Help - broken bolt.

I've just tried to take my seat off to get to my battery and on of the bolts that holds the seat on won't come out.

It turns okay - both ways - but just seems to be spinning freely and won't come out. i've tried gripping it with pliers and pulling as it turn it, but that didn't seem to work.

Any one got any ideas. I've just rang the local bike shop who can't look at it till friday and i kind of wanted to go out today.

Sounds like it's been crossed-threaded. Quite easy to do as the bolt is under some tension as you put it in and can be angled slightly wrong.

What I would try, is getting a flat bladed screwdriver under the head of the bolt and as you try and undo it, lever against the head, with luck this should draw the bolt out as normal. Thread will be bu**ered though IMO.

[jambo]

As with pete, turn it out gently, while applying pressure behind it.

You'll need to either helicoil it or cut a new thread and use a bigger bolt though as this one's had it

[yorkie_chris]

Not worth helicoiling, the seats hardly going to fall off with your ar$e on top of it IMO

[Viney]

Originally Posted by petevtwin650

Quite easy to do as the bolt is under some tension as you put it in and can be angled slightly wrong.

Is it? Mines fine, i usualy have to lift the seat slighlty to get the bolt in. Maybe its just my 16 stone frame and 50000 miles than has mad it sag a little

thanks very much all.

i managed to get the claw bit of a hammer behind the bolt and push it out whilst turning it as normal.

the thread in the bolt has had it, but i'm gonna try it with a new bolt - maybe the thread on the frame will still be fine. Fingers crossed.

[mac608]

One side of mine's been kaput since the first service. All I did was to use a bolt that would go through the hole and put a nut on the other end and then tighten up. Worked well for the last seven years

[northwind]

Probably just the bolt got overtightened and lost its thread?

Those threads are ****e there. One of mine stripped too. There's so much movement there with you butt on the seat, they are bound to take some abuse. Best not to go without though, use a bolt and nut as mentioned above if the seat threads are shagged. New bolt fixed, mine, but, feels the mating threads are about to go.

Thanks again everybody. its all fixed for now.

79p for 2 m6 stainless bolts from the local autoshop. The new bolt went in okay, but it feels as though the thread inside the frame is not quite as it should be - so i might have to resort to the smaller bolt and nut idea in the future.