I mistakenly stripped the threads in either the bolt hole or the bolt itself and now it just spins freely. And I need to get it out so I can repair the threads. It is the bolt of the rear bumper and I don't have much space to work with and can't go behind it either. I also can't fit in a hacksaw to cut the head off. Any help would be appreciated.
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You might try gripping the head with a pair of locking pliers (i.e. vice-grip type) so that you can rotate and pull at the same time.– jwh20Jul 31, 2021 at 9:40
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I've tried that with no success so far– Bilal SoomroJul 31, 2021 at 9:54
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1Then how about cutting off the head with a rotating tool like a Dremel with an abrasive cutoff wheel? It looks as though you'd be able to get to the bolt with one.– jwh20Jul 31, 2021 at 10:09
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I didn't know about Dremels. Will definitely look into that to try and cut off as much of the bolt as I can to free the bumper to slide out again.– Bilal SoomroAug 1, 2021 at 8:33
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1 Answer
Somehow moisture entered below the rear trunk from the outside to allow corrosion to occur. Rust. If the nut is spot welded onto a steel frame, the severe corrosion may have eroded the spot welds where the nut is no longer held in place. Sometimes pulling with just enough force with vise grips can force the spinning nut to wedge against the rusted frame enough to stop it from spinning to unscrew the bolt. Are you sure you can't see the nut from below where you might be able to grab the nut by hand or needle nose pliers or jam a screwdriver into holding the nut from spinning while someone uses a vise grip pulling and unscrewing the bolt?
