cant remove a bolt from my car

[otispunkmeyer]

im trying to put some new headlamps on my car

but i cant get this bolt out.
it turns pretty much freely in the hole, you can turn it clock or anti clock but it doesnt screw in or out, just spins round. i tried to grease it up with WD40, then i tried to lever it out and pull it with some pliers....no go.



the one on the passenger side is fine, looks newer too, furthering my conclusion that the previous owner probably crashed the car a bit then fixed it up on the sly then didnt tell me when he sold it. hence no record of the car being in a prang.

 

[iamwiz82]

Two possibilities:

1. It's an adjustment screw and it's not meant to come out.

2. The nut on the other end of the sheetmetal there has either broken it's weld or perhaps it's just a straight nut. Can you get to it from the other side?

EDIT: You will probably have to pull the fender lining to get to the other side.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Two possibilities:

1. It's an adjustment screw and it's not meant to come out.

2. The nut on the other end of the sheetmetal there has either broken it's weld or perhaps it's just a straight nut. Can you get to it from the other side?

EDIT: You will probably have to pull the fender lining to get to the other side.

its definitely not 1. the same bolt on the other lamp comes right out no prob

it is meant to come out.

i dont think i can get to the other side no, so yeah i might be looking at removing the front wing to get to the frame where i think its screwed in.

on the other lamp, actually, that bolt screws into a kinda plastic sleeve thing, like those things you use when you drill holes in brick walls when you then want to mount something with a screw.

 

[IGBT]

..if it's not an adjustment screw then it's failing to thread the nut behind it. Try grabbing it with a pair of vise grips and pulling while slowly rotating. Once it starts to thread you should be able to put a socket on it and finish threading it out.

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer

Originally posted by: iamwiz82
Two possibilities:

1. It's an adjustment screw and it's not meant to come out.

2. The nut on the other end of the sheetmetal there has either broken it's weld or perhaps it's just a straight nut. Can you get to it from the other side?

EDIT: You will probably have to pull the fender lining to get to the other side.

its definitely not 1. the same bolt on the other lamp comes right out no prob

it is meant to come out.

i dont think i can get to the other side no, so yeah i might be looking at removing the front wing to get to the frame where i think its screwed in.

Then the weld nut, nut sert or J clip (or whatever that manufacturer calls them) probably broke and it's now spinning freely. From the pics, I cannot imagine not being able to get to that through the wheel well.

 

[radioouman]

just put a flat blade screwdriver under it while you are turning and slowly lift it out.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: radioouman
just put a flat blade screwdriver under it while you are turning and slowly lift it out.

ill try those at the weekend then. if not ill try getting at it from under the wheel well

 

[iamwiz82]

Originally posted by: radioouman
just put a flat blade screwdriver under it while you are turning and slowly lift it out.

The problem will then be re-attaching it.

 

[jemcam]

Note the overspray that is on one side but not the other. At the very least, the fender and/or hood on that side of the car has been painted previously.

That being said, there is probably a cage nut on the inside of the fender that has broken loose. You can do one of two things:

1. get a die grinder or dremel tool and carefully cut off the head of the bolt.
2. Remove the fender liner or inner fender splash shield and reach up with pliers or vise grips and hold it while you remove the bolt.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

Originally posted by: jemcam
Note the overspray that is on one side but not the other. At the very least, the fender and/or hood on that side of the car has been painted previously.

That being said, there is probably a cage nut on the inside of the fender that has broken loose. You can do one of two things:

1. get a die grinder or dremel tool and carefully cut off the head of the bolt.
2. Remove the fender liner or inner fender splash shield and reach up with pliers or vise grips and hold it while you remove the bolt.

im not sure what you are commenting on with the paint? do you mean the side where i think its been repaired on the sly has over spray? could you point it out to me?

i have a dremel so this would be prime time to use it. for once

 

[radioouman]

Originally posted by: iamwiz82

Originally posted by: radioouman
just put a flat blade screwdriver under it while you are turning and slowly lift it out.

The problem will then be re-attaching it.

If it just screwed into sheetmetal, he can just get the next size larger
But if there is a nut on the backside that has come unwelded, he'll have to get something to hold that nut while unscrewing......

 

[jemcam]

In your first link in your original post, the black tab has some silver overspray on it. I don't see the overspray on the other side, the part is all black with no paint on it.

Sorry, pics.bbzzdd.com is blocked for me at work or I would download the picture and put some circles around the part I"m talking about.

It's the black tab that the bolt is holding on that you're trying to remove.



The link that says "this bolt" has silver overspray on the black tab. The side that says "passenger side" does not have silver paint on it. It didn't come that way from the factory because those plastic parts are not on the car when they're painted from the factory.
Hell, for that matter, it looks like all the bolts have been removed in that photo judging by the rust on them. Compare them to the other side and notice how much cleaner the bolts are. When you put a wrench on a painted bolt, the paint gets broken and where the paint is broken, it will eventually rust. It's a dead giveaway for when body work has been done.
Also, notice the bolt on the lower right hand side of the photo, notice how the bolt head has some rust on the corners? That indicates it's been removed previously, another dead giveaway that the fender has been removed.

 

[Paperdoc]

Do what radioouman says. Work a flat screwdriver behind the bolt head or behind the plastic tab of the headlight fitting. Put your wrench on the bolt head and unscrew, using the screwdriver to push it away from the fender. VERY likely the threads it is into (metal or plastic insert) are stripped and this process will let you turn it out by sort-of grabbing on to a bit of threads.

When done, either buy a new plastic insert at an auto parts place, or just use a larger self-tapping bolt. The trickier technique would be to use a new matching bolt and nut ONLY IF you can reach into the fender and get behind it where the bolt goes. Then you have two choices: Just thread the bolt into the nut and tighten (helps to have a lock washer on the nut side so it does not turn as you tighten). Or, use epoxy cement to glue the nut into just the right spot inside the fender and wait for it to set. Then it's like a pemanent threaded hole for the bolt.

 

[Kelemvor]

Originally posted by: radioouman
just put a flat blade screwdriver under it while you are turning and slowly lift it out.

That's what I was thinking as well. And see if the headlight still seems secure without that particular bolt in there or if that one is really important. If you can't get it back in you can try to get one of the plastic clips that just pops in and out instead of needing to be screwed in/out. Might work in its place.

 

[ArchCenturion]

Maybe you could try putting some vicegrips on it, and then drilling it out. Im not to knowledgeable on car hardware though, the steel might be too hard unless you got some good hard sharp bits.

Its another idea though.

Also like others have said, just grind, or cut off the head, and then push the rod out the ther way.

 

[jemcam]

Originally posted by: Paperdoc
Do what radioouman says. Work a flat screwdriver behind the bolt head or behind the plastic tab of the headlight fitting. Put your wrench on the bolt head and unscrew, using the screwdriver to push it away from the fender. VERY likely the threads it is into (metal or plastic insert) are stripped and this process will let you turn it out by sort-of grabbing on to a bit of threads.

When done, either buy a new plastic insert at an auto parts place, or just use a larger self-tapping bolt. The trickier technique would be to use a new matching bolt and nut ONLY IF you can reach into the fender and get behind it where the bolt goes. Then you have two choices: Just thread the bolt into the nut and tighten (helps to have a lock washer on the nut side so it does not turn as you tighten). Or, use epoxy cement to glue the nut into just the right spot inside the fender and wait for it to set. Then it's like a pemanent threaded hole for the bolt.

I've been in and out of the autobody repair business most of my life. Fenders are usually held on with cage nuts. The cage has broken and the nut is simply spinning when you turn the bolt. You can either cut off the head of the nolt or somehow try to get a grip on the back of the nut. The quicker easier way is to cut off the head of the bolt. Putting a screw back in there with a plastic insert is a real mickey mouse repair job.

When you do that you end up with a car that looks like PAB's Rustang he was so proud of. Looks fine to an amateur but anyone with any sense (including used car managers who determine the value of the car when you trade it in) won't give much money for it because it can and usually will think there are other mickey mouse hack repair jobs done on the car and they know they can't put it on their lot. Subsequently, they know they can only send the car to auction because it's not even fit for their back row and they give you nothing when you want to sell it.

Choice is up to you but the kind of suggestions that have been given looke like hell.