Door hinge bolt removal

[mgmann]

Need to shim one of my rear doors on my 88 GW and am having trouble getting the hinge bolts out. They seem to take a T30 torx wrench, but when I try to remove them the holes in the bolt heads almost immediately start to strip without the bolt moving at all.

At this rate I can see there's no way I'm going to get them out. Is there some trick I'm missing? Maybe an impact wrench?

[Tripwire]

impact or heat -or both, be sure to clean out the torx holes of dirt and even even the factory paint to get you a MM or two extra depth also be sure you have the right bit - sometimes you think its the right one but a next larger one tapped in with a hammer is the correct one

[61Hawk]

Put the screwdriver in the screw head and smack it with a hammer. I've done this with other door hinge screws on other vehicles. If you have a butterfly impact you can try working it back and forth with slow hammering of the impact.

[threepiece]

I have successfully removed many rear doors screws, some from very rusty Wagoneers. First be sure you are using the correct size Torx tool. There should be little to no movement of the tool when it is placed in the screw head. Use an oxygen and acetelyn torch with a medium size welding tip to alternately heat heat each head on one hinge. Don't use a heating tip. Set the torch hot so as to heat the screw head orange hot quickly, then move to the next one. After all screws have been heated once, go back to the first one and heat again. After the last one has been heated for the second time, break each screw free starting with the first one.

For the screws with damaged heads you can try doing the same heating process above then use a hammer and chisel to turn the screw. A smaller hammer with a fast swing will outperform a bigger hammer. You may benefit from grinding the chisel to a shape that more closely resembles a "L" than a "V".

[serehill]

It's been a while. I clearly rememebr it's an odd special torx.

I had to buy a special torx to fit the bolt 45 is the size.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=106291

Attention: Get a high quality one.

[j2sax]

Torx

Agree with all points, but to me the MOST important is to get in there with a pick and/or screwdriver and clean it out to make sure that your tool is bottoming out.

I use a "hand impact driver" to break things loose. I believe you can only get to 2 of the bolts on each hinge with it using an extension, but I have never had to use heat.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-impact-driver/p-00947641000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Important to remember for ANY bolt is to let them cool once they start coming out if you are using an impact or the metal can soften and more easily break. Every few turns they come out, spray lube and run them back in until it become really easy. This keeps the rust from building up in the backside of the threads and breaking the bolt (though in some cases it is easiest to just break the bolts off if you are just removing from a scrapper!).

Let us know how it works out!

Jesse

[joe]

Don't know the proper size but it's important. Then get you a hand held hammer blow impact. ($10-$15?). Those old threads will respond to a quick shock/impact better than a continuos side torque load. If your bolts have been Red loctited in you'll need heat(lots) to first break the chemical bond. Once you get the bolts out replace them with allen socket head bolts.

[tgreese]

..
For the screws with damaged heads you can try doing the same heating process above then use a hammer and chisel to turn the screw. A smaller hammer with a fast swing will outperform a bigger hammer. You may benefit from grinding the chisel to a shape that more closely resembles a "L" than a "V".

Well ... A chisel might work, but for bolts where the head is badly damaged, I would use a die grinder and carbide bit and simply grind away the head. This will leave the stub of the bolt in the body, where you can try heat or simply drill out the remains of the bolt. Once the bolt is damaged, you are not going to reuse it, so you may as well grind it off.

Another alternative is to weld a nut to the head of the bolt, and turn the nut.

[serehill]

yeah

The impact is a great tool for direct blows. You won't have direct access to all bolts. Buy a good impact tool. There are so many that are junk like the Harbor freight one.

[Rich88]

....Another alternative is to weld a nut to the head of the bolt, and turn the nut.

X2....My favorite method if a die grinder is not appropriate. Plus, the heat of welding assists in breaking loose the rust weld keeping it tight in the first place.


Another approach is to take a bolt and sharpen down the thread end on a grinder. Then fill-weld the sharpened end onto your object of frustration and use a wrench & socket to back it all out.

[Walt]

I had to buy a special torx to fit the bolt 45 is the size.

http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=106291

Attention: Get a high quality one.

x2... High quality makes a BIG difference. Also, a little dab of valve grinding compound will help the tool bite inside the fastener.

[j2sax]

So what happened

Did you get them out?

[Carnuck]

I did mine and they were T37. I got the socket from the Snapon guys ($35!)