Removing Hex Bolts from Carb Mounting Plate

  • Thread starter Thread starter laverlesmains
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laverlesmains

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Morning All

Rebuilding the carbs on my 3C.    There are 6 3mm hex screws holding the carbs to the mounting plate and they seem to be glued in place..  Any tips for removal?    The area is a bit too tiny for a blowtorch to heat the buggers up.

Thanks, Tim
 
Can be an SOB job.
If the hex rounds off the only recourse is to drill them out.
And if the stub is not for moving in the carb body afterwards then you are stuffed.

If I was you I would soak them in penetrant (not WD40) overnight and maybe carefully apply heat (hot air gun). If you use a blowtorch then make sure there is no petrol vapour around.
Also use a quality Allen key as some of the cheapies are not such a good fit.
HTH
 
put the carbs in your lap, you should be sitting down
get a punch and hammer, give all the hex screws a couple of sharp whacks, loosens them up
try again with good quality allen key
at least a few will be loose now, whack the rest again

 
To add to what the others have said, using an allen socket will help by reducing any side load and letting you apply downward force while you turn it. For those 3mm ones I use a very short allen socket[about 5mm long] to eliminate flexing the key and
I grind the tip to be as sharp as possible on its edges for a good bite.
 
thanks for the suggestions...  I'll find a 3mm socket and have a whack at it tomorrow.
 
And once the hex is rounded, whack in the next larger torx bit.

They all give up... eventually.

piet

BTW, "Schraubendoktor" is simply coarse valve grinding paste filled in tiny tubes and sold at 20 times the price of the original product. :o
 
put the carbs in your lap, you should be sitting down
get a punch and hammer, give all the hex screws a couple of sharp whacks, loosens them up
try again with good quality allen key
at least a few will be loose now, whack the rest again
Click to expand...

I found the punch could slip and deform the hex slot...  so I put it down and thought about it for a couple of days (the one skill I've picked up as I've aged)...

So today I figured I use a 6mm socket  -  roughly the size of the bolt head without the risk of mucking up the slot.  Gave each of them a good couple of whacks and they all came out using a good allen key !  Woo hoo.  Success

Thanks for the tips.

Cheers, Tim
 
Remember the old fitters adage 'if in doubt give it a clout' and 'if it won't go give it a blow'.

I notice that some of my 3mm carb bolts are 'pre-rounded' to give that authentic touch.
When the time comes to remove them I will replace them with similar bolts with larger hexagon socket, you can buy the better versions if you look around.
We have the same problem at work with almost identical screws, can't change the design as they have to be certified as the same (nuclear).
In addition to the other fixes if the hex is totally stuffed a good whack with a centre punch in an anti-clockwise direction near the outer diameter does a very good job as well - works every time.
 
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