Rounded and Broken Bolts

[packman]

What do you do when you have a bolt with a rounded off head? I am attempting to remove what's left of my battery tray, but the 2 U-bolts that hold it to the core support are so corroded that they just round out no matter what I use. I have a Craftsman bolt remover that usually works, but this time, it digs into the bolt and removes material.

Packman

[Salty Dog]

I have a little pair of vice grips.

[packman]

A trip to Harbor Freight might be in order then. I had a small pair of vice grips that I broke in my youth. Never did replace them.

Packman

[jaywish]

Real Vise-Grip's, although made in China now, are still 1st quality tools. Same thing with some of the better Craftsman variants.

For heads that are already rounded I suggest the cured jaw models.

Also I can't remember the "u-bolt" you are talking about but would it come out if you cut the head off with a cutting wheel?

[sly]

keep using smaller and smaller rounder sockets until you get all the material removed... or cut off. The one on my 88 was so far gone that the bracket was cheese too... I just bent it out of the way and put in a plastic tray.

[packman]

My apologies; U-nut, they clip to body panels and they have bolts that thread into them. That's a good suggestion; I will probably go the grinding route and drill out whatever I didn't get to.

Packman

[Tiggie]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000EF1EHY/ref=sxl1?ie=UTF8&qid=1467043898&sr=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

Bought a set of these for the exact reason you need them. Worked perfect.

[packman]

^^^^That's what my Craftmans set is; but for a ratchet wrench. The smallest socket in that set fit tightly, but it ended up removing material and further rounded the bolt. A 7mm socket is too small unless I really pound it in there with a hammer. At this point, I think Mr. Grinder has to come out to play.

[sly]

you gotta keep em separated...