wheel bearing bolt stuck 02 SSEi

[mjtr21]

i was about to replace yet another wheel bearing on my 02 SSEi and upon removing the brakes and getting everything out of the way i got the bearing to knuckle bolts and got 2 of the bolts removed but one of them is stuck in there good and is stripped. i went to the dealership and bought 3 new bolts so i can replace them but cannot get that 3rd one out! any suggestions for removing a stripped bolt that is in there really tight? i dont want to heat it because of the cv axle boot being so close and dont want to melt it.

[00Beast]

Heat on the end in the hub, on the outside of the knuckle.

[mjtr21]

HA I honestly didnt think of that. Thanks! I'll give it a try later.

[00Beast]

Just make sure to not heat the bolt as much as you can, you want to expand the area around the bolt, not the bolt itself.

[The_Maniac]

I assume by stripped you mean the head is rounded?? If that's the case, I had that problem on a Grand Prix. I think it was like a 13mm or 15mm, I found a standard socket that was "close" to the right size.

With the socket on an extension, I HAMMERED it to fit on that bolt. Once on, I was able to break it free like the rest. And it was VERY clear, that bolt was NOT going back on once I got it off....

I never used heat for the concern of it being close to plastic/rubber parts.

[mjtr21]

Yeah thats why I didnt want to heat it also. I went to sears and bought this pack of damaged bolt/nut remover sockets. I didnt give it a try yet since its been raining a lot but when it clears up in a few days I'll get to it. And maybe actually get my driver's seat out so I can repair the wiring to fix my window/lock problem too!

[01bonneSC]

I assume by stripped you mean the head is rounded?? If that's the case, I had that problem on a Grand Prix. I think it was like a 13mm or 15mm, I found a standard socket that was "close" to the right size.

With the socket on an extension, I HAMMERED it to fit on that bolt. Once on, I was able to break it free like the rest. And it was VERY clear, that bolt was NOT going back on once I got it off....

I never used heat for the concern of it being close to plastic/rubber parts.

Heat is fine right there.

[Jeff2002WS6]

I rounded the head on mine when I split my socket trying to remove it. I just drilled it out and got a new one.