Stripped Steering Wheel Allen Bolt
 

Title says it all - any suggestions?

Thanks

I had to buy an extractor set from snap-on to get the lower engine mount bolts out that were rounded out.

I think it was called a screw extractor.

Depending on how much you have left for grip.............some heat on the bolt will lengthen it and greatly reduce the clamping force and resultant torque required for removal.

I did heat it a little with a small torch before I tried to loosen it, but I was worried about melting something, so it may not have helped much.

There may be a enough of the bolt left to give it one more try. I'm going to grind off the slightly rounded tip on my allen wrench socket. That may give me about a millimeter more to grip with, but there's no way I'll be able to apply much force. I stripped the bolt by not keeping the wrench firmly seated in the hole, due to trying to hold the wheel with one hand (after reading in over a dozen threads not to rely on the steering wheel lock). I figure if I secure the wheel with a 2x4 or something, I'll have two hands for the wrench. I've got it soaking in WD-40 right now. Later tonight I'll give it a good blast with the torch and give it one last try.

Probably going to be a lesson learned the hard way, but maybe I'll get lucky. :(

Pound it in there with a hammer to make it seat real good to, it prob. wasn't seated.

You cannot do that job with an Allen wrench, and, no, you won't get lucky.

Get yourself a proper socket bit (10 mm??) with a suitable adaptor for use with a 1/2" ratchet wrench. That's your only hope.

Also, I think I used a 2x4 between the steering wheel and the floor to keep the wheel from turning while I held the wrench tight to the bolt with my hand. I wonder how an impact wrench would work on there? Then you could use two hands and your body to hold it tight against the bolt.

If it is rounded out, then you may be able to hammer in an american size allen to get a tight fit.

Impact driver. Make a bit out of a cut-off allen wrench and a socket if necessary, hit the impact driver hard!

not if it's 10mm........:mad:

Hammer in a torx socket. The splines displace the stripped allen metal well and will hold tight.

Got it!
 

Got it off! Yay!
I put the hex socket (not an allen wrench sorry :o) in the hole and used a hammer and a big screwdriver to move the displaced metal back around the socket. Secured the wheel with a board, heated the bolt to the point where it felt a little warm, and took to it. My breaker bar is a 3/8th drive 15" model from Walmart, and it leaves a lot to be desired, but with both hands on it I was able to keep it aligned while leaning on it. It didn't take an enormous amount of force, but when it broke free, I was a happy man!

Thanks to everyone for the help.

Theo

Good job.

I was betting against success on that bolt..........usually, if it strips........you're a goner.

Naturally, you'll get a new one...............!!

Congrats. I always use the 1/2" drive impact wrench for taking them off.

Just tried this using a 3/8 drive Craftsman 10 mm allen & 3/8 to 1/2 adapter driven by 1/2 " Harbor Freight 120 v elec impact gun didn't loosen the steering bolt on mine. Crappy HF impact?

How many ft lb is the bolt torqued to? Why the hell is it so tight? Is there thread lock on there?