Rounded out allen bolt, loose suspension linkage, pile of replacement parts,
and no way to get there with standard bike tools. What's a home mechanic to
do? Standing in my garage, [censored] and frustrated, I remembered the
"reverse" drill bits I'd bought a few years ago for a renovation project.
Yeah, that's the ticket!
It all seemed reasonable until I found myself standing in front of the bike
with power drill in hand. The thought of taking powered cutting tools to
the suspension linkage on my bike seemed absurd. However, the red OEM
loctite remmants, or whatever other force of nature, kept the main body of
the screw firmly entrenched inside its counterpart. I'd had the bolt off
before (and didn't put any more threadlock on), but this time there wasn't
enough life left in the allen bolt to stand the torque and it was now
rounded out beyond all return. Undaunted, I pressed ahead. I ended up
having to drill out the center of the bolt and then to pop the head off with
the left-handed bit. Luckily I'd picked up a full set of parts, not just a
replacement bolt and had it all back together in 10 minutes. I'm gonna give
it a day or so for the loctite to cure (*blue* this time) and give it a try
tomorrow.
I feel like I've passed into some new phase of DIY bike maintenance. The
"used power tools and bike and got away with it club." Not something I want
to have to do again. Yikes!
Whaddya think Monique, would you trust me with your new Fisher?
Bwahhahahahahahaha! Next stop -- the welder!
Tom