In some other post that I can't find I was writing about attempting to adjust the door on the Avanti. When I took the door card off, I found two bolts already broken, and I broke a third one. One of the previously broken ones was a real PIA. I had soaked it in PB Blaster, heated it twice to red, lighting the door on fire both times, and still it refused to budge. So...
Last night, I cut the fiberglass behind the door card enough to get my big stud remover in. I started by trying to tighten just enough to break it free (that often helps) and then started to loosen it, applying more and more pressure.... until it snapped off again! The good news is that the way it twisted, there as essentially a center punch mark in the center of the bolt, so I started drilling. First with a brand damned new 1/8" bit, then stepped up with my left hand bits. It was smoking hot, but that thing was NOT gonna let go! I kept stepping up, hoping that I could avoid ruining the threads, but finally, I was out of left handed bits to step up. I shot a little brake cleaner on it to see what I had, and noticed that is was truly dead center, and that a thin shell of the bolt remained, so I shot a bit more PB Blaster, took a chisel and began to collapse the shell until it finally fell out. After another shot of cleaner, it looked like the threads were still intact, so I cleaned them up with a tap, and sure enough, they are still good! I spent over a week letting this thing soak, me to let off steam before I broke something else, and whatever.
Tonight I'll get that danged door back on and aligned so I can go for a bit of a drive tomorrow and see how it does.
Last night, I cut the fiberglass behind the door card enough to get my big stud remover in. I started by trying to tighten just enough to break it free (that often helps) and then started to loosen it, applying more and more pressure.... until it snapped off again! The good news is that the way it twisted, there as essentially a center punch mark in the center of the bolt, so I started drilling. First with a brand damned new 1/8" bit, then stepped up with my left hand bits. It was smoking hot, but that thing was NOT gonna let go! I kept stepping up, hoping that I could avoid ruining the threads, but finally, I was out of left handed bits to step up. I shot a little brake cleaner on it to see what I had, and noticed that is was truly dead center, and that a thin shell of the bolt remained, so I shot a bit more PB Blaster, took a chisel and began to collapse the shell until it finally fell out. After another shot of cleaner, it looked like the threads were still intact, so I cleaned them up with a tap, and sure enough, they are still good! I spent over a week letting this thing soak, me to let off steam before I broke something else, and whatever.
Tonight I'll get that danged door back on and aligned so I can go for a bit of a drive tomorrow and see how it does.
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