Soliciting Opinions

I've got a few...

1) penetrating oil. WD-40 ain't shit. Use a GOOD penetrating oil like PB Blast'r, Kroil, or Wuerth Rost Off.

2) heat. If you don't have anything in the area, pretty much nothing beats getting it hot with an oxyacetylene torch. Oxy-MAPP works too if you don't have a properly equipped workshop. Plain MAPP or propane is worth a try if nothing else is handy. Also, melting some candle wax (from a cheap, non-dripless candle) into the threads is surprisingly helpful. Also if you heat up a nut and then slap an ice cube on the stud to shock it that can help too.

3) Don't even try to use a 12-point box wrench or socket. 6-point tools only.

4) if there's a long threaded stud or bolt that the nut has to thread off of, it can be helpful to run a die over them and/or wire brush them clean before starting, so once you have the nut busted loose you're not having to force it over rusted threads. If you use a die, after you run it on once, flip it over and run it right up to the nut with the non-tapered side facing the nut.

5) when all else fails, use a nut splitter and/or consider the bolt sacrificial and cut the whole mess off and replace hardware.

6) when reassembling, use anti-sleaze paste on everything. Every time. The next owner will thank you.

nate

I often use an angle grinder.....

Greg

Pb blaster is said to penetrate, but I would have to run a test on what dissolves rust best

Greg

"Adrian" wrote in news:iqhfsd$9h4$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

350# impact wrench. Heat. Drill. In that order.

I've found that penetrating oils are just about useless.

Greg

*** I dont think any of them "dissolve" rust very well but some of them probably disperse the rust deposits better than other.

WD-40 is a decent lubricant but it really isnt a rust dispersant.

There are a number of penetrating oils at the FLAPS that will work. Spray them on, wait, heat, and the apply reasonable torque.. If it doesnt come off easily, then retreat and go easy.

You dont need to break off a stud. or ruin threads.

I disagree. A good penetrating oil can help a lot. Heat helps but you dont want to force it.

I have partially cut through a nut with a Dremel or with a drill bit, and then heat, penetrating oil, etc. Seldom will you find a situation that wont respond.

But if you get gorilla fisted, you can cause yourself a ton of problems.

WD40 and liquid wrench are useless. PB blaster works.

beats anything I have ever tried before. Spray the stuck part, and in as little as 15 minutes you'll be able to remove it. I have only had it not work once, and NOTHING has worked on that item!

I sprayed all the bolts under the hood on my '95 Tercel, and the next day they looked brand new. I use this anywhere a penetrating oil or lubricant can be used. It is great stuff, available for $9-12 at GM dealers. The ONLY thing I get from GM (other then LS lubricant...)

See my post. It WORKS!

as usual, you're not talking from experience. tegger is correct - an impact wrench will quickly and without damage remove nuts hand tools won't touch. no need to monkey about with potions and lotions.

what tegger says - impact, heat, drill, in that order. and if the impact won't shift right away, keep blasting away until it does. some can take up to a minute of solid battering, but they'll still shift in the end.

try to avoid heat if you can - it can damage the hardness of fasteners and surrounding areas - significant problems down the road.

All that, and:

_Careful_ application of an impact wrench, in combination with all of the above. Your aim isn't to twist the bolt off, but to break the rust if you can. If you don't have an impact wrench, sometimes it helps to just give the nut -- or even the bolt -- a few good whacks.

Often repeated heating/cooling cycles will help -- don't give up if the first try doesn't do the job.

Keep in mind that when a couple of parts are rusted together, once you get that bond broken you're often home free, but before you do things can seem hopeless indeed. Perseverance pays off.

to

Phosphoric acid can dissolve rust. I've successfully loosened a stuck nut (holding an emblem that I wanted to purchase onto a heavy cast metal Studebaker Hawk grill that I didn't at a swap meet) by dripping Coca-Cola onto it and letting it sit a few minutes.

nate

I have liked PB Blaster and Kroil both. They aren't miraculous but they are better than nothing.

No, it's not even a decent lubricant. It's a good water displacement agent. Good for spraying in your distributor if it gets wet in there. Not so good for anything else.

--scott

I sprayed over a number of days, a Broken bolt in an engine. Well after spending many hours using various bits, finally did the job working at odd angles around components on the engine. Was able to drill and rethread for a new stud. Spraying was useless. I forgot to mention I broke the easy out which Is very hard metal. This all was on the inner exaust manifold of my old 280z.

Greg

I specifically did not mention EZ-outs because I have not ever had much luck with them and as you discovered drilling an EZ-out is way more difficult than just drilling the broken bolt in the first place.

If you have a snapped bolt that is not rusted in place but just snapped because of overtorquing or vibration, I have had good luck removing them with a small diameter piece of hardened steel shaft ground to a point, and trying to "walk" the bolt out with my homemade punch and a hammer to the point where I can either grab it with vice grips or slot it with a hacksaw and use a straight blade screwdriver. A left hand drill bit and EZ-out might also work in that application but would take longer and require more skill.

Additionally (this thread reminds me of all the tools I've used in the past) the Craftsman Bolt-Outs do work well, and also whatever those things are called that you use in a reversible drill to try to "catch" stripped Phillips screw heads. (used those to remove a handrail that was screwed to a wall with very old, hard studs - got all but one screw out, I was able to use vice grips on that one once the tool drilled through the screw head and I removed the bracket.)

nate

A round nose and diamond point chisel comes in handy after you've drilled most the bolt away. You'll barely nick the threads if you're careful. I haven't had much luck with EZ-outs either.

--Vic

I hate to mess with them, and wont unless there is no other choice. If you break a bolt trying to remove it with a wrench, the chance you can get an EZ out to remove it is intuitively pretty small.

I understand there are some electromachining techniques that can get them or the bolt out without damaging anything but I have never used them nor seen them in use.

Well, we will disagree a little on this.. WD-40 is not a great lubricant but it is often helpful, as in locks, etc. It doesnt last very long.

An old boss of mine had his own formula for penetrating solution for aluminum...He dissolved iodine crystals in vinegar or acetic acid. Aluminum can be a bear to work on. Might be worth a try if you ever need something like this.