This Campy Chorus crankset was given to me like this. The crankset itself is almost brand new, but this one single bolt is stuck and dead from both sides. I don’t mind sacrificing the blue chainring but I would like to keep the smaller one, and obviously not damage the crankset itself. I tried drilling a hole in the bolt but then I stopped and figured it’s better to ask for advice. Thanks!
Hour_Recognition_923 on
First put the bolts on either side back in fairly tight, now get some penetrant in there. Then keep trying with the tools you were using, maybe dremel the slots deeper, heat may help. Good luck!
SuperMariole on
For rounded allen screws, the easiest trick is to hammer in a torx bit that’s just too large. It shouldn’t damage the bit itself.
Obviously put something below the nut when hammering, to avoid bending stuff
Murky_Promise4012 on
Drill
ride_whenever on
Just drill it, it’s super easy to do, and is the quickest and easiest way to deal with these.
All you need is to take the head off one side, then it’ll slide apart.
Left handed drill bit is ideal, but not overly necessary
drewbaccaAWD on
Usual approach is penetrating oil, sometimes heat as uneven expansion can break any bonds from chemical reactions. If the hex is stripped, a torx bit will sometimes bite… less likely after drilling but possibly still an option.
I like drilling off heads on smaller bolts but these are larger diameter so you need a bigger bit. I see that as a last resort.
7 Comments
This Campy Chorus crankset was given to me like this. The crankset itself is almost brand new, but this one single bolt is stuck and dead from both sides. I don’t mind sacrificing the blue chainring but I would like to keep the smaller one, and obviously not damage the crankset itself. I tried drilling a hole in the bolt but then I stopped and figured it’s better to ask for advice. Thanks!
First put the bolts on either side back in fairly tight, now get some penetrant in there. Then keep trying with the tools you were using, maybe dremel the slots deeper, heat may help. Good luck!
For rounded allen screws, the easiest trick is to hammer in a torx bit that’s just too large. It shouldn’t damage the bit itself.
Obviously put something below the nut when hammering, to avoid bending stuff
Drill
Just drill it, it’s super easy to do, and is the quickest and easiest way to deal with these.
All you need is to take the head off one side, then it’ll slide apart.
Left handed drill bit is ideal, but not overly necessary
Usual approach is penetrating oil, sometimes heat as uneven expansion can break any bonds from chemical reactions. If the hex is stripped, a torx bit will sometimes bite… less likely after drilling but possibly still an option.
I like drilling off heads on smaller bolts but these are larger diameter so you need a bigger bit. I see that as a last resort.
Drill it. It seems scary but it’s not.