Motorcycle Oil filter bolt. This thing won't come off!!! Help me out!?

Question

I have 1974 Cb550 honda. The Oil filter bolt is stripped very badly
and won't come off! Do you know any techniques that will get it off? I can't afford really expensive tools but I do have a craftsman mechanics wrench set. The bolt is too big for 10mm (which is what I think it once was) and too small for 11mm.

Answer 1

Original wrench size does not matter at this point.
Don't worry about damaging the bolt, it must be replaced.
guardrail jim has given a good method.
You could also grind a slot in it and use a large screwdriver.
Last resort: cut/grind the head right off, slide the housing, spring and filter off, and use a pipe wrench on the remainder. Of course, once you've reached this point all the tension has been removed and you could just turn it out with your fingers.

Answer 2

To keep yourself from having to buy new tools, you can try taking the 10mm socket and gently tapping it onto the bolt with a hammer or rubber mallet. There are a few downsides, though. You run the chance turning your 10mm socket into a 10.5mm, or just completely obliterating it all together by sending a crack right down the middle. Also, getting the bolt out of the socket will certainly be a chore, even if everything else goes right.

Vice grips aren't a good choice unless you have PLENTY of room for leverage while you're trying to twist it out...and there's almost never plenty of room of anything when you're working on a bike, so you can probably count that out. The gnarled edges on vice grips will more than likely just fray the hell out of the bolt some more. But, if you are able to get an extremely tight grip on the bolt, AND have room to wrench on it (or room to hit it with a mallet) then this method might work.

The only other alternative is going to be the removal kits sold at most hardware and auto-parts stores. They're not expensive, and could possibly save you a big headache trying to pry it off by less conventional means.

Was it stripped the last time you changed your oil? If so, then the next time you notice a bolt beginning to wear down, you should replace it immediately. Prevention first, frustration later.

Answer 3

Most of the time when you strip aluminum bolts (such as the oil filter bolt), the only way left to get it off is with a hammer, chisel and punch. Locking pliers or vice grips, might just chew it up more.
--Not on the bolt head, but on the outer edge of the filter bolt. With a hammer and chisel, cut an indent on the edge, in the direction you want to turn the bolt (counter clockwise).
--Then with the hammer and punch, tap that indent you just made (in a counter clockwise direction). Use more of an angle towards the middle of the bolt if you keep chewing it up.
--Next time, only use a "6 point" wrench to loosen the oil filter bolt.

Answer 4

The Gixxer has sufficient means for a small motor vehicle, and a chassis designed for lightning speedy responses. interior the palms of a newbie, it is going to right now do something you by coincidence tell it to do. it is particularly uncomplicated to by coincidence wheelie one or drop it in a corner. So, i could advise beginning out by taking some instructions, the place you will get to accomplish a little driving with out desiring a bike of your individual and have an experienced expert instruct you uncomplicated advice on a thank you to holiday. contained in america, the bike protection beginning place is the main important group that does those, yet there are others. then you definately might desire to get some perfect equipment. once you're into sportbikes, you're able to be able to besides circulate with the whole face helmet and an entire leather-based tournament. That'll look the area of a real racer, and shop you risk-free. For a popular sportbike, i'm going to assert that's suited first of all one 500 cc's or much less. together as that could sound close to to a 600, the 's in this marketplace are many times 50 hp or much less, and lots greater forgiving and predictable. i've got have been given a Suzuki GS500F myself, and that one seems plenty like a Gixxer yet is plenty less complicated to holiday. Then once you have ridden it for a 300 and sixty 5 days or so, in case you go with greater, you will probable be waiting to sell it for close to to what you paid for it and get some thing wilder.

Answer 5

Guardrailjim has given you the correct way to get those bolts out. The problem with them is that the bolt thread is actually much larger than the bolt head which is originally 12mm. These Honda oil filter bolts commonly get stuck if they have been in a long time. There are aftermarket replacements with a much larger head available (at least there used to be). Don't bother with a bolt extraction kit you'll never get it off with one of those. Just do as Jim outlined and knock it off with a chisel and punch, you'll have to replace the bolt anyway. Any Honda shop should have them in stock because it is a common occurance with these older bikes.

Answer 6

Yea, it's an odd size. Run the bike untill it's good and hot, then try turning the bolt with a vise grips pliers. Prevent this next time by smearing a little anti-sieze compound (get it at the hardware store) on the threaded portion of the bolt before reassembly. Good luck

Answer 7

Have you tried a locking pair of pliers? The other option, is to go to the hardware store and get a bolt removal kit. It consists of a drill bit and a screw that turns the opposite way as normal to tighten. that way, as you are screwing it in as it get tighter, it is going in the opposite direction as the bolt that you are trying to remove, basically loosening it. the other option would be to drill a large diameter hole and bend the remaining metal in the space created by the drilled out area. What you will need to do after you get the old bolt out is to re tap the hole to realign the threads. Make sense?

Answer 8

I've used Vise Grips in similar situations. Lock them down hard as you can . If the bolt won't turn, and the vise grips don't slip, whack them with a mallet.
The bolt is flanged and cutting off the head should be a last resort.