What's your favorite "stuck bolt" removal process?

Kroil, soak time and heat.

PB Blaster. If that don't work, go to plan B. Let it sit for 24 hours, and apply more than once if it looks like it evaporated off.

Steve

I'd second above - apply and let soak, repeat for several days, wiggling bolts each time - brush away loose rust, etc each time.

Plus then an Impact Driver. I like to shim it enough that the blow also hits the head of the bolt down, just not in a twisting motion.

I used to buy Kroil in 15 gal drums to use as a wire lube. It would creep into 3" dia bundles of cut steel wire very quickly. If left alone, it would evaporate and leave the perfect surface finish to make it flow into the wire brush machines. If we didn't let it dry due to time constraints we would work corn starch into the bundles. I convinced the wire mills to use Kroil in their drawing processes and after tempering so my wire and all the mills' output is pre-Kroiled. Kano should send me a BIG check, these guys use truck loads of Kroil.

So, we always had plenty of Kroil around for stuck fasteners. A hot fastener and Kroil has yet to fail to come apart.

Left hand twist drills.

Followed by easy out.

If possible to accurately locate hole, run a two flute endmill sized near the tap drill for the thread down the center of hole and pick out the threads.

Or in combination of all three.

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

The bolt extractor sockets work fairly well for hex-shaped fasteners. The sockets need a little room (laterally) to bite into the fastener for a good grip. They proved to be very useful for removing rusted brake line nuts after cutting the lines away from the line nuts.

The most important aspect of the sockets is likely to be the quality of the steel that they're made with. It's probably likely that some users pound the sockets onto the fastener with a hammer, and use them with impact wrenches.

Another rusted fastener method is heating the fastener, and applying candle wax. Since paraffin is a product that's commonly found in many lubricants, the paraffin is beneficial when it reaches the threads.

It may be worthwhile to mention thread treatment compounds to be applied to fasteners when assembling fasteners, to prevent future rusted/seized and broken fasteners.

Smack it lightly on the head with a light hammer every couple hours when soaking. Breaks up the rust crystals and gets the penetrant down where it does some good.

In steel I like to just heat the bolt red hot, and then quench it a couple times, then heat and let cool while melting a wax candle on it.Tapping it with a hammer a few times helps at this point.

Usually brings them out . If all else fails, use the "blue point stud extractor" very carefully to burn the bolt out of the hole.

I believe someone here once recommended beeswax as having a higher melting point.

Tighten and loosen and apply penetrant-type lubricant. Work it back and forth and gradually back it out.

I start with a good fitting tool appropriate to the fastener.

Then first try is with some PBlaster. If nothing then I use a punch the size of the bolt shank centered on the head to shock straight down through the shank. Then I apply some heat and stick a cheap candle at the joint. This usually will wick down through the threads and help. If none of the above work and the shank will be above the surface once the parts are separated I will grind the head flat. Then drill through the head and take it apart. Then remove the rest using HEAT to the shank.

Usually some lube and a couple hits breaks them free. In the event its a steel item in aluminum I'll use some alum and soak it to eat out the steel.

I have a couple complete sets of the Irwin Bolt-Out sockets. One of the best tools I have for a specific use.

Oops. Read that as broken bolt. Save mine for after you bust the head off ;)

Wes

-- "Additionally as a security officer, I carry a gun to protect government officials but my life isn't worth protecting at home in their eyes." Dick Anthony Heller

"Broken" bolt is fine for this thread. I have just about all of the above. Just came in from shearing off 2 6-32 machine screw heads with a Cape chisel to get to a defective circuit breaker. When I got the cirucit breaker out, I had a good bit of shank sticking out, but when I turned them with a my favorite little gripping pliers (like tiny water pump pliers), the brass insert turned in the plastic body. It was already bad, so I am replacing it anyway.

I wonder, do they teach this stuff in tech schools?

Pete Stanaitis

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Wes wrote:

I recall that wax dissolves in naptha, so one dodge would be to dissolve wax in naptha and apply that the the stuck bolt, the theory being that the naptha will carry the wax into every nook and cranny. I'll try this next time the issue comes up.

Joe Gwinn

Joseph Gwinn wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@news.giganews.com:

Just buy some Kroil & be done with it. If it won't come loose with Kroil, it's REALLY stuck.

Doug White

I have heard a couple of referances to "Kroil "& "PBlaster " in this thread, but to the ebst of my knowledge, neither are available in Australia. What are they made of? I've used a mixture of diesel fuel and automatic transmission oil a few times and it seems to work reasonably well. I have a

1900's steam pump restoration comming up shortly and I will need all the help I can get. It's been sitting in th shop now for about 6 months and I give all the threads a squirt of Lanoliptus whenever I think of it. (Lanoliptus is a mixture of eucalyptus and lanolin in a pressure pack) I'm expecting that at minimum, a lot of heat and bad language will be required to get any of those rusty old bolts out. I'll be using all the hints from the website as well

On Sat, 19 Dec 2009 11:49:13 -0800, the infamous "Bill McKee" scrawled the following:

Yeah, impact driver to start with, plus Loosener's Castor Oil Flakes and soak time.

-- This episode raises disturbing questions about scientific standards, at least in highly political areas such as global warming. Still, it's remarkable to see how quickly corrective information can now spread. After years of ignored freedom-of-information requests and stonewalling, all it took was disclosure to change the debate. Even the most influential scientists must prove their case in the court of public opinion?a court that, thanks to the Web, is one where eventually all views get a hearing. --Gordon Crovitz, WSJ 12/9/09

While described as bore cleaners, ed's red is also a very good penetrating oil. seems to be the winner

Kroil website indicates Austrailian distribution

Unka George (George McDuffee) .............................. The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. L. P. Hartley (1895-1972), British author. The Go-Between, Prologue (1953).

Ask around at your fixit shops or parts supplier. I'm sure they have an equivalent.

Steve