Page 1 of 1

Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 11:58 am
by JeepNorris
Accepting solutions / recommendations to get the last intake manifold bolt loose with a rounded head.
Here's what I've done so far:

-soaked the area w/ PB Blaster
-used box wrench
-used adjustable wrench
-applied heat and used vice grips

Dumbass engineers molded the carb support in the worst spot for accessing this bolt. :banghead:

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:13 pm
by tgreese
The Bolt-Out sockets work really well. You'll need enough space around the bolt to accommodate the Bolt-Out socket.
https://www.amazon.com/Craftsman-Piece- ... B007C6KLMC

Or, you can put a carbide bit in your die grinder and grind off the head of the bolt. Then with the manifold off, grab the remaining bolt with vice grips to turn it out.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:17 pm
by tgreese
If it's totally inaccessible except from the side, you can possible grab it with vice grip pliers and turn it a little. Pick pliers that fit in the space that you have.

Or use a cold chisel, and rotate the bolt by hitting the face of the hex from an angle to rotate the bolt CCW. If you can get it to turn a little, you might then be able to continue turning with vice grips with a narrow head.

The Knipex Cobra pliers are great, and may be able to get in there from the side. The Knipex pliers wrench is excellent too.
https://www.amazon.com/knipex-cobra-pli ... n%3A228013
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=knipex+plier ... _sb_noss_1

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 12:28 pm
by 1978J10REDWHITE
Isolate fuel lines - remove Carb, isolate anything like wires , etc first etc.
If you haven’t used a larger set of vice grips to pinch bolt head try that.
Else, Then, heat it up, us a a torch on it, maybe 5-10 seconds worth, as it cools, squirt again with blaster , grip head with vice grips, while its fairly hot and twist, TIGHTEN direction first then loosen , back & forth little but till it turns and can be worked Out.

Secondly, tack weld a another NUT on it and use it to turn. Perhaps do This very first if room allows??
Else you might need to twist its head OFF, remove manifold to get a good grip on it.
Hopefully bolt will not break off in heads, ifs it does you still can put a nut over the stud, Tack weld it on and 99.9% change Then she will remove by thread.

There are vid on YT guys doing the weld on nut bolt removal you van watch to get idea from.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 2:12 pm
by Stuka
There are a few solutions. The bolt off sockets and welding a nut on mentioned above are both good ones.

As a last resort, you cut the head of the bolt off so that you can get the intake off. Once the intake is off, there should be enough sticking out of the head to get vice grips on it or a bolt off socket and break it loose (if still needed once tension is gone) and remove it.

I would avoid trying to break the head off though.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:59 pm
by letank
the space is so tight that if you cut off the bolt head, the leftover stud may prevent you from lifting up the manifold... upon reassembly aligning all holes is almost a puzzle...

Removing the hood is the best way to tackle the intake manifold removal and installation

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 8:10 pm
by Stuka
letank wrote: Mon Jun 07, 2021 4:59 pm the space is so tight that if you cut off the bolt head, the leftover stud may prevent you from lifting up the manifold... upon reassembly aligning all holes is almost a puzzle...

Removing the hood is the best way to tackle the intake manifold removal and installation
Its tough to bolt down because the bolts on both sides are at angles. So you have to squish it down evenly to get the bolts started. But with all the other bolts remove, it doesn't have to come straight up, he could lift the passenger side first and it will come right off.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2021 10:16 pm
by marc
friend told me about this but I have not yet tried it. After torching thr manifold, try melting paraffin into the threads while they are hot. Looking to try it on seized exhaust check valves.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:03 am
by tgreese
The first thing I'd try is a 6-point box end or combination wrench, and then drive it onto the bolt head with a hammer. It's got to be a 6-point type. A 12-point box, open-end or adjustable (especially!) will only bite the corners of the bolt head and they will round off. The 6-point wrench will push on the flats of the hex as well as the points. Once the wrench is fully seated on the bolt, hit the extended end of the wrench with a hammer to loosen. A hefty pipe cheater may also help.

A 14 mm wrench is slightly smaller than a 9/16" bolt (9/16" = 14.2875 mm). I would also try to drive a 6-point 14 mm box end wrench onto the bolt. Use a drift and a proper hammer (say a 16 oz ball peen or engineers hammer). Wear safety glasses. Then do the hammer and cheater routine.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 9:22 am
by j10builder
All are good ideas. I want to take a minute to say how great it is that there is all this knowledge willing to help at a moments notice when someone hits a wall with a challenge. If only there was an internet when I was younger! Knowledge is hard gained and the fact that there is so much experience willing to be selflessly shared is exactly why forums like this are truly special and amazing. Patience, PB Blaster and an occasional whack with a good hammer to free that stuff up. Don't get in too much of a rush (that's my contribution). Good excuse to buy a new tool too.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 10:43 am
by marc
Something that I have had success with is wrapping a small piece of cloth or other absorbent material tightly around the base of the bolt and saturating it with PB Blaster. Over the course of several days repeatedly lightly tap the bolt and resaturate the cloth. Tapping is to set up vibrations in the bolt to aid the PB Blaster not to knock the bolt loose. It might take several days but I have moved some stubborn seizures that way. The cloth acts as resasvoir for the PBB.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2021 1:41 pm
by letank
tgreese wrote: Tue Jun 08, 2021 7:03 am A 14 mm wrench is slightly smaller than a 9/16" bolt (9/16" = 14.2875 mm). I would also try to drive a 6-point 14 mm box end wrench onto the bolt. Use a drift and a proper hammer (say a 16 oz ball peen or engineers hammer). Wear safety glasses. Then do the hammer and cheater routine.
Very useful hint, another size: 5/16" and 8mm is good alternate, especially as some of the overseas manufacturing specs are sometimes a bit off

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Sun Jun 13, 2021 6:49 pm
by 1978J10REDWHITE
Status update??

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Mon Jun 14, 2021 12:49 pm
by will e
I would install and torque down the other intake manifold bolts too. This might give help ease up on your bolt just a bit. It certainly can't hurt to do so.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2021 6:38 am
by threepiece
Yes, some good suggestion here but I didn’t see where someone indicated using s small hammer.

Too often the belief is bigger is better but this is not the case when loosening screws. When impacting a screw using a punch, chisel or wrench a light hammer usually works better. This because much of the energy from a relatively slow moving heavy hammer is absorbed in the surrounding structure. A lighter hammer moving at higher speed can have nearly as much or more energy. Because of the difference in mass, more energy will be transmitted into the screw where it is needed.

The principal is the same as forging metal with hammer and anvil. A heavier anvil is alway better. Try hammering on a 10 pound anvil with a 16 pound hammer.

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:13 pm
by JeepNorris
Sorry for the delayed update on this thread as I was called back to Texas for a family emergency. I was able to get the bolt off by soaking it with PB blaster and then driving a flat head screw driver into one side of the bolt head at a 45 degree angle, creating a slot in the head. Then rotated the same screwdriver so when tapped it would back the bolt out (counter clockwise).

Thanks again for all the help!

Re: Stripped Intake Manifold bolt - HELP

Posted: Thu Jul 08, 2021 12:29 pm
by Stuka
Glad you got it out!