YJ: Stuck bolt.

[OU812]

Working on my 53 Chevy I have had more than my fair share of stuck bolts. But this one is probably the worst I have had. It is the reverse torx bolt on the top of the transmission bell housing. The driver’s side came out without much trouble. But the passenger side is in there. I used the correct reverse torx socket but it rounded. It still had some shape to it till I used these Craftsman bolt extractors. Now it is smooth and shiny. Normally at this point I would be pulling out the drill but without pulling the whole motor and trans I don't see how I could drill it. I am going to try and use vice grips tonight and if I can't pop that sucker out I will try welding a nut over what’s left of the bolt head. I wish I could cut the head off and pull the rest out when the trans is no in the way but the I would have to cut into the bell housing to cut the bolt.

Is there anything I am missing here? Anyone have a cool trick for this?

[spearheadbill]

if you can get a welder tip in there it seems like maybe an "easy out" would be the way to go but i dont know

[aw12345]

Welder is the best option next is some hammering to see if that helps it come loose. Air hammer might work or if all else fails a die grinder with a good sharp carbide bit, with that tool you can whittle away the bolt head and slide the trans out. Taking the fan of, the if need be removing the radiator hoses and tipping the engine back as fas as absolutely possible will help with access. Last resort would be, cutting a hole in the tunnel to get better access and afterwards welding or riveting a plate over the hole.

[NakedJeeper]

Had similar trouble when I replaced my clutch. I dropped the trans so low I had to loosen motor mounts and remove those rods/struts in the engine compartment to allow the front of the engine to rise as the trans lowered.

I finally for enough room to get an impact gun in there and hammer that bugger out before I stripped it.

[OU812]

I didn't even get to mess with it tonight. I have the tcase off and the trans is hanging. One of my motor mounts is bad I figure I am replacing them when I am done anyway. I can get an impact with an extension on the bolt through the hole in the trans tunnel. I think I will just weld the larger bolt to it and use the impact to get it off. I hope I don't bugger up the weld to bad. The only way I can get at it to weld it is damn near upside down with my head through that hole in the tunnel. But still its probably better than drilling in that position.

[mrchips]

I am a marine technician, deal with frozen bolts from salt water, if you can get a vise grip on it, adjust to fit, then take a MAP gas/propane torch and see if you can heat it up, get it real hot, should expand enough to possibly work it out..
Getting it real hot always works, but I also don't like to use WD40 and such, just heat and work it out dry if you can.

[RAT]

I have a 4 inch strip of 3/8 prima cord. Oughta do the trick!

[jimmyrig]

Take a nut that is as large as the head of the bolt ( clean bolt head first) Place nut on top of bolt head, fill with weld to top of nut, like a rosette weld. Wait for the red to go away back out with wrench or ratchet ( impact is to much) This is an easy way to do it and yu dont have to be good at welding

[aw12345]

Jimmyrig that is the way I would tackle it work like a charm better than 90% of the time

[jimmyrig]

Last Scrambler I worked on was a beach runner back in the day... I became a pro at this method as I had to do it on EVERY SINGLE BOLT

[6spdYJ]

Try putting all of the other bolts back in and supporting the back of the tranny. Then try the top bolts. If the rest are out and the tranny is hanging on this one, the surface tension on the head and threads are tremendous. Clamping it back together will relieve this pressure. Torx get a bad rap. They provide a lot more torque surface than standard. Most people just don't use the right tool.

[OU812]

OK, so maybe you don't need to be a good welder but you can't be a bad welder like me. I welded three nuts on there and each one popped right off when I tried to turn them. I cleansed up the end of the bolt that is stuck with a wire wheel. I would fill up the nut with weld but I couldn't get it to penetrate into the bolt. I ran out of shitty old nuts to mess up so I’ll have to try again this weekend.

I did let the engine and transmission tilt all the way back till the valve cover was hitting the firewall. That helped with access a lot. The only bolt that is removed from the bell housing at this point is the other torx bolt. I haven't even broke the others loose. I figured I would start with the hardest ones to reach.

[aw12345]

Well if the welding doesn't work it's back to die grinder with a carbide bit, a small air grinder with a cut off wheel on it. Either one of those should be able to cut the head off. For welding a nut on use the biggest one you can get on there. Also I have had success with first welding a thick flat washer on and weld the nut to that. Makes it easier to get good penetration

[OU812]

I think I am going to have at it with the grinder. I am not reusing this bell housing because I am switching to extern clutch slave type bell housing. Thanks for the help Art.

[aw12345]

Well if you are not reusing the bellhousing, remove the other bolts and bust the bellhousing or take an air hammer to it. The aluminum is easier to destroy than the bolt head. From welding on it the steel crystallized and is pretty hard by now.