Any tricks, tips or tools for removing rusty bolts?

Anyone have any great tricks for removing rusty bolts? I seem to twist or break off 90% of the bolts I'm trying to remove. I heat 'em, bang on 'em with a hammer and still they break without much effort. I'm using hand tools, is this part of my problem? I try my best to keep everyting in line when I'm wrenching so as not to put to much stress on the head. Most of the broken bolts are no big deal because I can grind them off, but I snapped 2 bolts from the 'Y' pipe to the exhaust manifold last night trying to remove the pipe. I'm not looking forward to getting those out.

 

PB blaster. Spray it on wait 5 mins then heat. This stuff is the best thing since sliced bread. Doesn't save every bolt but it will help save some. These Jeeps are so old that breaking bolts is just a fact of life.

 

Soak in penetrating oil. Repeat applications over a period of time, give the oil plenty of time to work. Heat may help

Occassionally I will have luck cranking a bolt just a bit *tighter* - just enough to bust it loose, then undo it. Be patient, use small movements.

Attitude counts! That stuck bolt can seem like an aggravating little SOB, and it's easy to hate it. But until you get past it, that one crummy little piece is actually worth the entire value of your jeep! Until it cooperates, you can't go jeeping...

Give it the corresponding amount of thought, love, time, care and attention - and with a focused patient and positive approach it is surprising how things can turn out better.

Zen and the art of Jeep Maintenance!!!

Good Luck.

Pete

 

Aerokroil - http://www.kanolabs.com/

 

As mentioned above I have luck with soaking them over night in PB Blaster or Kroil. I also use a 6 point socket over a 12 point because they have a better grip and less prone to rounding off stuck bolts.

 

X2 We use it at work great stuff!!!

 

I just order a couple cans of Aerokroil and I'll pick up a couple cans of PB on my way home today. I may even pick up a kitchen sink to throw at 'em.......Thanks everyone. Any tips on getting those broken bolts out of the exhaust manifold? There is approx 1 1/2" of threaded bolt sticking out so I do have something to grab. I only broke off the bolt head.

 

Two words . . . . E-L-B-O-W G-R-E-A-S-E . . . . and a reliable supply of chisels, a torch, a couple of hammers, & really good drill bits . . . . oh yeah, and a good source for replacement bolts . . . .

Oh no, I'm having flashbacks . . . . getting fuzzy . . . . can't find a single unrusted bolt . . . . . uuunnnnggghhhhh . . . . . . .

 

I usually soak them with PB blaster for a while, the put my biggest ratchet on them and break it along with the socket, then I get out the torch. I don't know if this is the order you want to do it in, but it works for me.

 

A tip on removing the broken bolt!

First try the vise grips (after you've soaked it with penetrating oil and heated it up with a torch).

If it breaks off and you have to drill it, then buy a reverse cutting drill bit. The torque of the reverse cutting bit sometimes spins the bolt out. If it doesn't then the reverse torque makes it easier for the "easy out" or screw extractor to work.

 

PB Blaster has worked well with me. I think it even states this in the directions on the can, after soaking the bolt or nut a while I smack it with a hammer. It seems to break it loose.

For bolts that go thru the peice with a nut on the otherside, often I will tighten it and break the bolt. Much easier sometimes.

 

The muffler shops blow the old bolts out of the ends of manifolds with a cutting torch. If you know what you are doing, you can remove them quickly without damaging the iron. The torch works well to loosen bolts you want to remove "normally" too.

Otherwise, you'll need drills and taps for the ones that break off.

 

Are you using an impact gun? The multiple high speed impacts from the gun can sometimes break loose a bolt that the breaker bar will snap. I've had good results with even cheap Campbell Hausfeld/HF guns and a low powered compressor, although I've sometimes had to wait for the tank to recharge.

 

On the broken-off bolts, you can try to place a used nut over the remaining stub and weld in the center of the nut thus joining the nut and stub. The heats expands the bolt, sometimes "crushing" the rust and making it easy to back out once it cools. You may also try a cycle of PB and heat. Do that several times over a couple of hours may help. When it comes to drilling, if it comes to that, the most important thing is to try as best possible to start the drill as close to center/square as humanly possible. This is so that if worse comes to worse, you can drill the bolt to just inside the female threads and retap as if it were a freshly drilled hole.

Good luck!

 

We've had "Liquid Wrench" for years.

What I want to see invented is "Liquid Hammer!"

Pete

 

My buddy Jimmy showed me this and he said he had never had a case where it didn't work. He takes a torch and heats the bolt cherry red real fast without heating the surrounding metal anymore than possible and then douses it with water and cools it quicky. The fast heat and cooling causes the bolt to expand and shrink breaking the corrosion that had it locked.

We used this technique to get the bleeder valve on of one of my wheel cylinders couple of weeks ago. The head of the screw was completely rounded and you couldn't get anything on it to grip. After he did the above he screwed it out with a pair of small jiffy pliers.

You could probably try do this on those broken exaust studs.
Eddy

 

Ditto. I went through 2 cans dis-assembling the CJ with very few broken bolts.

Caution on muscling out the bolt though...I just cracked my exhaust manifold using too much muscle with the ez-out. Now I'm searching for a new manifold...more money!

Next time I'll try the zen method of Jeep restoration.

 

Thanks again for the tips. I managed to escape with a 50% success rate. I broke 2 and salvaged 2. I tried 3 rounds of heat and PB (didn't get the other stuff yet). 2 broke loose easily and the third one (I already broke one during my initial try) I thought was starting to break loose, but broke off instead. Now for the fun part. I have a decent amount of stud (the exhaust manifolds have internal studs) sticking out still. I think I'm going to go with Thad's suggestion. I found 'extention nuts' online that should work and give me at least 3 threads of engagement on each end. The only problem is accessability to weld the nut. It ain't happening with the body on. I don't want to remove the exhaust manifold for fear of breaking more bolts in the block. Has anyone used JB Weld? Will this hold up? Any other suggestions? Thanks!

 

I like to heat them up a little then spray 'em with PB while it's still warm. It helps the PB to soak in. Then gently work the bolt back and forth, going a little further loose each time.
Invest in a good tap and die set, and some anti-sieze for re-assembly.
Manifold bolts are always bad. They take all the exhaust heat over the years and tend to be some of the worst fasteners on any vehicle to remove without destroying.
Best of luck.