[Vwdiesel] Stripped Bolts

[Val Christian]

Good technique.  Penetrating oil might help.  I'd go
for a light weight oil, like the Liquid Wrench or 
Let Go products.  My best luck on these stubborn
bolts is to apply lower grade impact (3/8" mouse)
over a period of time.  Applying higher torque seems
to cause bolt failures.  

I've also used a drop of braze material on the tool,
in the socket to help fill up voids.  This has worked
for me several times.  I then apply impact with a partial
air setting on the mouse.  There's a certain level of
feel (or experience) in knowing when you're applying 
too much torque.

Using preloaded torque, using vicegrips, like 
Nate suggested, and then using impact on the socket
head tool.  As far as I recall, vicegrips have always
won with these bolts.  You'll have to keep the driveshaft
from turning, though. 

Understood that you don't have impact tools.  My 
comments are general.

For what it's worth, you could also try tapping the 
vicegrip handle with a light weight hammer.  Shock is
a wonderful thing when loosening things.


> 
> First firmly hit (tap) straigt down on the 2 bolt
> heads using a drift or the like. Be careful not to go
> too wild as to damage the transaxle components. That
> should loosen the threads a bit. Then use a pair of
> vice grips on the remaining 2 bolts. Make sure the
> vice grips' jaws are not worn and grip well. Clamp
> them as tight as you can on the bolt heads. Good luck!
> 
> --Nate
> --- "E. J. Gilbert" <gilbeej at yahoo.com> wrote:
> > Hey Guys,
> > I have just had the unhappy experience of stripping
> > the starz splines out of two of the six bolts
> > holding the drive shaft to differential.  I used a
> > special wrench with the correct 6MM starz head. Four
> > of the six came free with lots of torque but the
> > other two just gave way.  The wrench was inserted to
> > bottom in all of the bolts.  I liked to never got
> > the bolts out.  Has anyone else had this experience?
> >  If so, how did you get the bolts out?  Next time I
> > will get rigged up with an impact wrench.
> > E.J.  
> > 
> > 
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