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Tips
Tips

Tips on removing rusty bolts or screws?

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ichthos

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Am I the only one that has trouble removing rusty screws or bolts? I hear so many people talk in passing how easy this is. You just heat the bolts or screws and put penetrating oil on them. I never really have had much success with this process. Right now I am trying to remove the rusty screws holding the door hinges. I have heated them till they turn orange, put penetrating oil on them, and still no movement. Can someone tell me step by step how to do this? I could really use some help on this. Thanks,
Kevin
 
+1 on an impact driver. Get a Lisle one from an auto parts store. The HF ones are crap.
 
The Harbor Freight impact driver is great but the bits that come with it are good for (maybe) one hit of a hammer. I bought a couple of bits from my local "Mac" tool truck (about $2.50 each) but they have lasted about a year so far with no sign of problems. Snap-on would be OK too but nothing that I have ever found at any hardware store nor Sears is worth buying!
BillM
 
The problem I have is that when I try to turn the phillips screwdriver, it just pops out as I try to turn the handle. I don't seem to have enought muscle power to hold it in place. Would I be better off to drill a hole and use an easy out at this point? In the meantime, I will look into the impact driver.
Kevin
 
Hi Kevin,

Being an "Ex" Frogeye owner (I like that better than Bugeye) & now a "TR3" owner under restoration; I`ve been there and done that.

"BP Blaster" (Lots of it); "Heat" (Lots of it); "Impact Wrech" with a "BIG, HEAVY HAMMER" & "Patience" (Lots of it). It took me "3 days" using all of the above to get those suckers out!!

Good Luck,

Russ
 
The door hinges are tough. You can give the screw driver a smack with a hammer. Sometimes that loosens the rust on the threads. I've ended up drilling out the heads, and using vice grips to remove the remnants once the hinge is out. Rusty screws and bolts are a pain. Drilling and tapping are sometimes needed. I ended up with a pretty impressive hardware bill at the end of my restoration.

Brian
 
I use an air impact tool. I set it on low torque at first, switch the on and off rotation and increase pressure until the bolt or screw breaks loose. Have to be careful as I've broken them off this way also. Door hinge screws usually get this treatment. PJ
 
If a phillips screwdriver pops out of the screw easily, it's because (1) the screw is chewed up, (2) the screwdriver is the wrong size, (3) the screwdriver is not well designed, of (4) the screws themselves are not properly made. (1) and (2) are obvious and easy to avoid, but I've found that (3) and (4) are too often the case. Lots of screwdrivers available today are really junky, as are screws.

Phillips screws are an all-or-nothing deal; you can really torque the snot out of them when everything is just right, and it really helps that the screwdriver doesn't slip off the screw. But when something is wrong, they can be pretty awful.

As for the rust, all these ideas are good, of course, but there comes a time when the thing is so rusted together the only option is to drill it out and retap or use a helicoil. Don't do this until you've tried all other options, of course.
 
If the Phillips screwdriver slips, on a British or European car, make sure it's not a Posidrive screw you're working with. More screws and drivers are mangled by using the wrong bit than you'd ever dream possible.
 
The heads on door hinges screws are definitely Posi Drive. I found one of those 100 different screwdriver bit sets for $14.95 and there are 2 or 3 different Posi Drive Bits in it. That along with an Impact Screwdriver I picked up at Sears and several days of PB Blaster made short work of removing the PS Door. So I don't go through this again I was able to find some nice hex headed bolts to replace the Posi Drive Screws.
 
Don't forget not just to try and unloosen the bolts, but tighten too. The best way is to go in both directions and try and make progress a little at a time.
Scott in CA
 
Thanks for all the tips. I sandblasted one of the screws heads. Definitely posidrive. Using a regular screw driver probably didn't help things. I do have a set of posidrive screwdrivers. I also ordered an impact screwdriver on line, but now I will have to look for some of the posidrive bits. If that doesn't work, I think I will end up grinding off the heads and dealing with what is left.Thanks again.
Kevin
 
Kevin,

I found a set in one of those combo kits of bits from local Ace Hardware Store. Cheap stuff but combined with Impact Screwdriver worked wonders..
 
when a screw is really stuck I'm always happy to see it's pozidrive. You can really torque those suckers. Philips on the other hand is designed to cam out.
 
...unless the DPO didn't <span style="font-style: italic">realize </span>it's a pozidrive first, and rounded the thing out trying to torque it with a Phillips. :cryin: That's the issue I'm currently having with one of my convertible header screws. It's the <span style="font-style: italic">one stupid fastener </span>that's keeping me from replacing my top. It's stuck fast, and completely rounded over. Grr! :madder:
 
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