Originally Posted by
FBinNY
BITD this wasn't all that rare, nor was it common either.
Odds are that the bolt key was never properly seated, and once it started turning, it simply cut it's own path.
The first takeaway here, for the OP and anyone reading this, is that blindly turning nuts, even with the best tools, and even adhering to specified torques has the potential to screw (no pun) things up. As a mechanic you need to keep your eyes open and be attuned to what's happening. If the turning bolt was spotted early in the process, the damage would have been much more limited.
Fortunately, there's an easy way past this (in this instance). The OP can simply buy a cap screw, or hex head bolt, so he can hold one end while turning the nut. Or he can buy one of those double ended hex head binder bolts like
these.
Thanks for that. I actually remember the moment it happened. It was seated properly in place, and when I turned the wrench I heard and felt a sudden "give." I didn't know it had stripped, and I was able to obtain a good torque at first, so I thought nothing wrong until today when I removed the bolt, nut and washer completely and saw this mess.
The thing that strikes me is I have that 33-year old gazelle with a similar mechanism and I've never had this trouble. The steel on that bike is far superior to this. The Gazelle has stainless steel underneath, where this steel doesn't look or feel anything like it. It feels way softer.
I found those binding bolts like you linked, after I posted this, and that does look like a viable solution. But, do you recommend I find a tapered washer as well, to fill in the gap? Or should I just leave it hollow?
I'm also wondering, should I try to find some beveled washers? If I put the binder bolt on there, the torque would apply unevenly due to the angle of the housing.
