Removing rounded off bolts

chas036

Member
I am trying to remove my battery box/seat on my JD 720 and there are four 5/8 bolts holding it down. I already broke one bolt off, and the other three are rounded to the point I can't get a grip on them with a socket. Can someone recommend a good tool ( that they have actually used themselves) to remove these rounded off bolts.
 
I have some luck using 6 point sockets on rounded off bolts. My impact sockets are 6 point so I use them. Hope this helps. Best of Luck
 
When there's no fuel,grease or oil that can cause a fire,I weld a nut to head of bolt so there's something for a socket to grip then use impact wrench. The heat often make's it come out easy.
 
Snap on makes specialty sockets for rounded off bolts/nuts. Almost look like grooves in a rifle barrel but much larger and sharper. I need some a while back and borrowed them from a good friend who is a mechanic. He said the set was 3 or 4 hundred bucks. That's why I borrowed rather than bought. They worked awesome though.
 
I use 6 point and try metrics also, find one slighty to small and pound it on, best i can think of besides heat, penetrating oil and time.

Joe
 
Just about everyone sells sockets for stripped bolts now,just look around your favorite tool store(Harbor Freight etc) Your best bet maybe a USA made pair of Vice Grips
 
I used one of these on a rounded spark plug. Worked great!
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I call this the magic pliers. It takes a lot of room to use it, but if you .ca. get it on it will grip anything, and do it without having to squeeze it. Once it's on and has tension you can put a cheater on the rear handle and really get some force on it. They come in 3 sizes and I have all 3. Truly an amazing tool. I use mine a lot.
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Heat 'em up with a torch and they'll come out easily with a Vise Grip. Otherwise the other three heads will break off long before you apply enough torque to remove them.
 
Beat on that head with a hammer to flatten it enough so you have to drive the 6 point socket on , soaking it all the time. Please don't try to use an easy out.
 
You beat me to it, Jon, and I wouldn't of found a picture that quick. Mine are out in my shop and the way it's raining I wouldn't go out and take a picture! I agree, they will grip better than anything, better than a pipe wrench on smaller pipe, and I have a 16" pair too. Probably still need to heat the bolts.
 
I used six point metric sockets to remove the battery box on a 620. Had to hammer the socket onto the bolt. They all came out.
 
I have used every method and tool mentioned so far and all can work and all can fail. Best tool depends on access, rust, quality of fasteners. Heat is allways your friend if safe to use and if the heads are allready shot then smacking them good and hard with a hammer is also good.
 
This is my go to tool for rounded off bolts. I use a cutoff disk on my cordless grinder. I like the cordless over the corded, slower and less likely to eat your fingers if somethings binds up. I cut off bolts all the time.
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I had those in my tool pouch back in the 1960's. I have three pair now. I use one to strip water pipes from molds in the tool shop and two in my home shop. One of the two is in my walker basket.
 
Even if you do manage to get a socket to grab on the bolt head, all it's going to do is twist off when you apply pressure, just like the first bolt.

On battery box bolts I don't even waste my time trying all the denial/delaying tactics. I just weld on a nut. The more you try to beat on sockets, the less you have to weld to and the harder it will be to get the nut to hold.

You say you don't have access to welding equipment. I say, then get access to some. Find a friend who has a welder. Drilling out twisted off bolts rarely ends well. Usually you end up with an off-kilter hole the wrong size with sketchy threads.
 
(quoted from post at 06:09:42 07/12/17) This is my go to tool for rounded off bolts. I use a cutoff disk on my cordless grinder. I like the cordless over the corded, slower and less likely to eat your fingers if somethings binds up. I cut off bolts all the time.
a165651.jpg
Ok Geo-TH I'll bite,after you cut the head off what is left to get hold of????? :?
 
My go to method for those battery box bolts is to first get a BFH and a solid heavy punch or round stock. Then beat the heck out of the top of it's head to get it's attention ! Then I have a set of impact 6 point sockets from overseas that you can beat the next size down onto the bolt heads. I think I usually then use a ratchet and not an impact.Or sometimes maybe an impact ? Get most of them that way.
 
I grind the nut and bolt level with the metal. Sounds like you
have never ground a bolt off before.
 
(quoted from post at 15:03:14 07/12/17) I grind the nut and bolt level with the metal. Sounds like you
have never ground a bolt off before.
You are right,I never grind heads off bolts in blind holes and chas036 is dealing with bolts in blind holes.
 
on bolts that are easy to get to, pounding on a good 'size too small' impact socket, apply heat, and use a impact gun to rattle em. no breaker bars, the bolt will just twist off.

tough, rounded off bolts, I use a small cut-off wheel to create a 'flat' on each side of the head. Gorilla squeeze on a set of [i:e4a1647e63]good[/i:e4a1647e63] vise-grips, heat the area, whack the vise-grip handle with a hammer to shock it loose. Works....but your vise-grips will need replacing every so often.....money well spent

goes without saying that either method is after days of soaking with a good penetrant.
 
There isn't a lot of room to swing a wrench down in those battery boxes and battery corrosion makes it worse. I would find someone with a torch or welder to help you out.
 

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