Re: need lesson on rusty suspension bolts

[Charlie Smith <charlie@elektro.cmhnet.org>]

Earlier, don & lori wrote:
> 
> looking for some advise on dealing with
> rusty suspension bolts.
> 
> so far i have rounded off one bolt,
> then my six point socket broke.
> gotta make use of that lifetime warranty.
> next i broke off the bolt that pinches
> the strut to the hub carrier.  now i do
> not know what to do.
> 
> is heating these bolts the answer?
> how much heat should you give them.
> i do have a propane torch.

A propane torch probably won't get them hot enough to do much good,
you'd have to heat the nut or bolt for such a long time that everything
around it would be heated excessively.  You can try heating it and
then squirting penetrating oil on the threaded part.  It may help to
take a large flat punch and hammer on the bolt head or on the flats
of the nut.

Something else that helps is an impact tool.  Craftsman sells something
they call an Impact Tool Set; includes the handle you hit with a hammer,
and several screwdriver bits - but the drive end is 1/2" and will fit into
a socket.  If you have room to swing a hammer, this will loosten nuts
and bolts that otherwise you might just break them off.

If you can get the car to an oxy-ac torch, you can deliver a *lot* 
of heat to the nut quickly, then perhaps squirt it with WD40 ...
be careful, this will make a lot of smoke you don't want to breath,
and may briefly catch on fire.  This will get a lot of otherwise
stuck stuff to begin to turn.  Be careful applying a lot of torque 
while a bolt is red hot.  When it's that hot, it's soft too.

[ note on using a torch on stuff like this:  have a fire extinguisher
  immediately at hand.  I use a CO2 unit because you can give things
  a shot without subsequently having to recharge the unit.  Plus, all
  of the dry powder units are abrasive and corrosive - not good around
  moving parts, except that it does put the fire out.  ]

Make sure your wrench fits the nut or bolt, not loosely.  The tighter 
the wrench/socket fits, the less likelyhood that it will strip the corners
of the nut.

For allen wrench stuff, or 12 point allens (some call this triple square)
clean out the recess in the bolt COMPLETELY, if the wrench doesn't go 
completely into the bolt, you are asking for it to strip.  

Hope some of this helps.

    - Charlie


Charlie Smith   charlie@elektro.cmhnet.org  614-471-1418  
 http://elektro.cmhnet.org/~charlie/  Columbus Ohio   USA


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