Dissolving rubber?

[Landcruisin'60]

Is there a quick way to dissolve rubber? It doesnt have to be minutes but something I could put on and in the morning be able to remove my shackle bolts more easily? I have tried a puller, torch and banging the bolts with a rather large sledge hammer. But nothing is working. The front came out quickly but on the rear there seem to be sleeves that have rusted to the bolt and somehow stuck to the rubber and they wont come out. I need to get this done soon because I am behind schedule.

 

[GulfShoresFJ60]

You can cut the shackle bolts with a sawzall. Put the blade between the shackle and the shackle hanger and just cut the shackle bolt. The bolt should be easier to remove - now you can pop the bushing out with the bolt.

 

[tclndcrz]

you could torch it out

 

[60wag]

There isn't a practical solvent for the bushings. Lighting them on fire with a torch is the easiest way to go. Pressing them out with a hydraulic jack is an option that doesn't make quite as much smoke.

 

[Landcruisin'60]

Yeah I have been torching them but it take a long time and smells horrible.

 

[VTCruiser]

agreed, burn 'em out.

 

[cabron]

would brake cleaner work? it eats my gloves

 

[crawlin60]

dude, just torch the crap out. Rubber gets gooey when hot enough and then you just crank the come-along attached to the shackle and wham-o, problem solved.

 

[Gappy]

Here is what I have done, remove the nut and shackle. Set up a fan to blow the smoke away and torch the rubber and the threads right at the rubber. Do that until the at least a portion of the bolt is red hot, then beat the hell out of the bolt to push it out. If it doesn't work, more heat for a longer time, gotta break down that rubber. Watch out for hot flying rubber shrapnal when you start swinging the hammer. If you didn't get hot flying rubber, you didn't heat long enough. Once the bolt is flush and the hammer is no good, get some steel bar stock to beat on and push it through. If you do need to cut, I recommend a medium sized hand grinder instead of a saw, cuts quicker.
Good luck!!

 

[agent orange]

I drilled some holes in the really stubborn bushings because i didnt have a torch, that made a big difference.

 

[lowtideride]

Ive used plenty of methods. BFH normally works. But, I have used a high lift jack from one bolt to another and highlifted them out at the same time

 

[brett76]

i just sawzalled a section of the bushings

 

[Landcruisin'60]

Ok I am going to try to drill them out and then torch them. I am low on oxygen so I dont really want to use the torch a whole lot on burning bushings.

 

[AfricanToy]

take a quick pic...for us onlookers. We all want to partisapate

 

[Landcruisin'60]

I can, in the last 1-2 hours of beating torching and spraying PBblaster I got one shackle bolt out. This could take a while.

 

[phishincruisin]

you just aren't hitting them hard enough when we took blaines out of his leafs on his toy, tom and i just used propane torches to slowly melt them out, there wasn't any need for the heat of the oxy-mapp torch. it worked really well. just get g'pas mapp torch and go after it.

 

[Landcruisin'60]

Yeah, yeah, yeah of course im not hitting it hard enough. :whoops: I'll get the mapp torch tomorrow and see what I can do. I am so sick of taking stuff apart I want to put stuff back together

 

[lowtideride]

Are you torching the rubber or the bolt?
If you have a hot enough torch I would torch the bolt til it turns red hot then pound it out.

 

[Landcruisin'60]

I have tried both.

 

[lowtideride]

If you tryed heating up just the bolt and it dint work you dint get it hot enough.