broken bolts

     This is the sight that sends shivers up the spine of the heartiest souls. To avoid getting into this situation there are a few things you should know. First, what you are dealing with. The mast is aluminum and the bolt is stainless and the bolt probably was screwed in with a liberal amount of loctite. Sometimes, over time the loctite loses its holding power and the fastener can be removed with a hand screwdriver. Be sure to use the right size tool. Nothing ruins the head of a screw faster than an undersize screwdriver. If, by chance, you have done all the right things and still find yourself with a busted bolt then there is a simple remedy.

fixing broken bolts

The remedy is this. Loctite will soften its grip with the application of a little amount of heat. Not so much heat that you start to discolour the bolt or surrounding metal, but just enough to warm it up. Apply the heat to the bolt. Next I like to use a small pair of visegrips with clean and sharp jaws. With a good grip on the offending appendage it should come out with some resistance, leaving you to be able to run a tap down the hole to clean up the threads.

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Broken Bolts

MQYR 2017