At 08:05 PM 12/29/2009, dylan wrote...
>worst case, if the bolt is that bad, just cut the head off with a roto
>tool and slide the CV over the headless bolt.

Good luck doing that on an outer CV bolt head, which sits well recessed
inside the swing arm. Maybe a long, high quality drill, but a socket is
cheaper and probably on hand. CV bolts are (or should be) hardened,
grade 12.9.

The 12mm socket solution obviously worked, but I'd think that using a
top-quality socket would provide an even better chance of success -
better chance of digging the socket edges into the hardened CV bolt.
Throwing away a $5 socket is nothing compared to the potential grief.