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The alternator rotor bolt. The one that I stripped the hex head of. Which way do you turn it to undo it? I know this sounds silly but for the life of me I can't remember.

G'day Ross
Alternator bolt has allan head and undoes anticlock wise.
Extractor bolt then screws in clockwise to remove rotor.
Whatcha dooin?

[quote="FUTURE"]The alternator rotor bolt. The one that I stripped the hex head of. Which way do you turn it to undo it? I know this sounds silly but for the life of me I can't remember. [/quote} Counterclockwise

If I may, a stripped head rotor bolt won't undo either way.
This will take some clever fixin' Ross.

Hmmmmm. I'm thinking head of retaining bolt recessed into rotor ?? so vice grips and the like....out.

Maybe drill head off rotor retaining bolt, use 'correct' puller and carefully remove rotor allowing access to headless bolt with vice grips etc.

Maybe tig weld 6mm allen key into bolt head.......you aint got a tig welder have ya.
Welding will prolly soften allen key and allow it to twist? maybe not.

Explosives.....?

Drill into bolt for appropriately sized ezi-out. I don't much like ezi-outs.

Pray........prolly as good as explosives.

Someone may have the right solution.......

I think that you might just have to go directly to welding. Custom make a modified nut that is larger and you can weld it in the center. That will keep the splatter off of sensitive items.

I would consider altering my maintenance procedures to prevent this in the future.

Remeber last year I mentioned this problem? Well I think i stripped the head because i tried to undo the bolt by tigthening it. "Folks are dumb where I come from...."

I am inclined to get it tig welded. But we will see.

Ross, chuck up a photo of the rotor. I cant remember how much the rotor bolt is recessed into the rotor. Duane's idea of a nut is good if there is enough clearance to (a) get a socket on the nut, and (b) get enough clearance on the inside of the nut for a weld.
Don't let just any peanut weld it!

Another thought: could you dremel a slot and use a big screwdriver with a vicegrip or impact wrench assist?

Tim Shepherd wrote:Another thought: could you dremel a slot and use a big screwdriver with a vicegrip or impact wrench assist?

I would say quite possibly, with the correct dremel bit and a steady hand.
There really shouldn't be too much torque on the bolt.....however.
The application of an impact wrench would definitely be a good thing. Started off at low impact.....

Just did the dremel thing on the allen bolt on the right handle bar control.

Worked a treat.

Used a cutting wheel that had ben worn down to about 1/4" diameter. That allowed me to cut the slot w/o hitting the surrounding metal.