89F350 Progress report!!

Progress??there is no progress.Trying to remove manual hubs cap?Allen screws are froze up.Like I said in previous post Ive never successfully drilled out a bolt in my life.Well nothings changed.I cant even drill out those little allen screws.Is it my drill bits,they make a little dimple and thats it,bought a set from sears quite awhile ago,were the most expensive ones they had.Says there for wood and metal.If I do need different drill bits will I need more than one for five bolts and what kind should I get.

Thanks
Stan

what if you use one of them manual impact drivers that you hit with a hammer? Or soak them good with liquid wrench and try them again next week.

Good luck,


Dave

sj your bits are probably either dull or not the right tip, go to carquest or napa or ace hardware, tell them what your doing and you need the best bit they got to drill tempered steel with get you a couple of 1/8ths to get a pilot hole going then get one that is the right size to just take the head off the bolt without getting into the hub what you will do then is center the 1/8th and i mean in the exact center of the bolt drill a pilot hole down you dont have to go far that allen head is only about 1/4 inch or so high, after you get the pilot hole drilled go back with the bigger bit, when you get to where the bolt shank meets the allen head part of the bolt do the next and so on for all 6, then the locking hub will come off and there should be still enough bolt shank left to get ahold of with vise grips [ good ones] and unscrew the old bolt , the other alternative is to get the 1/8th hole drilled and get a ezy out extracter, the screw type seems to me to hold better than the strait type use the eaz out to remove the bolt, one word of warning on these 1/8 inch is a pretty small diameter, if you bust that eaz out in the hole you have compounded your problem 10 fold those things are hard, and i mean hard tempered tool steel they do not drill out easy if it works you will save yourself several hours work unless some idiot put jb weld or locktight on those hub cover bolts when he put them in they shouldnt be all that tight

Tried heat,whackin em,juiced em.It just seems easier to drill em and replace em.everybody drills out bolts,I know they do,just dont know why I cant ever succeed at it.


Thanks
Stan

If those allen bolts R.H. threads get a set of L.H. carbide drill bits(about 5 to a set). That way they may decide to unscrew instead tighten. Also Snap-on makes a nice set of splined easy outs that will work or either L.H. or R.H. bolts but the set I have has only R.H. drills. Also everything in the set is gurenteed(sp.?) not to break and they will replace broken tools. Might also have to use a little heat! BTW that Snap-on set will last you a lifetime because they replace brokens tools in the set!! Armand
d

I had em off bout 12 years ago.Its just a plow and field truck,just sits there and corrodes all year long.If I get to the vice grip stage can I use a little heat then,or will I damage anything in the hub?

Thanks
Stan

Forget to add that if Loc-tite was used heat should break-down the Loc-tite so it loses its grip. Armand

TRY Dave 2 idea & any thing else you can come up with.
Only drill as a last resort. The Allen cap screws are grade 8 or harder. You will need a solid carbide drill( expenseve) to cut them .

I had the same problem on my 85 F250. Road salt had reacted with those steel bolts in aluminum (or magnesium) housings and electrolysis had them really fused. And it had the big hubs that cost a fortune to replace. I carefully took a torch and burned the caps off the bolts. Then pried the hub off the remaining studs. Then was able to get the head-less studs out.

I have driled out lots of bolts and screws, and belive me it is the LAST thing that I try, as it is a pain in the butt to do.

sorry, i had to go feed, if i rember my 89 right there is only the aluminum splined piece in the hub below where the screws go into the hub, heat shouldnt hurt if you dont get everything red hot, just warm it up that may allow you to loosed the alen head bolts too as it should free the corosion

the problem is you cant actually heat the threads on the bolts because they go into that piece and the outer iron shell of the hub covers that

I would try this first. If you have access to a half inch drive impact wrench, apply heat to the head of the bolt with a small torch. Don't have to get it super hot, just about 4 or 5 hundred degrees. Then, use the impact wrench with the right size allen socket. If the bolt is metric, use a metric allen socket. The heat should cause the bolt to grow in length and releive the pressure on the head. Good luck.

This comes under the heading, It has worked for me. Take a good quality pin punch that fits inside the allen head to the solid part at the bottom of the allen socket. Might want a vise-grip clamped on the punch to save on your hand, hit the punch like you are serious one time and try turning the bolt after each hit. Don't forget your face shield, safety first.

You need carbide as they are very hard.

So how do you get the job done with broken tools. Snap-on comes around once a month.