robw01

Same story here. I managed to get mine out with hex keys, but it took heavy duty work gloves and my feet braced against the garage wall!

JRM

To be totally honest, if you wash your motor alot your going to find out that the allen head bolts right around the top 1/3 are rusty. Probally a good cure for this is to put a small rubber o-ring on each of the bolts or a fiber washer. I wash my engine every time I wash the outside and mine were rusty. Make sure that you clean them off really good before you put them back in. I stripped the black finish off mine by dipping them in limeaway. Once I got the rust and black finish off the bolts I degreased them and dipped them in Birchwood Case Gun Blue. Put a light coat of oil on them and dipped the threads in vasoline and reinstalled them.

The gunblue works really well to seal the metal and it restores the black blue finish to the bolts.

Cheers

Jeff

PS. An old aircraft mechanic trick. Take some canned air for the computer turn the can upside down and spray each of the bolts until they are iced over. Put you wrench back on and tap the top with a hammer. This should free the threads. Apply pressure and gently try to tighten the bolt. This will unlock the threads then it should be easier to back out.

chroot

Jeez JRM,

You're even more anal than me.

Good suggestions, thanks.

- Warren

DouglaS2000

Man, and I thought I was the only one who had this problem. I didn't even have the correct sized allen key but I managed to remove the little bolts for the sparkplug cover after much work. Basically, you can try tightening the bolts first or do what I did to loosen them. Just insert key and give short bursts of pressure to the key to avoid bending it and stripping the bolt. This will loosen it little by little and then SNAP, the bolts will come loose. Don't apply brute force all at once as it will bend the tool and possibly strip the bolt itself.

gregstevens

Well, mine came out without a problem...and btw, I'm glad that you are checking the plugs. While I can't explain the failure, I think it all started because of the spark plug backing out. I'll be posting some pretty amazing photos tonight. But the plug was badly burned, broken and bent, even...

Anyway, I think you all are missing the most obvious solution...how about a simple pipe to extend the length of the key to give you better torque?

chroot

greg,

I'm not entirely sure it would help. Tremendous torque does little good when you can't keep the tool straight in the head of the bolt. I think the best solution is definitely to throw the hex keys out the window, trying to hit as many squirrels as possible on the way down, then going to Sears to buy some real tools. I'm going to do this tonight. I'm rather concerned about how to "fix" my somewhat rounded bolt though. I'm not entirely sure I understand how to use a center punch to fix it.

I think I may go all out... buy a new drill (my old one is ready to die), a Craftsman Screw-Out Screw Remover Set, some anti-seize compound, and some new aluminum standard hex-head bolts. My car is not handy at the moment, but I wonder if I can fit some small standard hex bolts in there with enough clearance to fit a socket on them.

I've grown tired of hex keys and those stupid black bolts altogether. It's just a damned cover.

Am I taking the right path?

- Warren

Greece_S2000

Apply some WD-40 and let it sit for couple of hours. Warm up your engine (most important). Use a needle and a hammer and tap the head of the screw several times, don't use exsesive force just give the screw some shocks. Finally use the "remover" tool or force in an oversize Torx.
Hope everything turns out fine.

jschmidt

Came out fine with my quality T-handle wrench. They were much too tight and I did shock the bolts with the wrench. A little anti-sneeze for next time and good to go. BTW, the plugs were fine.

JRM-- Your anal retentive approach is catching. You'd have loved to see me out there with my Sharpie, painting the hex heads.

cmnsnse

Temperature is an excellent way to persuade, it will contract the threads on the bolt and actually expand the hole.

You might want to try slotting the heads with a dremel or rotary tool before and then use an impact screwdriver with a flat head tip after freezing them.

I was pulling a flange off a compressor shaft and it had welded itself together, freezing the assembly worked to separate it. That was after I broke the flange with a puller

Utah S2K

Physics 101 as explained by Utah:

The block is aluminum and the bolt is steel. The bolt either screws directly in or has an insert (helicoil) in the block. Standard Manufacturing practice would say there exists the insert and it is installed in the block with zinc di-chromate or other sealer. This prevents galvanic corrosion between the steel and aluminum parts (noted incorrectly as electrolysis elsewhere). So our bolt is steel on steel (as the helicoil is steel) and not the same steel or we could get galling. Why an insert? In addition to preventing galvanic corrosion it also has a much coarser thread biting the aluminum....which prevents stripping out of the block. Think of a helicoil as as a "spring" as it looks similar. Now for the physics:

Steel has a coefficient of Expansion of 11 X 10 -6
Aluminum has a coefficient of expansion of 26 X 10 -6

So hot or cold the aluminum moves twice as much regardless of feature size (the actual equation is Delta L= (LxAlpha) x (Delta T).....where T=Temp, L=Length and Alpha = Coefficient of Material).

Remember also a bolt has 4 flank angles which is why plating thickness is critical. A few extra 10th's of anodize on the motor and the bolts will be tighter or looser from lot to lot.

In short.......warm up the motor to 3 bars. Try to remove the bolts. Too tight. Wait 5 minutes and try again.....and again....and again. In theory the bolts should come out "cold" at room temperature....but if they bind....heat up the motor and they should come out easily.

Utah

P.S. Sorry about the length but I can't take all the conjecture......(i.e. do it hot/do it cold).