P500 Skid Plate Install - Rivnuts or Self Tapping?

[906UP]

Good excuse to buy a welder Kevin!!!

 

[Admin]

 

[futzin]

Good excuse to buy a welder Kevin!!!

I have plenty of paper weights. No clue how that would help here! 🤣

 

[The Green Goat]

It can't put up much of a fight if it's liquid.

Time for a torch.

 

[futzin]

I have an Aim Flame . . .

 

[NTCPrezJB]

I have an Aim Flame . . .

Have any rzr friends? Park close to one of them. It’s a matter of time. 🤣

 

[futzin]

So I'm assuming you guys are suggesting melting the one broken bolt? If I was familiar with alternatives i wouldn't be asking. I take it y'all don't subscribe to the 'there are no stupid questions' mentality. 😑

Suggestions for the other boogered up mount?

TIA

 

[Red500]

On the one you where able to drill out id run a tap thru to see if you can't clean up the threads. I don't know about the other one.

 

[futzin]

On the one you where able to drill out id run a tap thru to see if you can't clean up the threads. I don't know about the other one.

Thanks. Never used a tap. Am I looking for one that says M6?

Yeah, I'm ignorant.

 

[Red500]

Thanks. Never used a tap. Am I looking for one that says M6?

Yeah, I'm ignorant.

M6 sounds about right, but I'm not sure. Take one of them to Lowe's Depot they should have a thing (can't think of what you'd call it) to check the size.

 

[The Green Goat]

I don't have my machine near me to look, but what do these 2 main center bolts screw into? Is it a factory thread or one you drilled in during the initial install?

My assumption is that if it was originally an M6, and then you drilled it out, you would have to go up in size to get it to work if you planned on rethreading it. Depending upon what is behind it, you might be better off just to use a plus-nut since you already have them.

 

[Red500]

I don't have my machine near me to look, but what do these 2 main center bolts screw into? Is it a factory thread or one you drilled in during the initial install?

My assumption is that if it was originally an M6, and then you drilled it out, you would have to go up in size to get it to work if you planned on rethreading it. Depending upon what is behind it, you might be better off just to use a plus-nut since you already have them.

I was thinking that you had been able to get the bolt remnants out. He is correct if you actually drilled the threads.

 

[futzin]

two of the factory mount bolts snapped.

the removed broken bolt: used progressively larger drill bits to drill it out. tried not to booger up the female threads, but I must have. tried to run in a fresh M6 bolt which only smoothed the beginning threads on the bolt. pretty sure no remaining bolt material in there.

the remaining stuck broken bolt: after the extractor bit snapped, I figured I could drill all that out with progressive size bits as well, but not having a 'bit' of luck.

Stuff like this that is second hand to others, but completely foreign to me, really frustrates me and makes me short tempered which I'm not that good at controlling. I do appreciate help.

[ don't understand how a welder, which I think joins metals together, would help. Also, does a ??-powered torch melt the bolt material, but not the framing or surrounding threaded mount material? Not being obtuse, I simply don't know ].

These are M6 bolts.

On the positive side, I have mounted 11 plus nuts without much fuss in the non-threaded locations.


Time for bourbon and basketball . . . thank you again for those with the time and inclination to help.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

the removed broken bolt: used progressively larger drill bits to drill it out. tried not to booger up the female threads, but I must have. tried to run in a fresh M6 bolt which only smoothed the beginning threads on the bolt. pretty sure no remaining bolt material in there.

the remaining stuck broken bolt: after the extractor bit snapped, I figured I could drill all that out with progressive size bits as well, but not having a 'bit' of luck.

Stuff like this that is second hand to others, but completely foreign to me, really frustrates me and makes me short tempered which I'm not that good at controlling. I do appreciate help.

[ don't understand how a welder, which I think joins metals together, would help. Also, does a ??-powered torch melt the bolt material, but not the framing or surrounding threaded mount material? Not being obtuse, I simply don't know ].

These are M6 bolts.

On the positive side, I have mounted 11 plus nuts without much fuss in the non-threaded locations.


Time for bourbon and basketball . . . thank you again for those with the time and inclination to help.

Welder does melt metal together. The application here would be to weld a nut onto the broken bolt and then have the ability to back it out.

The torch…sort of a joke amongst mechanics. Yes it melts metal into liquid if you get absolutely crazy with it. If you merely apply heat you can use minor expansion of the metal to break a bolt loose.

Frustrations…that’s normal working on 💩 that isn’t cooperating. You’re more of a mechanic than you realize. A five minute job quickly turns into hours when that f***er Murphey shows up.

 

[The Green Goat]

the removed broken bolt: used progressively larger drill bits to drill it out. tried not to booger up the female threads, but I must have. tried to run in a fresh M6 bolt which only smoothed the beginning threads on the bolt. pretty sure no remaining bolt material in there.

the remaining stuck broken bolt: after the extractor bit snapped, I figured I could drill all that out with progressive size bits as well, but not having a 'bit' of luck.

Stuff like this that is second hand to others, but completely foreign to me, really frustrates me and makes me short tempered which I'm not that good at controlling. I do appreciate help.

[ don't understand how a welder, which I think joins metals together, would help. Also, does a ??-powered torch melt the bolt material, but not the framing or surrounding threaded mount material? Not being obtuse, I simply don't know ].

These are M6 bolts.

On the positive side, I have mounted 11 plus nuts without much fuss in the non-threaded locations.


Time for bourbon and basketball . . . thank you again for those with the time and inclination to help.

Ah, missed the factory bolt part. Sorry bout that.

So in regards to the first bolt, you probably have a few options:
1. Drill it out to a larger size and re-tap it; probably m8
2. Say F' it, and use a Plus-Nut
3. Depending upon how much material there is to work with, and if you are set on keeping it an M6, you could drill it out and re-tap as in Step 1, and then put a helicoil in it, but that's awfully involved for a project like this.

Regarding the 2nd broken bolt. Did you break off a hardened bolt extractor? Like one of the square, or left-twist deals? If so, you'll play hell trying to drill that out, since those are hardened. This is where the welder comes in handy. Essentially, you'd attempt to weld something onto the bolt itself so you can turn it with a wrench and extract it that way. The process of welding something onto it also has the benefit of heating the crap out of it and breaking any crud loose as well as causing the surrounding metal to expand, loosening it up. An oxy-acetylene torch might be helpful depending on what's around it and how surgical you could be with it. The basic concept is, heat up the bolt and cut it out of there if you can. You'll probably have some collateral damage though doing this.

Have some bourbon, enjoy some basketball, and snap us some pics if you get a minute.

 

[futzin]

...no exposed threads, no way to attach a nut

 

[trigger]

I've been there before. Snapped off the extractor in it too. I drilled the b!tch out and put a bigger bolt in. You need some taps.

 

[futzin]

Calipari's bane: a well coached team...

 

[futzin]

I've been there before. Snapped off the extractor in it too. I drilled the b!tch out and put a bigger bolt in. You need some taps.

Would LOVE to drill that mess out!

 

[futzin]

Drill bits just sliding around, won't bite

 

[Coeus]

Drill bits just sliding around, won't bite

You try a center punch?