Try and smack this tophat bolt out or not?

Busted this suspension tophat bolt on the Boxste'. It's pressed into the plate. I asked three respected people for opinions as to whether I can bash it out from the top. Two said, "why not give it a try?" The third said "are you crazy?" and said all sorts of collateral damage could result. [He liked even less my idea of just drilling a new hole next to the bolt and putting in a new bolt. ] So, I put this out to the masses: Is the bolt also spot welded onto the plate? (I don't think so). If not, any idea whether a good smack with a punch will push it out? Or will I just end up bending the tophat plate? Yeah, I know, I should just replace the part, but if I can punch it out and put in a new bolt, that would be a lot easier. I tried drilling it out, but progress is so slow that it will take forever.

I would try to punch it out but first i would support it from the bottom with something substantial (long steel rod, etc). if you don't you will probably just bend the plate.

83 views and finally an opinion! Yeah, I was thinking the same.... try to support it from the bottom somehow. Maybe a piece of rebar. Still, someone must have an idea as to how tightly that bolt is press-fit into the plate, and if it is possible to punch it out.

Sometimes you just have to whack it and see what comes out.

Support the plate with a beefy socket from the underside and whack away

Why not remove the top hat first so you can put it in a vise or press? Sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and do it right...

My opinion differs. Those are hardened bolts and are made to basically never move given that they are the only three bolts holding the top of the suspension to the car. Given the difficulty of trying to punch that out, drill it out or taking a grinder to it, for the same amount of time it would take, I would remove the strut tower and replace with new.

I think step one is remove, then see if you can remove the bolt by hook or by crook and then realize you've wasted an afternoon and buy a replacement part.

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x2 but if you can remove the assembly first, that would be better. IIRC, these bolts are splined on the other end and pressed in to the plate. I've removed these types before on other cars by smacking it. Just make sure to reinforce the bottom as others said.

how did you break it with 19 lbs torque

I suspect it's his mad cornering skillz.

Buy a new top hat. Imagine if your mechanic busted that bolt and fixed it the way your suggesting. You'd never go back there (hopefully).

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Yeah, I know. Even so, can't help thinking that with a couple smacks, and in 30 seconds I'm good to go with a new bolt. Yeah, I figured ith was splined. If I go to the trouble of taking the assembly out, I will just replace the part. Jeez, didn't even get to 10 ft-lb... the bolt never eve got tight at all.... suddenly the top just popped off as I was tightening it.... #$#!@. This car has seen a lot of abuse by prior owners, so I suspect that it was cracked. Yeah, but I was teaching MacGyver how to MacGyver before he was even named MacGyver.

Try to tap it out - it's already busted, so what difference does it make? Those can't be anywhere near as evil as the studs on the cats, and I knocked those suckers out.

I would say, wiggle it out from underneath using the strut as leverage. Or punch it out from the top using an impact hammer with punch on it. Will take 2-3 shots and will be out, will do less damage then bashing on it with a regular hammer

If it snapped that easy I wouldn't consider anything other than replacing the part.

I'm going to eventually upgrade the suspension, but can't do that until the end of the season, as it will move me to a different car classification category. That's why I want a band-aid solution for now, if it will work. Youri, I don't think there's any way to get vice grips, etc. on it from the bottom.

Cuda, The conventional (but bad imho) technique would be 1. grind the top of the broken bolt flat 2. Center punch it 3. Cobalt drill bit (undersize)with cooling oil 4. Many applications of Kroil to the remainder to soak the splines 5. Small sharp punch to delicately(??) collapse the remains inward and down through the hole. In the time this tales you could have removed the strut and pressed out the broken bolt ?

Cuda, I did not mean wise grips, IIRC , the bolts are pressed into the top plate. I was refering to disconnecting the shock/spring from the bottom and wiggling the whole assembly. Otherwise, few hits of zip-gun (whatever it's called) on that bolt, from top straight down will dislodge it very quickly. This

^ Yup. Air hammer that bish. Don't whack it with a sledge - let the compressor do the work.

Plasma cutter should do the trick.

..

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Hit it with a torch for a bit, take a ratchet extension and hammer the extension on the top of the bolt until loose? But, I'd probably take it off completely and work it out on a bench. lol

I think the goal is an in-situ repair. If he's going to go through all the trouble to remove it, it's moot.

ATF/acetone and time then, I suppose.

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Indeed.

Is it out yet? Air hammer, pointed tip, and 10 seconds. put the wheel back on, and put some weight on the top plate so it doesnt move, then hit it with the air hammer. Line up a new one and pull it home with a throw away nut. Install new nut and torque to spec.

I won't have time to mess with it until the weekend. I don't have any air tools though. I have a manual impact screwdriver, so maybe that will work.

Hammer and plumb bob or pick or whatever. Only thing you'll damage is the top hat that's already damaged.

Just randomly picking pointy tools for the job?

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That is correct. I have one I can experiment with, or if you happen to be in Costa Mesa this week you can have it.

I'm with Prodriver- I have one I can destroy for science or you can have it if you are in the San Francisco area. It is a bolt with a splined bottom as previously mentioned. Air hammer would be the best bet at avoiding collateral damage. Most people crank down on these way too tight. If they did one you can bet the rest were not treated any better. It sounds like you know the tops should be changed end of season, but if you successfully knock one out easy piesy- my suggestion is replace the others while you are there? At least on that side....then again if you taught Macgyver how to Macgyver maybe it's best not to poke the bear.

Thanks, guys. Byprodriver, sure, if you have a few spare moment and want to experiment with it, that would be great. Dan951man, is it a new part you have? This is on a '99 boxter, stock suspension. Here's the part I need. If it's the right part and you want to sell it, let me know. That way, after I screw this up, I will have the part on hand. Hmmm... it has a 997 part number? Will that **** off the 997 guys to know that they are sharing parts with a Boxster?

Well your luck is getin' beta & beta! My team is losing & I can't watch anymore, it's hammer time! Took a pretty good rap to dislodge it but if you hit it straight it's outa there. The larger diameter base is splined the width of the mounting plate that holds the bushing, apox 1.5mm. Then the threaded part is about 16mm long & 8mmx 1 threads. "Bolt" is 10.9 grade. So you won't find a suitable bolt to substitute for it. Pm me your address & I'll mail you a couple & you can line up the splines by feel & pull it into place with a nut. This is the front correct ?

Nice experimenting there! You have those bolts? Curious, why? Hey, that would be great! Also need the nut. $0.78 part, but they want $6.50 shipping @#!&. PM sent.

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LOL, uh.... no...

Yes, you could also light a fire on it and hit it with a brontosaurus femur. Cretin.

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Actually, I just plan to use a metal punch and a hammer. I'll drill a bit more of a divot into it to help center the punch. Not enough of the bolt sticking up to hit it directly with a hammer. Byprodriver is mailing me a bolt. I'll update the thread when I get a chance to break something else.

Update?

If you're hesitate to apply heat, using an upside down keyboard cleaner could work. Same principle, but opposite thing. - Engineering Explained

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Waiting for the bolt to arrive. Should be here any day now.

Which day?

Give us the tracking number so we can monitor your progress or lack of...

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The lack of updates makes me pretty sure this is all a scam. Kinda pissed, I gotta say. Tracking #s or gtfo.

At this point, I believe Cuda911 is waiting for another man's nut to arrive in the mail.

^^^

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+996 Just don't be like KK and do a writeup without telling us actual part numbers or where you got it. Don't try to partner up with Pelican to market your own DIY kit either. We're watching you closely....

If this was a KK thread, the bolt in question would have been replaced with a stick of Juicy Fruit, and Cuda would be bragging about his lofty IQ and l33t preventive maintenance skills.

Which reminds me, I have to talk to my patent attorney to see if Jake hasn't taken out a patent for a "faultless strut top mount bolt extraction tool" yet. I maybe onto something here...

Mike, did that guy nut in your box yet?

Still waiting. classic Heinz Ketchup Anticipation TV ad 1979 - YouTube

Mail came, no bolt.

..

No nuts...

Sounds like you got screwed.

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Man, I know when I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for something to come it can be a really explosive experience. Make sure you have extra tissues.

Still no bolt.

Just support the plate from underneath and whack that thing out already! Replace with a grade 8 nut and bolt and let's move on.......

Sorry for the delay, must be due to the odd shape/ hand stamp request recommended by my postal employee neighbor.

That's exactly what a scammer would say.

Looky what showed up today. Thanks Bypro! [Mailman gave me grief over the $1.98 postage due, but he laughed when I told him what it was. Said he'd never seen someone mail bolts like that ]

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Tomorrow.... headed out for some beers shortly with an RLer who is visiting from Phoenix. Hey, don't tell Adam I am attempting this, he will crap.

Nice. I am just getting excited. Your secret is safe with me, until it works perfectly. Then I am telling everyone.

wth is postage due? I've never seen that before

This may be the single worst thread that I've actually found entertaining. Due to the low degree of difficulty, you should attempt it after you return from your night out with Kalash. Better yet, let Kalash hammer it out while you support the top plate. What could possibly go wrong?

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Really? On the chance you're being serious, let's use an example of a letter that weighs more than 1 ounce. You, the sender think it's only one ounce, so you stick one stamp on it. When the PO receives it and weighs it, they see you didn't put enough stamps on it. They have two options. Either they'll bounce it back to you saying insufficient postage, or they'll send it on to the recipient. The recipient will then be asked to pay-up the missing postage. Kind of a PITA for the recipient, but removes the delay if it had to be sent back to sender.

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That's why i quized my neighbor 1st before mailing, maybe they charge for the hand stamp now, he retired a year ago.

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Nothing to be afraid of, I wouldn't do this for a non-contributing A-hole like you anyway!

True story.

Write-up to follow....

OK, so thanks to Bypro, I have a couple replacement splined bolts to play with. First, I sprayed some Liquid Wrench on the old bolt to let it soak while gathering tools. Then looked around the scrap bin to find a suitable support for the bottom of the plate. Found a piece of thick rebar the right length. Wedged it under the plate and secured it with a wheel. What could go wrong? Then used a Dremmel to grind a small divot into the top of the bolt stub: Then ground the tip of an old punch to match the divot, and invented the Faultless Tophat Bolt Removal Tool and filed several patents. A few good smacks, and the rotten tooth was out. And just left with this cavity that needs a filling: Put in the new bolt. Someone suggested using a scrap nut to pull the splines in. Thought that was a good idea. Used the Faultless Tophat Bolt Removal Tool to remove the bolt stub from the original nut: Replaced the scrap nut with the proper one, torque to spec, and good to go!!

All's well that ends well...! Doesn't it suck when a seemingly simple task turns into a week long project though?

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Outstanding!

Decided to fix a few more things as long as I was in there. As I always say: if it ain't worth doing, it ain't worth doing right. The #$@!% panel for the mirror switches kept falling off. A sheet metal screw into the frame and a black sharpie to the screw head took care of that. The dome light assembly kept falling out. This should hold it. The passenger side marker kept falling out. This screw should take care of things. Seat bolster had a big tear in it. Looks good as new now:

There goes your resale value.

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No idea what this says, but probably is some clever repartee:

All's well that ends well. I would have smacked it hard also, but used a jack and extension with a "spare" impact socket as the underside brace. Carry on, and make sure to put a roll of duct tape in the passenger footwell as the "ultimate cup holder and emergency bandage"