82' FXWG Dash carriage bolt spinning with top acorn nut

[doppelganga]

TLDR
The center carriage bolt on the dash is spinning with the top acorn nut that needs to be removed for disassembly.

How do I fix this? do I just replace the bolt?

what parts if any need to be replaced or can I fix what I already have?

***(See attached pic/video below)***


LONG ASS STORY

Was trying to take the dash off my tank to clean some rust in the gas tank and replace the speedo gasket but the acorn nut for my dash wasn't coming loose from the center mounting bolt, it just spun... I read on another forum (linked below) that it's cause of a carriage bolt being rounded off. This makes it so that when you try to loosen the acorn nut above the dash the bolt under the dash spins instead of staying in place, preventing the top acorn nut to come loose and remove the dash cover

"Luckily" the speedo doesn't have the gasket which leaves a gap between the speedo and the dash cover. I was able to take it apart by fitting a flathead screwdriver through the gap to hold the nut under the dash which held the bolt in place allowing the acorn nut above the dash to come loose instead of spinning along with it.

I've ordered a new gasket for the speedo so once the tank is cleaned and the gasket is installed I won't be able to get the flathead screwdriver through that gap to hold the nut under the dash and tighten the acorn nut back up again. Need to figure out a solution to tighten the dash to the tank because otherwise, the rattling speedo is staying duck-taped to the dash.

If anyone who's dealt with this issue has any solutions or knows what parts need replacing to fix this please let me know.

***Other forum thread mentioned above***

(https://www.hdforums.com/forum/softa...ck-help-2.html)

[confab]

Is that standard construction? I'm not familiar with a carriage bolt being used there.

Mine and the others I have seen has a threaded coupler that goes on the bottom, and you tighten that in there really well. It stays stationary in the dash mounting plate.

Then there's an acorn/decorative bolt from the top that goes through the dash and into the other end of the threaded coupler to hold the dash on.

Like this.

https://www.denniskirk.com/drag-spec...id=17923638713

[confab]

PS: You use washers on the bottom of that lower part of the threaded coupler to adjust the dash height relative to the base.

[doppelganga]

To be honest I didn’t end up taking it all apart so I’m not sure if there’s even a carriage bolt in there, I just read that on another forums.

When the gasket comes in I’m gonna disconnect the battery and better inspect it. If what’s under the dash matches standard construction like you mentioned would the bolt stay in place if the thread coupler is tightened?

Also if I had to replace all that could you link the part numbers or a link to a website that sells them. Thanks!

[confab]

Oh.. Well, then it is probably in there already. Just loose.

Yeah, tighten it to the base and put a lock washer under the nut there and it should be fine.

If not, this will probably work.

https://www.denniskirk.com/drag-spec...prd/H27051.sku

[doppelganga]

Thanks again for the knowledge, found it on eBay for about $12 and the description says it's compatible with my 82 FXWG. I'll post any updates here in the next few days!

[doppelganga]

so was trying to tighten it up and it ended up snapping. turned out to be a hollow bolt so I'm gonna replace it with this one from lowbrow


https://www.lowbrowcustoms.com/produ...31147336007727

Thanks again