Frozen nuts & bolts: tips & tricks

[Bob Carriere]

I agree with Chris.... heat and cold and more heat and oil soak in between. Finnnnnness is the secret.... very few bolts will resist the hot/cold cycle.... but patience is a great attribute..... heavy handed hammers just break things. Nice to cycle the impact gun forward and back to release it.

Once broken I have had good luck with welding a nut to the broken stud even if broken flush with the casting. We actyually save old rusted nuts in a can for that purpose, Sometimes you need to weld a few nuts before one really sticks to the stud..... heat again from welding contributes to releasing.

I have very very strong hatred for any kind of easy out...... they break in the bolts then you are really stuck... can't drill them out as they are hard tempered and the drill bit skids to the side and messes up the hole. Easy out should be banned from hardware stores.

We are users of Gibbs from the states as a release liquid..... we bring it in by the dozen spray cans..... although I have used various mixtures of snake oil, tranny fluid and acetone but diesel does work great if you need lots to flood a seized engine with stuck rings....just flush it down the carb and let it sit.....

My dad used bees wax on bolts that had been heated and had good success.... anybody else ever used it??

Cheers