the added accessories I had added were stripped.
Ok I have a inverted 12mm 12 point hex head bolt that has stripped on me. I have tried everything I can think of other than welding a nut on top (I don't think there is enough room to get a welder in to get that). What should I use to remove it? I'm at my wits end. It's literally the last bolt that I need to get out to take the head off the car and get the gasket replaced. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Also the head bolt when I went to take it out, I heard it pop like it broke loose but I think I slipped and thats when it stripped itself. I didn't have any issues with the rest of the bolts. The bolts are also very long like 10 in or so.
@@MtnNerd No I was talking about getting the old screw out. If you have a 2mm allen key then you might not be able to fit it into the recess, but if you drill it slightly larger then it might go in. Or fit a torx bit in.
I wish i had seen this video just a couple of hours ago.... Had the same issue on my bike, wasn't enough room... Tried the chisel method, wasn't working... So one my colleague tried a drill method... It got so hot that it melted the surrounding of the fastner😔
You're not using the mac extractors for these, what you're using is what is supposed to be used instead of the standard allens. They are not for removing stripped out fasteners
You mean the Mac Tools SCEX25S 25pc Extractor Set w/Case? Yah those could work but the MAC Tools RBRT hex tools are said to be able to turn a fastener that is rounded up to 98% as well as prevent good fasteners from rounding out.
This is all on a scenario where you can pull the work piece up on the band to put it in a vise and hammer on it a wrench on it in any way you need to that's not real world I've got some stuff there's no way I can Hammer a part into the stripped-out fastener and be able to successfully Wrench It Out
They are fairly hardy as it’s just a 3” extension with strain gauges. I’d be more worried about dropping it and cracking the lcd or housing. For what they are they are pretty cheap and highly accurate and I can throw it in my certified one any time to validate it’s still good.
Thank you so much! My boyfriend and I were struggling with a stubborn stripped screw for HOURS. Went home, searched for help on RU-vid, came across your video, went back, tried one of your suggestions and BAM out in 1 minute! I am so grateful for your help sir!
Some good choices. One thing to remember is esp with cars, you might have very little clearance so hammering or using an impact wrench might not even be possible.
It's not even just cars. MOST stripped screws, bolts and nuts are in tight places, because they are harder to properly reach in the first place. Yet, most examples have a cleanly accessible bolt... In my case, the hex screw is in a toddler three-wheel step, in a hole, surrounded by plastic. I'm not a guy with multiple bits ratchet bits of every kind either, so sacrificial bits are not my forte. I don't have a welding kit either. In fact, the sacrificial hex key (the low-quality kind coming with whatever purchase you make, like the freaking wheels of the very step in my case) being glued to the bolt seems the best option...
I usually use the torx trick. A more unconventional method I've used was to hit it at an angle with a center punch. The point of the punch will dig into the screw, and the sudden shock works like an impact driver to break loose the fastener. You may need to hit it several times, working your way around the outside edge of the head.
Well done! Cutting the groove slit into the faster with a Dremel or a drill to cut as deep as you can then using a wide flat screwdriver or chisel to extract is one of the best hacks with limited tools when all else fails. :)
Just thought of a few more tips. In the real world it's likely to happen when you've got corrosion seizing the threads too. Use some penetrant anti-rust fluid up to 24 hours before. WD40 will work in a pinch but something like Boeshield although expensive works really well. Increasing torque and reducing friction are keys. And induction heaters can work well and more safely than blow torches to break the bind. Expand the bolt with heat and then quench it with water to rapidly contract and break that adhesion.
The only thing I would add is that you might find an imperial allen key works as an intermediate in a rounded out metric socket head. For example I have a M8 rounded out screw which needs an 6mm allen key but a 1/4" (6.35mm) would be easier to hammer in there than a 7mm allen key.
If the torx bit doesn’t work, I found that a flathead also works extremely well, if not better for some cases. I didn’t have a torx bit big enough, so I hammered in a flat head and it worked first try
The RBRT will remove a fully rounded fastener. Put it on a ratchet and tap it in with a hammer while applying force. Got a filter screen plug out of my KTM that way.
Yep. Its pretty crazy. Amusingly enough, the RBRT speed star bits can actually bite harder on fully rounded fasteners than the hex ones. Similar thing to torx in a rounded hex but your torx is extra grippy due to the RBRT design and the ball end on the speed stars just love to lock themselves in there.
@@randombuilds8336 they make a screw driver set too with 100-something RBRT bits, a ratcheting screw driver and t handle. That is probably my next purchase. I think it's about $200? Asides from that, RBRT are the only bit sockets I intend to buy him now on.
I had a unique situation where a Holster I had was attached with Hex heads on a pancake head screw was striped. I ended up taking a dremel tool to cut out a groove to then take a flat head screwdriver to loosen it. Worked Perfectly. The screw was probably over tightened by the last owner and maybe held in place with some loctite.
I have a small M2 or M3 set or grub screw in my bike hydraulic fill/bleed hole. It is lock-tighted in so much by the factory that the normal hex key rounded it first try. I don't want to use heat because there's an o-ring and hydraulic fluid in there and plastic components around it. Do they make removal tools small enough for M2 set or grub screws? Another suggestion you didn't cover is to use adhesive like epoxy or JB weld to bond the hex key to the screw, but I like the idea of hammering in a larger bit.
Yeah!!!!! You are a genius. It worked. I've been trying to remove this f#cking screw forever!!! Countless videos and this one worked!!! Thank you!!!! Dude. Thanks.
