Hi is there a way to get a rounded crank bolt off on a 98 Accord

 

That sucks, were you using too large a socket on it? Its a 19mm I believe. And no I don't know what you can use except those special grippy sockets they make. They look like this,

 

LOL, I hate to say it. But good luck, that is honestly the most tight bolt on our motors. Using an impact socket and the largest impact that Brookdale Honda has (friend of mine is a master tech there), I still had to use an oxy torch to get it red hot first.

 

True but I think the axle nut is harder. The electric impact I got takes the crank bolt off and on no problem. I think the crank bolts have a tendency to round off because there is just so much force to be used on them and they're not usually replaced like axle nuts are. I can remember a scary moment when I thought I rounded off the bolt with my impact; the bolt head got stuck on my socket. With a heavily used crank bolt you're going to have a higher risk of it doing that, it gets more rounded off over time.

 

Nuts are usually rounded off because improper tools or techniques were used on them or they are rotted. In the case of the crank bolts. Using constant pressure with a strong arm bar will beat an impact gun hands down every time. A lot of times the hammer effect just bounces back every time. You need something that will maintain enough constant pressure to break that initial seal.


As far as removing a rounded bolt. Can you post pictures of how bad it is rounded off?

If you had tried using a standard socket you may get lucky and a 19mm may be able to be used. If not an impact grade bolt extractor will have to be used. Similar to the one pictured above.

 

My most recent encounter with a rounded bolt was a 10mm - granted, it's not a crank bolt - but what finally worked was a 3/8 SAE socket that I tap in with a hammer to get a good grip on the rounded bolt. I kept using a needle nose vice grip but did have much room to work with and it probably made the bolt worse off. I tried the bolt out sold at Sears pictured above and it did nothing.