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Releasing Frozen Nuts & Bolts

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LanceLyon

Jedi Hopeful
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I know you experts have the answers....but us neophytes need help! My "Barn Project" BJ7 sat in a Connecticut barn for 25 years before it found it's way to me. As I dismantle it, I am running into numerous frozen nuts & bolts. Everything gets soaked in WD-40 numerous times, and some problem bolts & nuts get heated by a propane torch. This has worked in a lot oc cases, but I have a number of items that just will not break free. I have actually rounded a couple of things past getting a wrench on them, and vice-grips etc are no help.

Is there another secret to loosening these items? Ultrasound? Prayer? A bigger Wrench?

Any new ideas would be helpful. Thanks!
 
First off, put the WD-40 in your wife's sewing kit and get some real penetrating oil. WD-40 is a good compromise but there are better products to use for any of its applications (just more cans to store).

Yes, I carry WD-40 in my track trailer (but I've never used it)
wink.gif


Another failproof method is using a candle (or any other form of paraffin wax including citronella scented). Take and heat your fastener to the point that the wax will melt as you touch it to the part. Don't apply the flame to the wax. The intent is to get the wax to wick its way down the threads via capilary action. Now smile and back off the fastener.

This method is so weird that it has to work (also a very old tactic). It has never failed to work for me. Although nearly always, it is used as a last resort.

[ 01-12-2004: Message edited by: Randy Forbes ]</p>
 
Thanks, Randy,

Any particular brand of Penetrating Oil? And if the wicking of the parafin works so well as a last resort, why not use it as a first resort?
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by LyonLance:
Thanks, Randy,

Any particular brand of Penetrating Oil? And if the wicking of the parafin works so well as a last resort, why not use it as a first resort?<hr></blockquote>

PB'laster is always on my shelf. Another good one found at NAPA stores is (something like) Knocker Loose (?). Liquid Wrench, either spray or liquid.

Years ago I parted out a 100/6. I soaked that car once or twice a week for a month before I started dismantling it. I didn't break a single fastener, even the forward bolts in the leaf springs came out.

The wax trick is time consuming and a pain in the butt. But it has never failed me. I save it for when it really counts!
 
Guys;

I think in all likelihood I’m preaching to the choir, but… WD-40 is a penetrating oil, not a lubricant! Its intended purpose is to help break the grip of rusted and ceased nuts and bolts, cap screws and other hardware. It is not a protectant either.

Where almost everyone goes wrong with WD-40 is they don’t clean it up afterwards and it is also one of the best attractants of water I know of if you don’t clean it up and it gums up if left to collect dust, dirt and debris.

The best product I’ve found is “Break Free”, it does everything WD-40 was intended to do, only much, much better and without some of the other concerns… yes, clean up is important afterwards too. “Break Free” is a penetrating oil and it is also a great lubricant and surface protectant, for me it is the best of all worlds.

Give it a try, you’ll like it.I’ve found “Break Free” at most gun dealers.
 
I rounded off several bolt heads and purchased a set of removal sockets (can't remember what they call them now) from Sears for about $29.00. They really worked great. The bolt is shot after removal but it was anyway.
 
pb blaster, there is no better. that and a logical aproach to the problem. i try to stay away from heat, unless absulutely nesecary.never heard of that wax trick, i will try to remember it and give it a try sometime. Good tools are a must, 6 point sockets and wrenches, and a BFH. Patience is another good tool. i dont like to try and rush it. get a good clean area and access to the part. Plan in advance and use plenty of your favorite rustbuster. take all the time you need, its that or break it, sometimes a bolt that snaps isnt one you would want to use again anyway. new hardware is fairly cheap. for really stuborn nuts a cold chisel and a hammer (with proper safety gear) try to get a solid and square blow in the cente of a flat. the idea is to split the nut from top to bottom and peel it off the bolt. as a last resort its the cut off wheel. but at this point you can mostly kiss the threaded piece goodbye, unless you are very very very careful.. looking straight down on the problem i will cut a triangle around the bolt, as deep as i dare, usually by the time you get to the last side it will fall off. used this trick one day to get a totally rounded off lug nut off a friends jeep one day after we spun the wheel stud. cost less than 10 bux for a new stud and nut ( i dont know whos bright idea it was for those press on tin caps...but they are a royal pain.) vice grips sometimes can work, if they are the "real" thing,

hope this gives you some ideas and is at leas tsomwhat helpful..GOOD LUCK

mark
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by LyonLance:
And if the wicking of the parafin works so well as a last resort, why not use it as a first resort?<hr></blockquote>

Whats the fun in that?
hammer.gif
 
When all else fails, I use a nut splitter. It goes around the nut and has "blade" that cuts into the side of the nut by tightening a bolt on the side. If not careful it can cut into the threads of the bolt.
 
When I get the nut rounded off, I pull out my small pipe wrench. Grabs the nut and they come right off - if you don't break the bolt. Some of my bolts were so rotten they snapped right off. I had to drill them out and tap them.
Rob
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by SilentUnicorn:
and a BFH. Patience is another good tool.
<hr></blockquote>

How do you use the BFH with patience - swing it slowly?
D
 
I mentioned this product about a year ago.It is the best thing I have ever used Its called Aerokroil and is made by Kano.They have other auto related products but the kroil is the best rust penetrant I have ever used bar none.
www.kanolabs.com
CDK
 
Friends:

I have used PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench and other products for years. They seem to me to fall in the class of placebos we all resort to now and then. Like Drain-O, they are useful to pass the time but rarely work.

The product I use the most that actually works is my acetylene torch. Heat the nut to cherry red, and it usually comes right off -- use vice grips, don't turn it with your hands! If that fails, try the cutting torch, with a bit of practice it can split a nut quickly with little collateral damage. You do have to be careful around aluminum Healey components, there are quite a few of these on Healeys.

PS, I never use WD-40 because I paint cars and parts in my shop. Those silicones in WD-40 are nothing but trouble, and they hang around for years, looking for a place to make a fisheye.

Good luck
Bill.

[ 01-13-2004: Message edited by: Healey 100 ]

[ 01-13-2004: Message edited by: Healey 100 ]</p>
 
Well, while I agree with you on most of your products, PB Blaster is another thing all together....I was turned on to it by my local salvage yard & they swear by it....I've come to realize that its the only thing that will work itself down into rusted threads to help loosen the bolt...if PB Blaster doesn't do it, its heat, nut cracker or saw!
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dave Russell:


How do you use the BFH with patience - swing it slowly?
D<hr></blockquote>

a BFH has two uses , it is either a weapon of mass destruction, or a Tool of Construction.

cheers.gif

mark
 
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Healey 100:
Friends:

PS, I never use WD-40 because I paint cars and parts in my shop. Those silicones in WD-40 are nothing but trouble, and they hang around for years, looking for a place to make a fisheye.

[ 01-13-2004: Message edited by: Healey 100 ]

<hr></blockquote>

According to the WD-40 website, their product does not contain silicone. https://www.wd40.com/Brands/wd40_faqs.html

Not that I'm a big fan of WD-40.
I would rather use Triflow for a lubricating oil and PB Blaster or Busty for penetrating oil. I have found that the penetrating oils do work but it's best to leave them overnight which you don't always want to take the time to do. I do agree that the "cherry red metal from a torch" method works great on stubborn cases. I would just add that it helps to slightly tighten the nut or bolt first before trying to loosen it. Another tip is to smack on the head of a bolt with a big hammer as this will loosen the rust grip on the threads and has the added benefit of relieving tension and aggression (which is usually higher than normal when dealing with frozen fasteners.)

Above all, stay zen!

Cheers,
John
 
ZEN, my a$$, I want to hit something with the BFH!

Oh, thanks, I'm better now. Wow, what a rush!!! Kinda like Woodstock, only now!

John, Great info. Thanks.

I just got to rebuild the battery platform in my JH. It was a mess, rust had almost reduced it to a big hole in the car. It's much better now. Boy, you just can't rush this stuff huh. LOL

[ 01-13-2004: Message edited by: Jim Weatherford ]</p>
 
After you have used penetrating oil, hot wax, a 3 foot pipe wrench, and an acetylene (sp?) torch, try an impact wrench. Your much less likely to break the bolt (actually, make the 3 foot pipe wrench your last choice). Good Luck!!
hammer.gif
Sky
 
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