Okay, so it's not as glamorous as riding a restored Vincent, but I would like to share some ideas about dealing with threaded fasteners. When working on a Vintage Motorcycle, we are likely sooner than later, to have to deal with a bolt or screw that decided to weld itself into its opposite sex's dissimilar metal. If it took twenty or fifty years becoming affixed, it might take a couple of hours or days to make it free at last.
When you are acquiring tools, go for the good stuff. Call the Snap On man or stalk the truck and cry only once for the initial acquisition expense.
A driver that fits the fastener is essential. Tactical feel and magnified optics can be useful in deciding if you are dealing with a phillips, Reed & Prince or Posi. It is far far better to stop and consider your options, than to round out a fastener head. Air impact tools are nice (albeit not cheap or quiet) for coaxing stuck fasteners loose and are just about indispensable for a few tasks, a Harley compensator sprocket nut for example. Going medieval with a chisel and BFhammer is not the answer.
For smaller stuff, especially the Phillips (or their cousins) on old British steeds, a hand impact driver can be very helpful. Use a short handled, heavy headed hammer for this.
The plastic covered Standley dead blow hammers work well. Choke up on the handle for more control. If you use a steel headed hammer, it would be a good idea to wear eye protection and grind the peening off the edge of the impact driver from time to time. Letting the web of your thumb get between the driver and hammer is a very bad idea.
Some judiciously applied heat via propane torch or heat gun might help here, especially if the uncooperative bolt threads into an aluminum or rarium unobtaimium alloy case, where the thermal coefficient of expansion is on your side. Be cognizant of nearby wiring or oil lines. Be advised that aluminum doesn’t glow before it melts, it just melts. You shouldn't be getting it anywhere near this hot. Work the fastener before the heat soaks into it, the idea being to allow heat to expand the female part.
Penetrating oil, a few taps and time can work wonders on overcoming stuckness. Kant Rust, perhaps available at your local hardware store or sprawl mart, works reasonably well. The best that I have found is Kroil, available from Kano Laboratories. www.kanolabs.com/ Send for their free brochures on chemical solutions to mechanical problems Their Floway cleaner is also useful for another less than glamorous undertaking on a Vintage Motorcycle. Kant Rust smells, Kroil really smells. They smell bad. Plan for some ventilation and if you are married don't do this in the kitchen. Use some penetrating oil, a few gentle taps and give the Kroil overnight to creep. Time for a barley pop?
If you do round off a head or break it off, rest assured that there is nothing easy about an EZ Out. The easy part is done. Now comes the hard part. The value of your pride and joy (or just your commuter scooter), has been reduced to that one miserable bolt of dubious and questionable ancestry. To proceed, finding the exact center of the mangled part is of the essence for successful mitigation, and not effing up its mating part. If you have some hole depth for indexing, this would be a good time to acquire and utilize a set of transfer punches.
Lacking this luxury, use a diamond or similar round abrasive, less than half the OD of the damaged fastener, with a die grinder or dremel, along with good light and magnified optics, grind an indentation as close as possible to the center of the cursed broken thing that a center punch and drill tip wont walk on. This would be a good time for some more penetrating oil and barley pop, and perhaps postponing proceeding until tomorrow. Breaking off the EZ Out (harder than any drill bit known to man) won't help at all, trust me. If the EZ Out is slipping, a gentle tap or two on the end will help engage the flutes. Don't get carried away, you don't want to expand the OD of the wretched broke thing.
Properly fitting driver tools, heat and good penetrating oil can make you victorious, if you don't loose your patience. Hopefully there is no need to deal with Helicoils or Keenserts and we are back to the easy part, our knees in the breeze in no time.
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By William Stokes
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