Stubborn rusted old bolt: halp!

[kavandje]

OK, I admit at the outset that this isn't in a Cruiser, or even a Toyota. But in all fairness this could happen in an old xJ40, so...

I'm renovating a 1976 VW Type 2 panel van, and as part of that I am fitting actual seatbelts. Passenger side, no problem. Driver's side, of course, there's the inevitable stubborn bolt. [curseword]. Immediately went round when I tried to loosen it normally. [curseword]. Soaked it in WD40 overnight, nothing. [curseword]. Cut off the head, reasoning that I could use the stump and vise-grip pliers to pull it, nothing. [curseword].

I checked underneath, scraped away as much of the old "rust protection" underliner that I could see that might have been holding the bolt in. More WD40. Nothing. [curseword].

I don't want to damage the threads in the original hole, since it's a seat belt attachment point which is not easily relocated. Bolt extractors are not easily available in this country.

Advice? Lateral thinking is welcomed.

Photos attached; one from the top and one from the bottom, underside of the front right wheel well. And yes it's a RHD Kombi.

Oblig Cruiser content: it's going to be, among other things, a parts hauler for my Cruiser.

 

[KLF]

WD-40 has a lot of uses, but it worthless as a rust penetrant. You need something better, like Rust Buster or even better is Aero-Kroil. Not sure if that is an option where you are.

Otherwise, heat is your best friend. Do you have a welder? I would grind the top of it flat, weld a nut to it. That will give you something to put a wrench on, plus the heat will break the rust.

Last resort is to drill and tap.

 

[spotcruiser]

Just weld a big nut on it, as is, and turn it out. The heat of welding will free it up.

 

[FJ60Seth]

Drill it out. Use a punch to put a dimple in it. Start with a small bit. Drill straight and be verrrry careful not to apply to much pressure. You do not want to break the bit off. Move up to a slightly larger bit. Repeat until a little more than 1/2 the width of the bolt is removed. Now it should collapse a little as you turn it with vice grips.

 

[jblueridge]

I'd try heat first. Propane is not enough. Oxygen-acetylene welding flame is needed. Beware of starting a big fire. Small fire is unavoidable.

 

[Blue77FJ40]

Start with Kroil, a great penetrant.

 

[Weber Sarge]

As said , use a welding torch - you need extreme heat very fast . I'd suggest heating the bolt , and apply paraffin wax (canning wax) while it's hot . The wax will easily penetrate the threads and rust - it should screw right out after cooling a bit . Also , as above - an experienced welder could weld a nut to the bolt and knock it loose . If it's for a seat belt point , I would not heat the weldnut cherry red as it may remove any tempering . From the looks of the capture plate , it wouldn't be very hard to make a new one - cut the old welds at each end and replace it if necessary .
Sarge

 

[e9999]

count your blessings. It's an easy location to work with. If you have no welder or heat just drill it. If none of the above works, it'd be trivial to drill a new hole and put a bolt and nut nearby it seems.

 

[too tall]

i find sometimes that welding a nut to a small diameter broken bolt is difficult to get the electrode to contact the actual bolt you are trying to weld to . I use thick plate washers and stick them in a vice so that 1/3 of the washer is clamped , then hammer the remainder flat so that you have a 90 degree bend in your washer . Then I grab the bent washer with a pair of needle nose vice grips and attach my ground to that . Weld the washer on then use a better set of vice grips to grab the lip of the washer where you bent it. Back and forth ever so slight until you feel the threads break free .

 

[Golgo13]

Is the bolt frozen in both directions?

If possible, tighten it back down with some vice-grips, grind off the threads still sticking out and try again to take it out the top.

If that doesn't work, just grind off the nut and the head of the bolt. It should be pretty easy to weld in a new nut. Personally, I would rather do this than re-use the damaged threads in the existing nut.

 

[Dazrin]

I was thinking there was a sticky "check out this great tool deal" thread, but I don't see it, so this is as good a place as any for this...

Last weekend I found out that on my '93 the nuts on the O2 sensors are 12mm. Irwin/Vice Grip was the only brand of damaged bolt extractors I could find Saturday and they have sizes 11mm and 13 mm in their kit. I made the 11mm work but today (of course) Sears has a sale on the Craftsman version at $9.99 (1/2 off) which does have the 12mm. I now have a full set of Craftsman and will pass my like new, used once, Irwin's to a friend.

Small size set with case, $9.99: http://www.sears.com/craftsman-bolt-out-6-pc-damaged-bolt-nut-remover/p-00952060000P
Larger size expansion set, $9.49: http://www.sears.com/craftsman-bolt-out-5-pc-damaged-bolt-nut-remover/p-00952061000P

Overall it is 10 different sizes ranging from 8mm (3/8") to 19mm (3/4") for less than I spent on the Irwin set Saturday ($19.95 at Lowes).