kleecker

I was warned by hardtopguy about this and took some extra precautions............... but I stripped the socket head on the &$@! last bolt. I assume I am not the first to do this. I don't see an easy way around this. I could cut or grind the head off, but the bolt is so long that I still wouldn't be able to remove the differential back far enough to get it out.......... looks like it would be tough to get an EZ-Out in from the back side (where the threads are)....... coming in from the front with an EZ-Out - dunno how well that would work.

The torque required to free the bolt has got to be at least 40 ft-lbs.......... I had a hex bit socket on a 3/8" wratchet and I could not budge it....... didn't want to give the wratchet a whach with the hammer, as I thought that would strip the bolt head..... so I moved up to a 1/2" drive, to get more leverage......... used a fresh hex socket - edge breaks nice and sharp on it........... give it all I had and nothing......... tried a couple more times and finally stripped the bolt head - the entire depth of the head, in one shot.

Just thought of something... What is I ground the bolt head off, slid the diff back as much as possible (got about an inch I can put it rearward), then cut the bolt at/near the mating surfaces of the drive shaft and the pinion flange? That would allow the drive shaft to drop (I waited until the end to work on the drive shaft bolts, per hartopguy's instructions)....... then I could slide the diff out and use an EZ-out on only the threaded section, stuck in the pinion flange...???

Advice appreciated,

Mark

AusS2000

You can try a bunch of things. Grind a slot and us a screw drive head, or grind flat sides and use vice grips. I spent plenty of time under there with a dremel.

The problem is caused by how you applied torque to it. You need to start with a hard fast twist to get it moving without stripping. I used a breaker bar and a sudden hit with the palm of my hand.

Stratocaster

I used an ez-out. I just hammered into the hex hole in the head of the bolt, and out it came. I have had to do this twice.

If you cut the head off of the bolt, there is enough play in the drive shaft to remove it. Once it is removed, a pair of vise-grips will be all you need to remove what is left of the bolt. I have seen this done a number of times.

kleecker

Cut off bolt head, then just a tad of grinding and they came apart. I was surpised how easy the remaining bolt was to remove. Is there a special torque spec on those, or is it just from use? I've only got 5K miles, most of it in dry weather.

Billman250

Once you gring or cut the head off the bolt, there's no clamping load left. You should be able to remove the remaing stud with your fingers.

The best way, next time, is to get a set of VISE-GRIP Brand locking pliers. The large ones are obviously the best. I've never had a driveshaft bolt win against a set of Vise-Grips.

umop-apisdn

I don't know about the confines of this area, but is there enough space to grind a slot in the bolt head and use an impact screwdriver?

Billman250

No way. There's room, but it is WAY to tight for an impact screwdriver.

No need to complicate a simple problem. Grab it with vise grips and take it out.

FF2Skip

One should use a "wobble" adapter in conjunction with the ratchet/socket. It allows just enough play to get a good angle on the bolt. as Bill stated, after the head is freed, the rest of the bolt is stupid-easy to remove with only your fingers.

There is a Snap-On tool that is superior to a standard set of Vise-Grips. Let me see if I can find the link again. Price is about $50 though. And no amount of "break-free" works on the corroded bolt heads.



Added: Here ya go: Snap-On pliers