Seatstay shock bolt

[PsyMac]

Perplexed: I tried to remove the bolt connecting the seat stay to the shock link on my Occam 2022. It loosened but would not come out, even with pliers (trying to pull it out). The same for the other side.
Making things worse, when I try to tighten them again, they won't tighten! The bolts just turn round, right round, like a record...
What the...?

Is it just a matter of persistence and pressure on the bolt while screwing in until it grabs? That's what I've been trying, still no progress - but will continue
Just wondering if anybody out there has, by any chance, had a similar experience.

Any ideas? Feeling right incompetent

 

[Mikerb]

I would guess you need to take all pressure off the bolt by removing the rear wheel and with the bike on a stand allow the rear triangle to hang. You can then manually raise the seat stay a little whilst pulling the bolt.

 

[theremotejuggernaut]

I had a nightmare with these too.

Best way I found was to disassemble the rear triangle. Take out the bolts for the rear dropouts and then start off with the bolts you've pictured. Once those are in, do the driveside rear axle bolt and lastly, the non drive side.

Is it just a matter of persistence and pressure on the bolt while screwing in

Definitely not. The bolts are soft and the thread is easily damaged. Found that out the hard way...

 

[wenna]

Could it be that there is an insert with the threads on the opposite side, that is spinning.

 

[theremotejuggernaut]

No, there's not an insert. The seatstay is threaded. Getting it all aligned is a pain though.

 

[theremotejuggernaut]

Another thing that I found helped, once you've got the metal spacers in place (blob of grease to hold them), use a 10mm allen key through the hole to make sure everything is aligned properly. You should be able to thread it right through the seatstay and linkage. Then fit the bolt.

 

[PsyMac]

Another thing that I found helped, once you've got the metal spacers in place (blob of grease to hold them), use a 10mm allen key through the hole to make sure everything is aligned properly. You should be able to thread it right through the seatstay and linkage. Then fit the bolt.

Thanks, but can you explain which metal spacers you mean?
Good idea about the 10mm to help with line-up.
I guess it's just a real bugger getting them lined up :/

 

[theremotejuggernaut]

There are 2 metal spacers, one either side of the linkage.

Highlighted in yellow below. It can be a bit fiddly to get them to stay in place while you slot the linkage arm into the seat stay. A blob of grease on either spacer helps keep them in place. Having the other end of the seat stay loose helps with getting everything aligned.

Thanks, but can you explain which metal spacers you mean?
Good idea about the 10mm to help with line-up.
I guess it's just a real bugger getting them lined up