[SoLo]

I was installing my new Irate grill last night and ran into what I thought was or gonna be a pretty big issue. The head on the lower bolt on the brake side of the grill was so soft that the wrench would not hold; just keep slipping off and rounding the head off so I could not get it loosened. Other side was a nice bolt and loosened with no problems. Has anyone else ran into that problem and if so, what was the solution. I tried to get the box end of the wrench on it but not enough room to get wrench between the bolt head and the radiator.

Been thinking all day what i might try to loosen the bolt so it will break loose.
Gonna put some liquid break loose on it. MIght try a punch and tap on it to see if it will break loose. As a last resort i guess i can use vise grips but i know that will ruin the head.

any ideals ?

 

[Fishman]

Use some PB Plaster on it- let it work in then tap the bolt a bit. Good luck!

 

[Flying B]

They are really soft bolts. Mine started to round off pretty easy also. However, I did get them off without too much damage. But the next time I work on that bolt, I may just use a long nose vise grip right from the start. I'm not sure if teeth marks are any worse than rounded heads on bolts that do not show.

 

[bigmetal]

no offense, but make sure you're using metric wrenches. i grabbed SAE by mistake once and tried to half-ass it anyways and rounded off one of my bolts on the exhaust bracket...

 

[CBSIMONSEZ]

no offense, but make sure you're using metric wrenches. i grabbed SAE by mistake once and tried to half-ass it anyways and rounded off one of my bolts on the exhaust bracket...

This was exactly what i was gonna say. There is a slight chance that they did cross thread the bolt at Honda ... but i would go with the correct wrench size.

 

[X_KIOWA_X]

Mine were pretty stiff to break loose, but luckily I haven't ran into the issues like some others have had of soft bolts <knocks on wood>. I bought and installed the Skull grill cover.

 

[WildBill]

Yeah, had some issues with that bottom right screw being on there super tight, good luck

 

[SoLo]

no offense taken.. yeah i was useing a 12mm wrench which is the correct one. I sprayed it with some Marvel mystery oil and some other oil called break off i had. gonna let it soak till i get home tomorrow night and will check it.
I'll check the parts place tomorrow for some of that PB Blaster stuff; got to get some goo off anyways.

i'll keep you informed on how it goes. Maybe it will help someone else that will have the same problem.

thanks guys

 

[jaredpilot]

I was installing my new Irate grill last night and ran into what I thought was or gonna be a pretty big issue. The head on the lower bolt on the brake side of the grill was so soft that the wrench would not hold; just keep slipping off and rounding the head off so I could not get it loosened. Other side was a nice bolt and loosened with no problems. Has anyone else ran into that problem and if so, what was the solution. I tried to get the box end of the wrench on it but not enough room to get wrench between the bolt head and the radiator.

Been thinking all day what i might try to loosen the bolt so it will break loose.
Gonna put some liquid break loose on it. MIght try a punch and tap on it to see if it will break loose. As a last resort i guess i can use vise grips but i know that will ruin the head.

any ideals ?

I ran into the same exact issue a week ago when installing it. I went to Lowe's and purchased a flexible racheting rubber closed ended wrench (12mm.) This was a miracle wrench that solved the problem. No more stripping! I sprayed a little WD40 prior to attempting the removal. I also had to use an additional wrench to push the radiator just slightly out of the way to allow access to the bolt. I highly recommend buying one of these special wrenches! I think I payed about $10 for it.

 

[MilesB]

Irate grill install

I ran into the same problem last year. I stopped just short of rounding out the head and was able to finish the job after using some of the PB Blaster, vise grips, and a rubber mallet. Sprayed the stuff on several times and let it set in for about 20 mins. The rubber ratcheting wrench sounds like a good way to go.

 

[WildBill]

I used a ratchet wrench, my son bought me a set of them from Sears, for christmas, put them to work,,good ole craftsmen ..

 

[SoLo]

thanks for all the reply guys.

when i first tried i was useing a ratchet wrench but it just would not break it loose with out slipping off. After soaking it last night with some stuff to break it loose; i came home tonight and tried to break it loose again. No luck, so I finally got the vise grips out and did it that way. The bottom line is I got it on and secured the bad bolt back on without over tighting it. Believe between it and the other side which was a nice bolt and got it torqued on real secure it will stay in place

thanks again for the replies, appreciate the imput

 

[Broadway Joe]

thanks for all the reply guys.

when i first tried i was useing a ratchet wrench but it just would not break it loose with out slipping off. After soaking it last night with some stuff to break it loose; i came home tonight and tried to break it loose again. No luck, so I finally got the vise grips out and did it that way. The bottom line is I got it on and secured the bad bolt back on without over tighting it. Believe between it and the other side which was a nice bolt and got it torqued on real secure it will stay in place

thanks again for the replies, appreciate the imput

I'm glad to hear you got yours off b/c I could never get mine off. I tried several things with no luck but I didn't try some of things you guys mentioned. I ended up bending that bottom arm of the grill inward where it wrapped around the frame and its secure but can be moved some if I try. It hasn't moved any after riding it for several months so I'm not to worried about it but might try again.

 

[djconroy]

Thought I'd chime in here and mention that I had the same problem. I don't understand why they used those bolts on the right side... they stripped in no time with a standard 12mm open-end wrench, and they're too close to the radiator to use a box wrench.

2 rounds of PB Blaster and a trip to Sears for a RoboGrip and broke it loose. If I ever remove the radiator I'll replace those bolts with something better.

 

[kobie.delport]

Ran into the same problem when trying to fit my Irate Tribal cover yesterday. I even went one further by using my Dremel and a small grinding head grinding the head on two sides so it would fit an 11mm Metric wrench and a whole tin of WD-40 later only to have the damn head on the bolt round again... You have to be kidding me.

Will have to try some of the suggested methods you guys tried to resolve.
Unfortunatelly I can not find Breakfree at any of the shops in South Africa.
Anyone have any other suggestions ?

 

[cbrum23]

I did the same thing as Broadway Joe last year, just pushed the lower bracket of the grill in toward the radiator where it would stay in place. Never could get that stupid bolt loose May try the plastic wrench idea with some PB blaster when I get freed up.

 

[kobie.delport]

I did the same thing as Broadway Joe last year, just pushed the lower bracket of the grill in toward the radiator where it would stay in place. Never could get that stupid bolt loose May try the plastic wrench idea with some PB blaster when I get freed up.

Eventually ended up going the same router. That bolt refuses to budge.