Where to buy wrench for round socket head screw?

[marcorod]

I was trying to remove these screws to upgrade to stainless. One side came off painlessly but these f*ckers both decided to become round.

 

I tried spraying some WD-40 to try see if they'd loosen up a bit but no dice. Any suggestions from the pros?

[Beuphonium]

As it would be difficult to slot those for extraction with an impact driver, that leaves just a couple options:

 

1) Hammer in a piece of the next-upsized allen key, remove with impact driver.

 

2) drill, and attempt to use a (not so) e-z out (the type that have the cross pattern have worked better for me in the past than the ones that look like left hand drills), pound in and attempt to extract. I tend to stay away from these only because once you break them off inside the bolt you're trying to remove then you're REALLY up a creek.

 

3) Very carefully drill with a bit ever so slightly larger than the diameter of the bolt itself... once you get through the head, the bracket will come off and you can then remove the leftover stud by slotting, or any other convenient method.

 

I have just had the same issue with the bolts on the oil cooler bracket on my V11. One came out, the other stripped. In my case though I am able to slot the screw head and try and remove with the impact driver.

 

By impact driver in this case I mean the manual one... air works even better if you have it but my small 3/8" drive hand held impact driver is worth its weight in gold, especially thousands of miles from my garage where I have access to air tools

[Admin Jaap]

I solved a similiar problem by grinding down the next size bit and hammer it in.

[Guest ratchethack]

I've been a broken record on this but it seems to bear repeating every time this comes up.

 

On the off-chance you've used Craftsman allen wrenches, may I recommend throwing them away and replacing them with a quality set of high grade tool steel. The Craftsman allens are notoriously undersized (as well as soft, IMHO), and will wreak the same havoc elsewhere on your Guzzi as long as you have them.

 

FWIW, I sent an email to Sears on this awhile back and received a standard boilerplate, "thank you for your input. . ." reply.

 

EDIT: In my email to Sears, I'd observed that this has been true of every Craftsman allen set I've ever seen or used my entire life -- even their T-handle sets. . . I also noted that I've been obliged to buy alternative allens sets elsewhere that are sized properly and work perfectly, and that I've recommend to many friends that they do the same. . .

[mike wilson]

Once you have them out and are installing the SS, don't forget to use copious amounts of antisieze on them. It's a bit of a pain if you need to torque them but the alternative is unappealing.

[Guest Mattress]

I've been a broken record on this but it seems to bear repeating every time this comes up.

 

On the off-chance you've used Craftsman allen wrenches, may I recommend throwing them away and replacing them with a quality set of high grade tool steel. The Craftsman allens are notoriously undersized (as well as soft, IMHO), and will wreak the same havoc elsewhere on your Guzzi as long as you have them.

 

FWIW, I sent an email to Sears on this awhile back and received a standard boilerplate, "thank you for your input. . ." reply.

 

EDIT: In my email to Sears, I'd observed that this has been true of every Craftsman allen set I've ever seen or used my entire life -- even their T-handle sets. . . I also noted that I've been obliged to buy alternative allens sets elsewhere that are sized properly and work perfectly, and that I've recommend to many friends that they do the same. . .

 

Yep. With these fasteners it pays to buy a better brand IMHO. Can't remember name brands, but you don't have to go to snap-on and their $$.

 

My set of L-shaped allen keys bought in Germany and made in Germany fit better than the craftsman.

[Guest Mattress]

Wait a minute. Are you messing with us? I just read a thread a bit farther down where you are trying to get a cross-over bolt loose with a "cresent wrench". {sure you don't mean an adjustable spanner or monkey wrench?}

 

I can respect that you might have a modest budget to work with but it would behoove you to beg, borrow, steal a good quality set of tools. Quality tools will cost you more than the junk peddled at PepBoys, Wallmart, etc. But you don't need to go as expensive as Snap-on level tools and you don't have to buy new. Try: Craigs List, Estate Sales (grandpa's favorite), pawn shops. Good hand tools are fine to buy used.

 

Otherwise, maybe you'd be better off having a mechanic do your work before you bust something expensive and hard to find on the Guzzi.

[Guest ratchethack]

Wait a minute. Are you messing with us? I just read a thread a bit farther down where you are trying to get a cross-over bolt loose with a "cresent wrench". {sure you don't mean an adjustable spanner or monkey wrench?}

Hey Mattress. If you keep reading the crossover thread, you'll find that he actually used a combination wrench made by the Crescent Tool Mfg. Co., and the usual confusion over the name, "Crescent wrench" is mentioned by Y'ers Truly.

[Guest Mattress]

Hey Mattress. If you keep reading the crossover thread, you'll find that he actually used a combination wrench made by the Crescent Tool Mfg. Co., and the usual confusion over the name, "Crescent wrench" is mentioned by Y'ers Truly.

Oops I didn't continue reading the thread. I didn't have anything useful to say except scrounge some tools.

 

Ah. I forgot about that. Nice catch. In the midwest - at least - a cresent wrench means a specific hand tool with a variable jaw used for the sole purpose of roughing the planar faces of polygon fasteners into variable radii curves.

 

With enough practice a skilled user can produce a nut or bolt head with an exact cresent appearance..

[macguzzi]

try hammering in a torx you will find better grip on the remaining edges