I'm having trouble trying to tighten the top bolt/nut going through the top of the rear shock.

I put a hex fitting onto a ratchet (coming from the left-hand side) to stop it spinning, but the nut feels like it's just rotating rather than tightening. I got some tension on the torque wrench but it just disappeared when I kept turning. I'm assuming the nut and bolt are completely shagged?

Yer sounds like the thread is gone. If you can get a screwdriver behind the nut and try to get the nut undone.

Getting it undone should be easy I think. I'm not touching it again tonight as I'm fed up with it. Anyway, the bolt is discontinued so DSS and Wemoto don't even have it! I can probably assume the others are wrecked too so that'd be another £15-20. Think it's time to leave the bike alone and just pass my driving test.

You can get 8.8 HT bolts from any decent engineering place. doesn't have to be an OE bolt.

thunderace wrote:You can get 8.8 HT bolts from any decent engineering place. doesn't have to be an OE bolt.

Cheers.
But I can't get to them because I have no transport.
The bike's just been a money pit for the last few months, with very little positives. It's turning into more of a 'nut and bolt' resto when what I need is a reliable vehicle. Gonna step away from it until I pass my test and get a car.

Sleep on it and order a new bolt in the morning, you cant let a bolt ruin a summer of riding, cars are crap anyway :)

Probably the cap head bolt head is rounded inside so the Allen key is just turning in the head, take it out and look, you may have not pushed the key all the way into the head, or got it in square, takes a lot to strip that 33ft/ lbs thread, not very common.

I can't get enough purchase on it to either loosen it or tighten it now. I am trying to counter-hold it with an 8mm hex bit attached to a ratchet, but it loses grip as soon as I try to tighten the nut, so I can neither torque it up nor remove it to check the thread.

If you have access with a drift, hammer a Torx bit in there. Should do the trick if the head is fubar

thunderace wrote:If you have access with a drift, hammer a Torx bit in there. Should do the trick if the head is fubar

That can only go wrong with my luck and mechanical ability! Probably somehow break the frame in half.