Seat bolts: need helping identifying head type

[MyBlueYar]

Well . . . just when I thought I had this thing licked. As you suggested, WeeYari, I went out and bought an E10 sized torx socket. I successfully removed 3 of the 4 seat bolts, but the last remaining one had been partially stripped previously.

After a few attempts, I could clearly see it wasn't going to work, and if anything, it served to round off the remaining nubs a bit more. I bought a set of bolt extractors at Harbor Freight this afternoon, but alas, even those did not work.

Any stripped bolt experts out there? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[CrimsonEclipse]

Originally Posted by MyBlueYar

Well . . . just when I thought I had this thing licked. As you suggested, WeeYari, I went out and bought an E10 sized torx socket. I successfully removed 3 of the 4 seat bolts, but the last remaining one had been partially stripped previously.

After a few attempts, I could clearly see it wasn't going to work, and if anything, it served to round off the remaining nubs a bit more. I bought a set of bolt extractors at Harbor Freight this afternoon, but alas, even those did not work.

Any stripped bolt experts out there? Any suggestions would be appreciated!

You're at the point where the job becomes a large problem.

First there is an "easy out" or bolt extractor.
You have to drill a hole in the middle of the bolt then drill in a reverse bit to help unscrew the messed up bolt

I would modify this technique and start with drilling a hole for the extractor, then using a larger bit to remove most or all of the bolt head.

With the bolt head gone, you can remove the seat and have more room to work.

Also with the bolt head off, you'll have room to inject deep penetrating oil before the extraction to improve your chances of success.

Down side: If the extractor breaks, you have a really big problem.

Also see if the bolt holes go all the way through the frame (like the rear seat ones do)
If so, you can hit the bolt from both sides with penetration oil.
Also, if it's exposed, it might give you a second direction for extraction.

Good luck!

[MyBlueYar]

Originally Posted by CrimsonEclipse

You're at the point where the job becomes a large problem.

First there is an "ease out" or bolt extractor.
You have to drill a hole in the middle of the bolt then drill in a reverse bit to help unscrew the messed up bolt

I would modify this technique and start with drilling a hole for the extractor, then using a larger bit to remove most or all of the bolt head.

With the bolt head gone, you can remove the seat and have more room to work.

Also with the bolt head off, you'll have room to inject deep penetrating oil before the extraction to improve your chances of success.

Down side: If the extractor breaks, you have a really big problem.

Also see if the bolt holes go all the way through the frame (like the rear seat ones do)
If so, you can hit the bolt from both sides with penetration oil.
Also, if it's exposed, it might give you a second direction for extraction.

Good luck!

Crimson, I'm on it. Thanks for the timely advice on how best to remove this stubborn bolt. I'll let you know how it turns out -