HELP!! Rounded PITA top CAT bolt
 

I'm putting Berk CATs on and I'm stalled by ONE bolt. This is the top bolt on the drivers side. My 35K paper weight is dead in the water with this. I've tried beating it, penatrating oil, beating a 13mm on it, a bolt-grip that I saw in another thread(it round off first pull). I think I'm about at my end and having to reassmble it back to stock CATs and carry it somewhere. Does anyone have anymore tricks I can try before carring it somewhere?

Thanks,
Wes

make a voodoo doll of the bolt and keep repeatedly popping the head off?

hahaha, trust me ...done that and some. The witch doctor just shook her head at when she saw it.:icon14:

Did you use a 6 point socket?

Your going to love this...
 

I broke one 6 pt, round THREE other 6 pts off, rounded off a 12pt and burred up a 13 MM 12 pt trying to hammer it on as a last resort.

EPIC socket fail

drill?

I thought that, but how would I drill it? Its the top bolt on the driver's side. There is no way of getting to it from the bottom and I dont think there is a 25" drill bit around :)

A buddy of mine cut the head off a larger bolt and welded it to the rounded off bolt to get better torque with the larger bolt head. If I understand correctly this bolt is pretty hard to get to so welding may not be an option. Just thought I'd mention it in case it helped.

I've run into stubborn bolts myself - I know what a PITA they can be.

I know exactly what you mean man, those stock cat bolts are stupid tight, me and my mechanic wasted 3 hours working on plans to get the damn thing off, finally we decided to stop being stubborn and used socket extensions, took the air box off both sides and used an air ratchet. You could use a pneumatic saw and cut the bolt off..

This thread is making me rethink my HFC order...

I installed the Hfc's with help....
If your doing it by yourself try getting some help,
I used 3/4 high impact socket 14 mm, high impact universal swivel 3/4,
and 3 long extensions so they end up high enough clearance to add a 3/4 to 1/2'' adapter high impact also with a 1/2'' ratchet with a small extension pole for leverage to break it loose
one person on the top to slide the extensions down to the bolt and, another on the bottom to guide the socket in place and to hold it in place while the top person breaks it loose.. I used high impact universal and socket due to breaking too regular craftsman sockets.. use some Wd 40 or liquid wrench penetrating oil,
There's extractor kits for stripped head bolts.. or a muffler shop can torch it off and replace with a temp nut and bolt..
there is also a DIY on the Install with some pics

http://www.the370z.com/diy-section-d...c-install.html

well, the good news is, once you break the bolts on the stock cats, they'll come off easier next time:icon17:

dynamite problem solved and u can return the HFC's and get your money back too

I must just have one bolt that has the "10 years worth of driving and heat-welding characteristics" in the 4 months I've had the car. All the other bolts came off fairly easy. I thought we where going to cruise through the install. I sprayed WD-40 and Liquid wrench penetrating oil on it and let it sit over night. I'm doing(was) doing G3 intakes at the same time, so I have both air boxes off right now. I guess I'll do some calling around today and see what a muffler/performance shop can do for me. I'll have to bolt all stock stuff back up to get it running again....2 days of removal down the tubes.

dremel?

Like Triple's was saying . . . can you find a friend and some impact tools? I would definitely give that a go before I put everything back together.

Side Note: Triple's has like 10K posts and this is the first time I've seen his name.

The tool for removing locking lug nuts without a key might work. It bites into the rounded bolt head to get a strong grip.
Other options are to reassemble and let a muffler shop finish the job or if all else fails, you could remove the header and cat together to allow easy access to the rounded bolt.
Sorry to hear you're having this problem. I just installed hfc's last night by myself with no problems. For those that haven't done this install yet, the importance of having a quality six point socket sitting squarely on the bolt head before applying torque can't be overstated.
Also,don't use impact wrenches near your wideband O2 sensors.

Kevtex makes a great point. Before you ever start to apply force to a bolt like this it is very important to ensure you have the socket placed fully on the bolt.

You could try one of these, and go at it from the top of the engine bay with some long extensions taped together
http://base0.googlehosted.com/base_m...9eb5c377&hl=en

Whatever you do, don't try this guys approach So, Dont buy a VW - Honda-Tech

yeah after looking at it, you need to be VERY careful on the driver's side bolt that is next to the steering shaft. Even with the knuckle, the shaft makes it EXTREMELY difficult to get the socket sitting on the bolt head fully. I guess my troubles started when my first 6 pt socket cracked up the side. It popped so loud we thought we got it. The only getting was the pain me and my brother got in our forearm and elbow from slamming into the enginebay ;0 <ouch>. I'm going to take it to a local shop that has done a couple 370 CAT jobs. We will see...

I got a set of these from AutoZone and the first time I used it, it stripped the inside of the "cutting nut" out. :eek: and just spun after that.

A skilled user of the blue tip wrench will get the job done.

The would have to be VERY skilled... I dont see how you are going to get a cutting torch down there.

i had this same issue except on the passenger side in which case i i used a dremmel to cut half the bolt where it meets the header and i was able to break it loose because the pressure was relieved. using this tool thats pictured above will not work its just going to strip and spin, Ive tried it. you basically just screwed yourself as there is no room on the drivers side to get a dremmel down their. only way is to drill it somehow.

There are flexible extensions for drills. Maybe something like that could help you out. You would still need an extra man below with gloves on to guide and keep aligned the bit.

Hey CBRich,
I'm always in the Prem Section, I do come out on Ocassions but rarely post unless a Troll Appears then I'm in the thread with a bat.... :tiphat

Well, I got brave and stuck the propane torch to it. Me and my brother got it cherry red and it still would not budge. We put the car back together tonight. I'm taking it to the local shop tomorrow. <crosses fingers>

This morning in the shower (calm down Frost, I know what you are thinking), I had a brain storm. If this local mechanic can't remove the bolt, what if I JB welded the socket onto the bolt; let it set up and then tried to remove it?

So go ahead and do it before you take it to the mechanic. I would hate to see anybody here defeated by a bolt.

JB weld is not a good idea, as it is not strong enough.

I'll let you guys know what happens this afternoon.

Nah, its far from over. I'll drop the header before I call it quits.

I had another idea thrown at me today at work. What if we can spot weld a nut to the top of the bolt?

dropping the header wont work either you cant get the header out with the cat still attached not enuf room to get it out so i was told when i had the same issue.

From what I see, I don't see how that would be an issue. With the connected header and cat free, in hand, you should be able to easily get to all three bolt/nut/stud combos that holding them together....unless I'm really missing something. The only issue I have of not using/trying a wrench or channel locks is the firewall and steering shaft.

Beats me I was told by a reputable source that that method wouldnt work. It sucks that its the drivers side or else you can fit a dremmel down their and just cut part of the bolt..

I wouldn't bother with JB weld. Have you thought about a nut splitter?
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA280_.jpg

Appreciate the idea and I've never heard or seen one of these. What's stuck is a bolt with no nut on the end. Both the header and cat are threaded at this connector. So, splitting or knocking the top of the bolt head off would only complicate matters I would think, right?

My apologies, I was thinking you had rounded off a nut, not a bolt. Carry on!

Oh, no problem I learned something...never heard of them before; awesome concept.

A friend has these from sears, he told me they seem to work.
link,
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...4506000P?mv=rr

I still say dremel w/ cutoff wheel.

If anything you can cut a big F'n notch in it, wedge a screwdriver against it, and crank on the other end until something gives.

Absolute worst case, you can cut off the HFC at the flange to remove the header...but I'd try cutting off the bolt's head first.