I think you missed the point of shear bolts. They break off
at you install them. What is left is a bolt that had a very
specific torch.

            Eric                   86-VW4x4
            vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
            Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler

On Mon, 9 Aug 1999, David Beierl wrote:

> At 09:42 8/9/99 -0400, Scott Curtis wrote:
> >I'm in the process of removing the dash from my '90 Westy to clean the
> >ventilation system due to mice infestation,  what is the best way to remove
> >the shear bolts from the steering column?  The repair manual says to drill
> >out?
>
>
> ViseGrips or equivalent often work.  I think the shear-bolt concept was
> invented before ViseGrips made it to Germany <g>.
>
> When you're replacing them, if you don't think the enhanced theft
> protection and nuisance value is worth $15 for the pair of bolts, regular
> M8x1.25 bolts will do quite nicely (in case you're not clear on this, the
> "shear" feature refers to the heads shearing off when you tighten
> them.  This makes them difficult to remove and hence harder to steal the
> van by dismantling the ignition lock --  nothing to do with safety at all).
>
> david
> David Beierl - dbeierl@ibm.net
>