I have a bolt that would not turn out in my Allen wrench and ended up rounding out the inside, so my next step was to use an easy out, but then it broke off inside the bolt head. Then I got the drill to try to drill through the easy out, and that has proven quite unsuccessful as well (apparently a very hard steel but also brittle). So obviously my next step was to get a punch and try to punch the easy out to the left or to the right and neither one of those had any effect on the easy out. Are there any secret hacks out there that I should be thinking about? i’m feeling very defeated and beaten by a bolt that should really be nothing.
by Ok_Stay_700
6 Comments
You’re lucky it’s the top bolt on a stem! Grab a hacksaw and cut through the bolt through the split in the stem…carefully. Don’t nick the steerer!
Drill from the other side. If you’re lucky the bit will snag and turn the bolt out
No you’ve been defeated by poor design choice. If you can get the easy out I say try to hammer in a torx bit to hopefully it will bite and turn the bolt.
Also if the bottom clamp bolt is loose then all the pressure is on the stripped bolt.
I never recommend this stem to anyone ever or I replace the bolts with 4mm hex bolts for this reason.
If you’re really desperate you could get a hack saw blade and slowly cut into the stem and bolt. Could take a while. Then put the stem in the bin.
Hacksaw/slitting saw/cutoff wheel in the gap at the back of the stem
I needed to cut this stem apart after the bolt was stripped and drill bit broke inside.
https://preview.redd.it/57chgxvcjyjg1.jpeg?width=3072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d2529b252a6846086798f3deb4fde7833e6a1ed9
If you’re planning to save the stem, drill a hole through the middle and try an extractor bit. Much cheaper than buying a new stem