Stripped Bolts stuck in frame

3271 Views 20 Replies 11 Participants Last post by Tom S., Oct 21, 2021

foghelmut

Discussion Starter · Oct 18, 2021

I thought I'd be clever and use stainless bolts through the skid plate spacers since I lifted my truck and also spaced the differential, thus needing the skid plate spacer.

Apparently I torqued them to gorilla spec forgetting stainless bolts are made of cheese. They got stuck in the frame and we're just spinning. I did the dumb thing and cut them off since I needed to drive and didn't want to leave my skid plate hanging in space. I'm sure this made things worse for me.

So I've got two stainless plugs stuck in my skid plate bolt holes in my frame.

Should I spend time drilling these out or just drill and tap some new holes and move on?

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

BearZR2

· #2 · Oct 18, 2021

Drill them out, if you fail then you always have the fallback plan to make some new holes. Be careful of the existing threads, hopefully they are intact on the frame side. If not look into rivnuts or just sizing up the bolt and retapping the hole.

Use a center punch to get things started. If the stripped bolt spins while drilling, take a punch and peen it at the edge of the hole where it meets the bolt.

Good luck.

Reactions: 2

hoooogan

· #3 · Oct 18, 2021

If these are the holes I'm thinking of, you should drill them out and nutsert them. That's thin sheet metal with a flared hole. If you drill that out, you take away the extra material from the flare, and your threads become weaker.

Reactions: 2

BearZR2

· #4 · Oct 18, 2021

hoooogan said:
If these are the holes I'm thinking of, you should drill them out and nutsert them. That's thin sheet metal with a flared hole. If you drill that out, you take away the extra material from the flare, and your threads become weaker.

Thank you for pointing out that its a flared hole. Op, if the threads are damaged a nutsert is the way to go, do not try to oversize or drill in another location.

Carolina Trucker

· #5 · Oct 18, 2021

Stainless steel is great stuff but is not the perfect steel. S/S can gall unless you put anti-seize on the threads. Another possibility is galvanic corrosion - the dissimilar metals set up a voltage difference between the materials and corrosion happens. Either of those can lock up the threads. So you might not have tightened it too much.

Reactions: 3

Iamscotticus

· #6 · Oct 18, 2021

foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁 foghelmut 😁

rotaryenginepete

· #7 · Oct 18, 2021

Drill them out, and if you destroy the threads you can A. Tap a larger bolt size, or B. Drill them out further and install rivnuts.

shtboxbrz

· #8 · Oct 18, 2021

I know multiple people have said to drill it out but no one has said to use a reverse threaded bit. It makes it much easier to get out

Reactions: 1

foghelmut

Discussion Starter · #9 · Oct 18, 2021

shtboxbrz said:
I know multiple people have said to drill it out but no one has said to use a reverse threaded bit. It makes it much easier to get out

I did try that with Speed Out, at least on one of them. It's just spinning and not going anywhere.

CaryBosse

· #10 · Oct 18, 2021

Can I see a picture of what we are talking about?

When I think of a skid plate, I think we are talking about something that would not be going through sheet metal.

foghelmut

Discussion Starter · #11 · Oct 18, 2021

CaryBosse said:
Can I see a picture of what we are talking about?

When I think of a skid plate, I think we are talking about something that would not be going through sheet metal.

These ones

Automotive design Automotive tire Font Auto part Engineering

See less See more

Reactions: 1

shtboxbrz

· #12 · Oct 18, 2021

foghelmut said:
I did try that with Speed Out, at least on one of them. It's just spinning and not going anywhere.

I'm not sure what brand you are using but the set that works nearly every time for me is I bought a few irwin left hand threaded drill bits. I dont even think they are technically extractors but they work like a charm. Also make sure to put your drill in reverse, i totally haven't sat there like a dumbass wondering why it wasnt doing anything...

foghelmut

Discussion Starter · #13 · Oct 18, 2021

shtboxbrz said:
I'm not sure what brand you are using but the set that works nearly every time for me is I bought a few irwin left hand threaded drill bits. I dont even think they are technically extractors but they work like a charm. Also make sure to put your drill in reverse, i totally haven't sat there like a dumbass wondering why it wasnt doing anything...

"Speed Out" is the brand. Its worked before with mixed results.

CaryBosse

· #14 · Oct 18, 2021

foghelmut said:
These ones

That diagram is probably better than a picture. I would think that the metal the screws are going into was thick enough to actually thread, but who am I. Seems like the rear ones, you should be able to get to the backside of it to place a nut in a worst case scenario.

Easy Outs are designed to drill a hole with a traditional drill bit, then you use them to unscrew the broken off stud. Last time I used one was on a pipe, so the hole was already there.

I have never used a left-hand bit, but am going to consider if there is ever another time I need to drill out a broken stud.

My brother-in-law broke the head off a bolt on the valve cover, right up next to the firewall, on my sister's Monte Carlo when I was in college back in the 70s. I bragged, you just need to get an easy out and drill a hole, and remove the stud. He went and bought the easy out, then handed the drill to me. I managed to drill into that stud back in an awkward position without even scratching the threads. Pulled it right out, looked like I knew what I was doing. It would have been a great application for a left hand thread drill bit.

See less See more

16WhiteColly

· #15 · Oct 18, 2021

When using stainless steel fasteners, you need to use Never Sieze. Stainless steel is prone to galling.

MrCamo

· #16 · Oct 18, 2021

Is this portion of the Frame fully boxed?

foghelmut

Discussion Starter · #17 · Oct 18, 2021

It was me, I smushed the threads.

This one just popped out when I hit it with the center punch. I was able to drill the other one out then knocked it out with the punch. The threads in the frame are either stripped or full of stainless, can't tell. Not sure if its worth running a tap through it to clean it out, or just drill it out and put the rivnut in. But I don't have a tap at the moment, and the rivnut tool arrives tomorrow.

The smooth area was inside the threaded hole in the frame, and the threaded part was inside the frame piece.

Tire Automotive tire Insect Sink Floor

MrCamo said:
Is this portion of the Frame fully boxed?

Yes

See less See more

Reactions: 2

MrCamo

· #18 · Oct 18, 2021

It may be possible to through drill the frame and do a long bolt depending on clearance.
This could be augmented by a steel plate along the bottom of the frame acting as a spacer.
or you could drill the hole out and weld it up, drill and tap the welded location. (Not a fan of riv-nuts yet)

Reactions: 1

foghelmut

Discussion Starter · #19 · Oct 21, 2021

Rivnut worked great. You have to be pretty strong to get a M10 rivnut to crimp down while laying underneath a truck. Everything is all set. Thanks thread.

Reactions: 2

16WhiteColly

· #20 · Oct 21, 2021

Rivnuts work good for the skid plate mounting.

1 - 20 of 21 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.