Rusty bolt removal

[kkt]

Anyone got an opinion on the best easy out tool for removing all the old rusty bolts and screws that are a pita on my old cruisers.
I see them for various prices and would like to get one that works.

[bandy rooster]

a 4 inch angle grinder with a cut off wheel

[Blue77FJ40]

Penetrant first, and the best I've come across is Kroil by Kano Labs. Incredible stuff. You didn't say if the bolts were busted off, but if they are, tacking along the center away from threads to build up area with mig welder enough to weld nut on and remove. Many times heat from welding tiny tacks is enough to break rust bonds.

[camcruiser13]

drill, and some nice drill bits

[Blue77FJ40]

Originally Posted by camcruiser13

drill, and some nice drill bits

Oh yea, forgot to mention left hand drill bits also work wonders - also after Kroil.

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

Soak it in kroil over and over and over. Sometimes if you tighten the bolt ever so slightly it will help break the rust so you can back it off. You WILL get bloody knuckles!

[Ullr]

Kroil or PB Blaster first.

Heat second. If the bolt or nut is insanely stripped or broke off weld on a scrap bolt or nut. This gives you something to wrench on but more important every time I have welded a nut on the heat has done the work for me and it backed right out.

Profanity, beer and a drill bit last. Honestly, heat has done it every time for me. I have not resorted to a drill bit in a long time now.

[largenfirm]

Easy outs are a royal PITA when you break them off, and you will. They are harder than Kelsey's n*ts, and can't be drilled!

Try everything else, first.

I prefer Kroil, wait, wait, wait, followed by mild heat, more Kroil, more wait, and then twist them off with a big-ass air-impact wrench, and, if they break, drill out the remains with the left-handed drill bits. They generally unscrew as you are drilling them, >95% of the time.

Never needed an easy out since I threw the miserable MFs into the recycle bin.

Kirk

[FJ40fiji]

Originally Posted by IanB

Profanity, beer .

I always try those first. they never work, but they aways make me feel better about breaking things. Then I drill it and use an easy out, which sometimes breaks in the bolt in which case I burn up two or three good cobolt bits trying to drill out the hardest damn thing you can buy in a hardware store. There is a lot more profanity and beer when this happens. Now that I am a proficient welder, I will try welding another bolt on to it.

[REZARF]

PB Blaster a few days out with the tapping of a hammer on said bolts...

PB or similar the day of removal, and a little heat...

ANTISIEZE EVERYTHING as you replace back on the rig. That has saved me so much time over the past 7 years... I am already starting to enjoy the results...

Heat is my favorite tool for the bolt removing.

Good luck!

Rezarf <><

[fjwagon]

I agree, soak it over night first......but if you already done that and busted the bolt ......just drill it out and work it with an easy out until it comes out.

When removing rusted bolts you can try loosening it back and forth after it has been soaked.....that helps. You can also use a wire brush if you have access on the side of the the bolt and remove all the rust of it before removing bolt. Or use a die a to clean the threads before removing the bolt. Sometimes you don't have a choice but let them soak with PB basters or some other stuff.

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi All:

A big ditto on the use of Kroil and heat! Try the tightening/loosening/tightening technique also.

Patience and care is the most important skill, however.

Good luck!

Alan
Seattle

[Fman]

I speak from experience on this subject. I just broke off two water pump bolts on my SB350, learn from my mistakes. First, DO NOT try and easy out any rusted bolt. You are playing russian roulette. If you break an easy out, the only way to remove the easy out is with a high speed grinder and carbide tipped bit. And it takes MANY hours of labor to remove the smallest easy out.

If soaking and heat does not work, go out and buy yourself a couple COBALT drill bits, and a nice thread tap. The one bolt I drilled and tapped turned out perfect, the other that had the easy out break off inside the bolt was a nightmare and I finally fixed it but with MANY hours of labor involved. If you are drilling out the bolt use a guide to keep the hole as straight as possible. For my water pump is bolted it back on the to the block as used the holes to guide me into the hole straight. This is the trickiest part about tapping a new bolt, if you go in crooked it will make things more difficult when tightening up your new bolt.

If you are tapping a new thread a couple of hints: Use cutting oil not regular oil, only buy quality taps (Hanson/MAC tools are very good), when tapping turn a 1/2 turn and back off 1/4 turn, continute to clean out metal shavings. Having a magnetized punch works great to pick up the shaved pieces. There should not be to much pressure when tapping a new hole, if it feels excessive, STOP and back off and take a look at whats going on. Taps will break off very easy, and if you brake a tap off there is a tool available to pull one out that works great.

Anyway, just my 2 cents, good luck....

[Soul_Man]

I agree on not using easy outs for rusted bolts.
If you overtorque and snap a head putting a bolt IN, the easy out may get it out. IF you snapped a head becasue the bolt was frozen in place, an easy out is never gong to give you MORE torque than you had on the head. Easy outs aren't really designed for that.
All the above methods are good.

[Doug_S]

One of the last ways that a busted bolt can be removed is by an EDM machine at a machine shop. Sometime it is advisable to have a shop remove the bolt or stud of the part that you're dealing with provided it can be easily moved. EDM (Electro Discharge Machine) bolt removal will not effect the threads provided the machininst doing the job knows what he/she is doing. The process can be done in aluminum, steel, cast iron, etc.

[samper]

Where do you buy this Kroil other than their web site?

[largenfirm]

Originally Posted by samper

Where do you buy this Kroil other than their web site?

Well, Kano Labs is a bit schitzo on this - they claim it is not for sale retail, but most John Deere dealers stock it. There are also plenty of online sources - Brownells, Midway, Eastwood, etc.

Seriously, though, I buy mine from Kano online, even with the shipping (which they pay for some products), it is still a bargain. Nice folks, too. Called them with some questions, and they treated me like I was their biggest customer, and a lifelong friend, to boot.

I just got a whiff of PB Blaster the other day, for the first time, and that stuff reeks - Kroil smells not-so-bad as that!

A gallon will last you a good long time.

Any reason you don't want to buy direct?

Kirk

[762fmj]

Kroil is the best in the world. I even use it to clean my guns!!

[largenfirm]

Originally Posted by 762fmj

Kroil is the best in the world. I even use it to clean my guns!!

Me, too!

Not a rust preventative, though.

Kirk

[F-junker]

I have fought with many a manifold bolt on everything from old pontiac engine to new alum. Mazda engines, all of the penetrants I used, kroil is by far the best. I Hate Easy outs. If you must buy them the fluted models work well if you have the area to pound them in with a hammer.

All said and done, I mig welded nuts on, this can be an extremely trying task to get stuff to adhere well. Especailly since it's been oiled and wrenched on. If you want to have an indispensible tool that once you've owned you'll never be without. BUY A TORCH! Oxy-aced. torches are a can't live without. You will never look at taking something apart the same after using one. Beavis was right... FIRE FIRE!!!!

[Dale Sr]

Anything but an easy out. As above - penetrant, heat, left hand drill bit etc.

[F-junker]

Dale Sr
You Rock!!! I've not laughed that hard in a while. I've always wanted to put a bumper sticker on my truck like,"#3 He's dead get over it" or "Drive like an asshole, Die like an asshole". Problem is I'd get run off the road and shot!

good to see someone with a good sense of humor!

[Pinion]

I use a healthy soaking of SEARCH with heat.

[Mr. Green]

I usually soak in PB blaster for 3 days or more before attempting removal. And the hammer tapping trick as mentioned.
If it's a stud, I have used the chuck from an electric drill on the bolt body (tightened down as much as humanly possible and then some). Also works with busted off bolt heads if you have access to the back side.
Also do your self a favor and buy a nice set of metric taps and dies for chasing threads. Then you don't have to go through this scenario again.

[FLYINGLOW]

KKT seeing as how you asked which easy outs work best, I'll put in my 0.02. Reverse drill bits are good, but the best easy out kit I have seen is from Snap-On and Mac. I think Hansen sells them too. They fit in a 9/16" socket. The closest thing to a P/N on it is 10SE (Mac), Mac calls it a 'Screw Extactor Set'. I paid $40 for the 10 piece one from Mac about 8 years ago which I think is quite reasonable, and I think they work well. You can get more pressure on the head of a ratchet than a tap handle. Before you snap the head off, hand held impact drivers work well too. Sorry the camera isn't working otherwise I'd post a pic.

[PUPTLAM]

Snap on makes a kick ass set of screw extractors. Little spendy but worth while.

[STR]

I've heard if you mix equal parts auto tranny fluid, diesel fuel, turpentine and acetone that you can make a pretty great penetrant to loosen up stubborn bolts.

STR

[Mickey Plunkett]

After tearing two 40's down to the bare frame I have found a novel approach to backing out a stubborn bolt. I cut off the end of one of the bits for my air hammer so that I have a straight shaft about 3/8 diameter. When a bolt seems seized I apply penetrant, let soak, and then apply pressure with a wrench while I pull the trigger on the air hammer with the shaft on the head of the stubborn bolt. The vibration almost always allows me to back out the stubborn bolt without breaking it off. It uglies up the bolt head but that's a small price to pay. I just used the technique a couple weeks ago on a seized water pump bolt and it worked like a charm. It's always good to run a tap (bottom tap if you can find one) into the block to clean out the threads and then use anti-seize during reassembly.

[TOBASH]

...larger bolts w protruding head or neck like being welded to and extracted. I weld a nut or junk bolt to it and turn it out. Make sure you weld in short quick snaps or you may fuse the bolt to everything else. Ground to the bolt, NOT the thing the bolt is in.

PB blaster is awesome stuff. Use it followed by a heat soak followed by more PB blaster each day for several days.

If the bolt is straight up and down, I have used plumbers acid over 2 -6 hours, making a surrounding trough of Vaseline. Then I wipe it all away, hit with PB blaster and heat and have at it.

On large or mid size bolts I use a Dremmel tool to grind a straight line across the top that is at least 2-3 mm deep. I make sure the walls of the groove (on profile) are angled towards each other so they grip the screwdriver rather than allowing it to slip out. Then I use a tempered expensive sears craftsman type screw driver w/ a vice grips on the side to twist it out (after hitting w/ lots of PB blaster). This simple tip save me 2-3 times per year! If you break the screw driver so what, its a craftsman w/money back!

Vibrations from hammers can't be stressed enough as a way to break rust.

Best,

T