Help before I do something stupid

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1993 ST 1100
I'm replacing the fork seals in my '93 ST1100. The left leg was straightforward and was easily done. However, the right leg is being a PITA. I put my allen wrench into the bolt's hex head and gave it a quick snap, trying to break it loose. Instead of breaking loose, the wrench came a bit out and rounded out the hex head. It was like I had used an SAE allen wrench on a metric bolt, but no, I was using a 6mm allen wrench. The bolt did not budge apparently due to being overtightened previously or else there was some thread lock on it, I don't know which.

Can I maybe use an impact wrench here? I canget my allen wrench into the hex bolt and then tap it with a hammer to re-seat it into the bolt as I didn't attempt to do any more damage once I had the rounded out hex head.

Or do I need to take apart the top of the spring to remove it and then jam a broom stick into the unit while trying to remove the bolt?

Thanks for all replies.

Larry
 
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I always use an impact wrench on that bolt but have still rounded out more than one hex hole. And, yes, it's loktited from the factory.

I have an old 6mm socket with a long length of 6mm hex wrench glued into it. Works a charm on the 1/4" drive butterfly wrench. Almost always works.

If not, drill the head off, it's not a big deal. Once the head is off (6mm drill bit) the shaft of the bolt will thread right out. Replacement graded bolts available at yur local Ace or True Value.
 

mlheck

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Here is something to try before you start drilling. Take the round red end of a ballpeen hammer and lay it agaisnt the the Allen head of the bolt. Now smack the the other side of the ballpeen hammer with another hammer. This will force the rounded out part of the bolt back down into the bolt head, helping to restore the original shape. May also help in breaking the lock-tite loose. This doesn't always work, but has worked enough times at work to make it worth the try.
 

Firstpeke

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If it's the recessed bolt in the bottom of the fork leg, you won't get a ball-pein hammer anywhere near it.....

As others have said it can go well or badly...

Happened to me so I used a socket type allen wrench and ensured it was well seated before giving it a sharp whack with an impact driver, fortunately it came out....
 
OP
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1993 ST 1100
Here is something to try before you start drilling. Take the round red end of a ballpeen hammer and lay it agaisnt the the Allen head of the bolt. Now smack the the other side of the ballpeen hammer with another hammer. This will force the rounded out part of the bolt back down into the bolt head, helping to restore the original shape. May also help in breaking the lock-tite loose. This doesn't always work, but has worked enough times at work to make it worth the try.
Unfortunately, it is the recessed bolt in the bottom of the fork leg, so no, I can't get a ball peen hammer head in there.
 
OP
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Would it work to heat the bolt before going any further to maybe help loosen the lock tite?
 

Highrider

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There is a trick that I use that works most of the time which I learned from an auto mechanic friend; before you attempt to loosen the bolt, take a flat punch that fits inside of the hex and give it 2 or 3 good impact hits with a hammer. This usually shocks the bolt to give up the initial grip and it works better and easier than applying heat. It does not matter what the bolt is holding or how solid the components are, this works 90% of the time on bolts that are tough to remove. Works on any type of fastener that is torqued too tight.
If the hex is rounded, you can use a smaller flat punch to push the steel back into the edge of the hex shape and hold a wrench. This punch activity is usually enough to loosen the bolt as well.
 

ST Gui

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When you replace those bolts do your just torque them or do you use some kind of thread lock as well?
 

John OoSTerhuis

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jerryvolkers

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I always use an impact wrench on that bolt but have still rounded out more than one hex hole. And, yes, it's loktited from the factory.

I have an old 6mm socket with a long length of 6mm hex wrench glued into it. Works a charm on the 1/4" drive butterfly wrench. Almost always works.

If not, drill the head off, it's not a big deal. Once the head is off (6mm drill bit) the shaft of the bolt will thread right out. Replacement graded bolts available at yur local Ace or True Value.
I had a bad experience using an industrial grade 9 metricbolt to replace the factory one I drilled out of my lower fork tube. My axelwould not fit in my forks because the head was too tall!
It was a chore to file down that hard bolt, let me tell you!It was a pleasant surprise later to find out that Honda still stocks parts forthe ST1100, so from now on I’m using factory fasteners on my 1999 ST1100.
 

Mark

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able to be spun with minimal effort. The head can't be backed out or pushed in further it just spins in place...
Karen, I have felt that 'spin' on one of my forks; but, it was the fork's 'inards' spinning... the bolt spun freely and felt like the bolt was not connected.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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Karen, if the lower fork bolt's head is indeed broken (separated from the rest of the bolt), just take the fork apart. The rest of the bolt will be sticking out of the bottom of the Fork Piston Assembly or Fork Damper, depending on which fork you're dealing with. You can then get a Vice-Grip or sumsuch on it. Buy new bolts and copper washers.

John
via iPhone 4S
 
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.. its just a spinning away. It broke off, I am sure of it. I felt it turn at least 1/4 turn before it gave a squeeky groan and then was able to be spun with minimal effort. The head can't be backed out or pushed in further it just spins in place...
If the head broke off wouldn't it have fallen out of the bottom of the fork? Sounds like its just spinning and you need to hit it with an impact wrench.
 
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Now I have to figure out how to stop the innards from spinning.
an air impact driver will usually break it loose with little effort (I had one that was stubborn and still spun with an air impact, but 99% of the time it will work). If you don't know someone who has one take it to any place where mechanics work and have them break it loose for you. It only takes them a second and they'll probably do it for free, or charge you a very small amount.
 
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Bringing this thread back to life. I have rounded off the hex bolt that sticks up vertically from the bottom into the lower fork tube. I was really careful, the left side came out without much trouble, but the right side decided that making it to 12 years old was old enough. It’s not so rounded that the hex socket freely spins in the bolt, but it won’t hold and I don’t want to screw it up further.

I’ve watched the YouTube videos on drilling it out and pounding in a Torx bit and other possible solutions, but am cautious and don’t want to damage the fork assembly. Before I do something stupid, based on the collective experience, am I best to bring the fork tube into a bike shop and plead for help? I’ll have to get a new bolt in any event, so a trip to the Honda dealer is in my future.
 
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Just drill it out, it's not that difficult. Use a 6mm or slightly smaller drill bit and drill until the head comes off. If you use a smaller bit (don't go too much smaller) you'll probably need to break the head off with a sharp hit from a small punch and hammer. Then you can u thread the stud.

Be careful when replacing that bolt, it's a special low head bolt so that the head sits deep enough to allow the axle to fit through. You can order new bolts through partzilla or might be able to grab one at a hardware store. Keep in mind it's also a special, non-standard length (I believe 27mm long) so keep that in mind when looking for a replacement. You may need to cut down a 30mm long bolt if it ends up being a bit too long.

Also remember to get new crush washers for those bolts, or at least recondition the old ones so they'll seal up real nice.
 
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Also, before drilling it definitely round out that head as much as you can. Will help get the drill bit nice and centered. No sense in trying not to damage it further, the bolt is already unusable at this point.
 

John OoSTerhuis

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Good advice above. Pretty sure it’s an 8mm bolt shaft so 8mm drill bit until you get the copper crushwasher shavings (but should be off then). One tip I didn’t know about is to stick the end of the fork slider into hot/near boiling water for a bit before trying again with a larger hex-bit or torx pounded in. Use an impact tool if you can, manual or powered. Good luck. You’re in good company, welcome to the club.

John
 
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