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Welder in Northants?
Quinten - 20/9/17 at 11:24 AM

I'm in deep sh*t. I need to replace the rear wheel hub (bearing is gone, and it is a single contained unit) on my daily driver and am left with 3 (out of 4) rounded Torx T50 bolts in all their ugly rusted glory.

Is there anyone in Northampton(shire) / Sixfields that is able to weld on some nuts onto the rounded bolts so I can get myself out of this pickle? Your choice of crate beer on offer for your troubles!

phelpsa - 20/9/17 at 11:56 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Quinten
I'm in deep sh*t. I need to replace the rear wheel hub (bearing is gone, and it is a single contained unit) on my daily driver and am left with 3 (out of 4) rounded Torx T50 bolts in all their ugly rusted glory.

Is there anyone in Northampton(shire) / Sixfields that is able to weld on some nuts onto the rounded bolts so I can get myself out of this pickle? Your choice of crate beer on offer for your troubles!


Can you drill the head off?

Quinten - 20/9/17 at 11:59 AM

Yes, but then I'd be left with thread in the suspension arm which I would have to drill out and re-tap... I'm not going to lie, but that would be my absolute last resort if my past experience is anything to go by (Crossflow with exhaust studs rusted solid)

nick205 - 20/9/17 at 03:05 PM

Guess you may be stuck at home with the car off the road, but Screwfix (and probably Machine Mart) sell tools for removing stuck and rounded off nuts and bolts. Might get you out of the fix you're in.

daviep - 20/9/17 at 03:49 PM

What car, which bearing? Maybe able to offer some suggestions if we know a bit more.

Regards
Davie

Quinten - 20/9/17 at 04:23 PM

It's a 2006 Ford Mondeo ST-TDCI Estate. The rear hub includes bearing and ABS sensor and looks like this



The hub is held by 4 bolts (T50 Torx), only 2 visible in the photo above.

daviep - 20/9/17 at 05:21 PM

As suggested above, drill (use a big drill so that the bolt head is cut off) or grind the heads of the bolts, once the hub is removed there will be 10mm or so of the bolt left sticking up which will hopefully come out with a pair of vice grips. If vice grips won't take it then it's still easy to put a nut over the stub and weld it on. If you don't have drill or grinder a decent hammer and chisel will take the heads off the bolts.

Regards
Davie

Quinten - 20/9/17 at 06:00 PM

Have drill and grinder, just don't want to get myself even further in the sh*t than I already am. Am "working" from home tomorrow, so will give it another go with more heat first.

nick205 - 21/9/17 at 08:11 AM

quote:
Originally posted by daviep
As suggested above, drill (use a big drill so that the bolt head is cut off) or grind the heads of the bolts, once the hub is removed there will be 10mm or so of the bolt left sticking up which will hopefully come out with a pair of vice grips. If vice grips won't take it then it's still easy to put a nut over the stub and weld it on. If you don't have drill or grinder a decent hammer and chisel will take the heads off the bolts.

Regards
Davie



Seems a reasonable approach to me. 10mm of thread sticking out gives you something to get hold of (or weld to) to get the remaining bit of bolt out.

SJ - 21/9/17 at 08:50 AM

Not sure how easy they are to get to but I have had success in the past using a hammer and chisel to remove rusty rounded studs by using the chisel to knock them round.

Quinten - 21/9/17 at 09:19 AM

Good news. I guess I have nick205 to thank for putting the bolt removers in my thought. Silly old me dismissed them at first because surely they only work on rounded hex bolts... Well duh! Silly old me... Bought the Erbauer set from Screwfix last night and I had all 3 out in 10 minutes.

nick205 - 21/9/17 at 04:18 PM

Cracking job - well done

There's usually a way around things and now you've got the tools for the next time you encounter the same issue.