cv joint problems

[skint-van-man]

Evening all.
Last hols in cornwall i was towing a trailer with a small classic motorbike on and i noticed a slight rubbing / grumbling from the rear which after some reading on here i took to be Cv joints. So i decided to lubricate them.
8 months later i started.....

One side came off no problems.

The other (RH) didnt. The outer bolts broke my socket. Il try another one... And the inner ones have been rounded by a previous owner so i cant get an allen key on them.

If i can get the outer ones off how can i get the inner ones out?
If i drill the heads off the shank will be left in the hole and i cant drop the shaft down to remove the outer end. I have access to some snap-on easy outs (stud extractors) at work but im not totally convinced they will work!

Hope someone understands this and may have come accross this issue. Hols in 4 weeks so this isnt great timing! I can aways leave this side, it wasnt a bad noise and only happened under load. mayb?

[Oldiebut goodie]

If i drill the heads off the shank will be left in the hole and i cant drop the shaft down to remove the outer end. I have access to some snap-on easy outs (stud extractors) at work but im not totally convinced they will work!

Thinks.....
If you take the heads off with an angle grinder you should be able to move it along the bolts sufficiently to get an ultra thin cutting disc in to cut through the bolts. You should be able to leave enough bolt to get hold of with molegrips. (they shouldn't be tight now as the tightness was caused by themselves). I have had broken ones and they just unscrewed with my fingers.
Someone else may care to comment upon this - this may be a solution but I haven't done it, someone else may have done.

[blacky]

When I have had this prob in the past with customers vehicles I use Good Quality mole grips or a sharp chisel on the sides of the head to turn the allen bolts. Never failed yet with this method. (the mole grips must be good quality, not "mole" brand though, they're not good enough.)

[Aidan]

don't cut anything, these are what you need, the 13mm one does cv boltsnicely
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IRWIN-5-Pce-E ... 5ae2be3079

the best tool set addition for rusty old vans imho

[82JEW75]

Also, before anything else, clean out the heads of the bolts with something pointy and a bit of compressed air. They're normally half full of dirt, which is why they round off.

[blacky]

don't cut anything, these are what you need, the 13mm one does cv boltsnicely
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/IRWIN-5-Pce-E ... 5ae2be3079

the best tool set addition for rusty old vans imho

Irwin is great quality,their mole grips are fantastic. Haven't come across these before,do they grip the round heads of allen screws Aidan ?

[Titus A Duxass]

They cut into the bolt head.
Here's a bad video review from youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEmWx4rAm-w

[CovKid]

Cold chisel and some welly with a lump hammer always shifts stubborn CV bolts. You're aiming to knock them round on the same direction you'd be undoing with the proper tool. You need a sharp chisel to start with to get the initial dent/cut in the side of the bolt head then work on the dent until bolt shifts. Once they move they can be undone fairly easily. Never had one that wouldn't come undone like that - in the absence of a more suitable tool. Brutal but effective. New ideas are always coming out for moving stubborn bolts. Aiden's suggestion is a good one although cold chisel may still be needed if they won't budge.

[Zündfolge 1-4-3-2]

Re: expansion Set previous posts
Aidan “the best tool set addition for rusty old vans IMHO”:
Just had look at those Expansion Set Socket-thingies – I think they may have their uses when:
• The hole isn’t blind, like into a casting (always a suck air-white-knuckle ride anyways)
• The fixing re-use doesn’t matter ‘cause it finished and you’re going to be using a replacement.
Seems to me these are another weapon at your disposal. Interesting that the you-tube vid shows the bolt shank snapped,. This suggests that, irrespective of how the head was turned, inc spanner, the shank may have failed in that instance before the threads released. Could be seen as testament to how the head has been successfully gripped. Figure it’s an option along with releasing fluid & powered vib/impact driver (if got one, which I aint) with good access, chisel impact/drive method and so on.
Tx for mentioning.

[blacky]

They cut into the bolt head.
Here's a bad video review from youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEmWx4rAm-w

They cut into a hexagon bolt head on video but an allen head is round, do they still grip onto a round head ?

[Titus A Duxass]

They cut into the bolt head.
Here's a bad video review from youtube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEmWx4rAm-w

They cut into a hexagon bolt head on video but an allen head is round, do they still grip onto a round head ?

That's the 64 million dollar question!

I know that a sharp cold chisel will do the job.

[Zündfolge 1-4-3-2]

post head round off, suggest:

chisel is a single piont of cut/puchase with shock impact, on a mis-shapen head/ round profile. The impact shock helps release.
Expansion Set Socket-thingies multi point of cut/puchase on mis-shapen/rounded head, however shock impact dependant on tool used. Maybe some if used with power tool, even hammer action.

Looks like these searated sockets may cut into and grip a allen screw type head, as I figure Aidan has used them on CV assembly, hence 'don't cut anything, these are what you need, the 13mm one does cv bolts nicely'

[AdrianC]

Yes, the Irwins really do work on Allen bolts. They saved my backside when the Allen key snapped in the head whilst changing the snapped plastic coolant stub...

[Aidan]

as stated they do do hex cap head bolts, I use them on phillips head screws, sheared bolt/stud remains, hex heads, external multispline, just about anything that has a normal thread, they increase their purchase as you turn them and you can use a 3/8" bar or a big socket or spanner to turn them depending on access, they don't even have to be totally square to get a good purchase, as you will find when extracting cv bolts
top quality so they last well too, the 13mm and 1/2" ones in my set (I have both sets of 5) get used nearly every day and after 5 years they still do the job just fine

chisel punch is tried and tested method too and once you have your weapon of choice fashioned and nicely tipped you'll find you can do a lot with that, but obviously you need more lateral access and room to swing striking tool so outer cv bolts will be a bit tougher to do with that method than the inners

Don't forget your eye protection when using chisel method

Irwins you can also stick impact drive on which often really helps

[lloydy]

trick i learnt from jed is to hammer in one of those multispline tools then just undo as normal, yet to fail to remove a cv bolt doing that