Removing doors

[GTVeloce]

Has anyone had success removing doors from GTV's? The hex bolts won't budge and the pin is impossible to access. Should I just keep trying with the hex bolts or am I better to keep trying to find a solution to removing the pins?
Thanks

[aggie57]

what have you tried so far on the hex bolts?

[GTVeloce]

So far I have broken my cheap allen key and have bought some good quality (Cr-mo) longer allen keys and have tried hitting the end with a hammer to try and shock them but still not having any success. I am afraid if I put a longer lever on the end the keys will still break. I'm thinking of trying to get a suitable socket head and putting a breaker bar on it. Not a lot of space available though to fit a breaker bar in there...

[aggie57]

They can be a pain for sure.  Unfortunately the metal is pretty soft as well so if you're not careful the socket can get reemed out into a useless round hole and then all you can do is drill the head out.  Of course once that's done and the door is off the remaining thread will often spin out by hand.....

Next thing I would do is get some penetrating oil and liberally soak that around the bolt for a couple of days.  Then I'd get a good quality hex head socket (as you say) with an extension (to give you space) and it should come free.  That works 99% of the time for difficult half shaft bolts, also hex sockets.

One trick I've heard from others is to tighten it first.  Apparently (and I've not had to do this myself) this 'cracks' the joint more easily than undoing it which leads it to undo more easily. 

[GTVeloce]

Sounds like a good plan. I will give it a try. Thanks for your help.

[NigelC]

Agree ... penetrating oil and an extension on the allen key. (I used a two-foot long pipe!)

[dehne]

i thought i had already posted this here, but anyway you should try a impact wrench with the right allen key, i used one to remove the doors on a 90 i wrecked, worked for me just one tip though be careful of ur knuckles

[scuzzyGTV]

I removed mine with 'T' bars & heaps of WD40, cant fot the life of me find another proper set of the bars though...

[GTVeloce]

Some success! 9 of the bolts (two doors) are now loose but two are sligtly stripped inside and I fear I will only make them worse if I keep trying. It may be time to pull out the drill... The last bolt has been replaced with a phillips head screw! I need to try and find a phillips screw driver that has a square profile shaft so I can put something around it to provide leverage. I'm presuming they are available? I've seen flat heads but no phillips with that type of shaft.

Any thoughts on size of drill bit to use? I don't care about the bolt (have spares) but don't want to damage the hinge or the panel behind it.

Thanks
Julian

[aggie57]

Well done Julian - that's good progress.

If it was me with this problem what I'd be doing next is secure the door using the removable bolts, then using a bit that is slightly larger than the thread on the bolt head very gently drill through it until the head comes away leaving just the top of the thread.  Then remove the door, leaving the top of the thread exposed.  All things being equal that remaining stub should spin out freely enough unless it's rusted in.

Even if it doesnt at least the door is no longer in the way and you'll have free access to the problem area.