Getting ready to get this done

A new tool (plus a tool accessory) arrived the other day, and I think they will aid me greatly in my battle against this stupid rounded off bolt. This tool is a Go2 Socket 2.0 bolt removal tool and the accessory is a set of Zenith Industries socket adapters.

The bolt removal tool is like a little vice grip with a socket connection on top. It lets you clamp down really hard on a rounded off bolt head and then use a socket wrench to turn it. This sounds very useful to my situation, but because there’s so little room above the bolt to turn a socket wrench I still needed something to help in that department. That’s where the socket adapters come in. They are little half socket/half hex head jawns that thread through a box wrench and effectively turn it into a socket wrench. If I use one with my recently acquired flex head ratcheting box wrenches I end up with a flexible socket wrench that I can attach to the bolt removal tool. I believe this combination of gadgets should give me the perfect tool for removing the stubborn bolt that’s been confounding me for weeks.

Additionally, I also recently received something I bought from eBay awhile ago and completely forgot about. This was because it came all the way from Malaysia on a very slow boat.

This is a Volvo 100,000 mileage badge. Volvo used to offer these to owners of their cars who reached 100k milestones all the way up to 1 million miles. This site has a nice write up on the history of this program. I look forward to getting to my 200K badge and beyond. I won’t be installing this badge yet, though. First I need to get the car inspected at which point I will christen her with a suitable name. I think I’ve decided on that name, but that information I will keep to myself until the proper time.