Rear Shock Bolt Head Snapped

[Capo]

Overtightened the top bolt for the left rear shock, after noticing it was loose, ad the head snapped off, leaving the bolt in the hole. What a puny little thing it is, that it cannot handle my manly ratchet twisting!

Anyway, please jump in with suggestions on the right tool/ tap/ beer to extract the stud before I begin experimenting with a chainsaw.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Overtightened the top bolt for the left rear shock, after noticing it was loose, ad the head snapped off, leaving the bolt in the hole. What a puny little thing it is, that it cannot handle my manly ratchet twisting!

Anyway, please jump in with suggestions on the right tool/ tap/ beer to extract the stud before I begin experimenting with a chainsaw.

Yeah, I recall when replacing the shocks that these bolts are fairly small. They just hold the shock in place but don't support the bike.

Now that I've read your post, I am going to R&R these and the lower bolts, torque to spec with blue Loctite. Don't want one of these backing out.

Thanks for sharing this info, good to know.

 

[Lord Popgun]

If you can get the bike there, a welder can weld a nut to the bolt and then back it out. Works good for bolts broken flush with the hole.

 

[mattmcuomo@yahoo.com]

Remove the shock and take the remaining part of the bolt out? If only the head broke off you should be able to grab what's left of the bolt with the shock out of the way.... No?

Sent from me......

 

[Redbird_imp]

You can buy EasyOuts at a good hardware store or perhaps an auto parts store. You would need to drill a hole in the bolt part that is still in your bike, screw the easy out into the hole - it grabs because its "threads" are reversed - and remove the remainder of the bolt. It does not always work, you can snap the easy out off too, and sometimes getting the hole drilled can be tricky. I have used them, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

 

[redbirds_imp]

Remove the shock and take the remaining part of the bolt out? If only the head broke off you should be able to grab what's left of the bolt with the shock out of the way.... No?

Sent from me......

+1, vise grips should do it.

 

[Motogeezer1949_imp]

Hammy

 

[kmoney_imp]

If it's broken off below flush, I would recommend you drill it and use an easy-out. As mentioned above, if it's just the head then use vice grips.

 

[chync_imp]

You can buy EasyOuts at a good hardware store or perhaps an auto parts store. You would need to drill a hole in the bolt part that is still in your bike, screw the easy out into the hole - it grabs because its "threads" are reversed - and remove the remainder of the bolt. It does not always work, you can snap the easy out off too, and sometimes getting the hole drilled can be tricky. I have used them, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.

Both of mine snapped and this was the method I used. Very easy. Bolt came right out. After snapping the first I was very careful with the second and it still snapped. I replaced mine with some stainless steel bolts. Haven't had a problem with those.

 

[Cormanus]

Ah, that marvellous Honda build quality.

 

[Capo]

Thanks, guys. The shock doesn't block it as there is a bushing. It broke off flush, so I'll need to go with the easy out method. I already received the replacement from Bike Bandit, so I'll give it w whorl this weekend.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Any of y'all use a torque wrench? I think the bolts are of good quality, it's the 90 pounds of torque that did it.

 

[Lord Popgun]

Torque value for the top shock bolt is 6.6 ft. lbs. Bottom bolt is 19 ft. lbs.

 

[Capo]

Any of y'all use a torque wrench? I think the bolts are of good quality, it's the 90 pounds of torque that did it.

The top bolt is a joke, it's of ornamental quality. It's almost decorative, as the shock sits on the post rather tight.

 

[Ulvetanna_imp]

Any of y'all use a torque wrench? I think the bolts are of good quality, it's the 90 pounds of torque that did it.

The top bolt is a joke, it's of ornamental quality. It's almost decorative, as the shock sits on the post rather tight.

The top bolt is a joke, it's of ornamental quality. It's almost decorative, as the shock sits on the post rather tight. It's chrome, for sure, but I'm sure it's of good if not excellent quality. The problem is the torque specification is very low. It can take that no problem. The large chromed flat washer holds the shock in place. Doesn't need to be any tighter than that.

I just whipped out my service manual, as popgun said, the specs are 9 nm, 6.6 lbs/ft for the top bolt, and 26 nm (19 lbs/ft) for the bottom.

I pulled all four out and torqued them, with blue Loctite. Didn't really torque the one on the muffler side but used a box-end wrench to get it close.

When in doubt, call over the nearest 3-year-old to tighten the top bolts.

 

[Capo]

Fixed! Thanks for the EasyOut recommendation, bought the generic Ace Hardware version, and was able to extract and replace.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[0011bc_imp]

Remove the shock and take the remaining part of the bolt out? If only the head broke off you should be able to grab what's left of the bolt with the shock out of the way.... No?

Sent from me......

+1, vise grips should do it.

+1, vise grips should do it.
and after this go buy a torque wrench.

Honda is notorious for torque spec.

 

[Capo]

I have one, just never thought to use it on such a small bolt. Lesson learned!