Damn rusty bolts and nuts! Suggestions needed
 

Yanking my stock suspension to swap in my Xida Clubsports. Of course I'm having my share of fun on the 193k mile chasis, 135k of which was in up-state NY, :crx:

Broke off 3 top-hat nuts in the rear, the 4th is rounded off and can't decide if I want to try to get a "gator" socket on it or try to cut it off with a dremel tool. Unless you guys have any better ideas.

Also my passenger side bolt at the bottom of the shock is stuck. I got the nut off, the bolt spins around, but I can't hammer it out. I ended up mushrooming the bolt, so I'll have to replace that which I need to do anyways, lol. I tried spinning it with the impact while hammering, hammering with a punch, and trying to back it out old fashion style with a ratchet. I also jacked it up at the LCA trying to relive any tension on the bolt, but still nothing. My next step is a GD-BFH! (god-damn-big-f!cking-hammer).

Spent a good 3 hours fighting with the rust, hopefully I'll have them out by tomorrow night so I can install them on Thursday. I've also got to replace the alignment bolts, that'll be fun too, lol.

Any advice on how to deal with the rusty bolts/nuts is greatly appreciated!

Penetrating oil, small propane torch is helpful too.

Ha-ha!

No srsly, never had an issue with rust on my car and I live in the wettest region of the country. Thank god for mild winters and saltless roads.

Use the BFH on the bolt once you've cut the mushroomed part off. I'm assuming this is a front lower bolt, since the rears don't have nuts?

Which nut is rounded in the back? Either one is going to be a bitch to get to with anything to cut, I'd worry more about the damaged I'd do around the nut. The gator socket is only going to work if it has something to grip. If your ---- is sufficiently rounded, it'll spin like any other socket.

Gotta ask, WHY would a guy from TN buy a car from NY? Or did you move?

Fae, you paying attention? Get your "new" NA from the South or West.

Sorry, that wasn't helpful, I know. What can I say. Born in Ohio. Hate rust.

http://www.use-enco.com/1/1/2297-103...nhibitors.html
Or you could use what starts rust in the first place: water & heat.

Insanely good deal on an R when I got it. Bought it in NC, found out it was NY.


Is releasall sold at any retailer? A torch is also on the list, but I thought it would just made the metal expand. Help me understand that one better please!

Releasall is available through MSC industrial supply. IDK of any retailer like an auto parts or hardware store that carries it. It's tough to find, but good stuff. MSC will sell retail. I'm lucky to have an office close to me. You could probably walk in.
Knoxville, TN
9827 Cogdill Rd., Suite 3
Knoxville, TN 37932
Local (865) 777-9840

http://www1.mscdirect.com/eCommerce/...rchandizedOk=NN

An old mechanic's trick was to saturate the rusted fastener with water and let it sit for a bit. Overnight if need be. Then warm the object with a torch and try turning it. What you're trying to do in this method is to get the rust to 'break down' a little more.

In normal 'rusting' heat accelerates the oxidation process. Has something to do with molecular stability or some such thing... weak bonds...

MSC is one of my dad's clients, I should ask him how quick he could get that stuff.

That address is right beside a Nursing Training center, I've actually been there a few times and I don't think that has an MSC office, I could be wrong though. MSC is a MASSIVE company and sells just able everything, lol.

I soaked all the bolts and nuts left to take off with PB blaster last night. I'll be taking a torch to some of the seized ones. It makes sense that heat would break down the rust. I'll probably burn off the lower shock bushings, which need to be replaced anyways, lol.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

the candle wax trick works well too, since you already have the torch handy.

You always want to soak nuts/bolts prior to removal. Sometimes I'll spray what I'm working on 2 days in advance, then another couple times before actually putting a wrench on it.

Spraying them with blaster AFTER the fact isnt going to help much.

and yhou should apply some tightening pressure on them first, then try to loosen.

Welcome to my world. I have been working on rusty cars all my life.


Nev-r-seize is your friend. Rusty bolts will freeze back up if you don't replace them, and the nuts. This quickly gets to be a hassle. Wire brush the threads, and coat with the compound. They will always come apart.

KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!

No srsly, oxy torch will help losen any bolt, might damage surrounding parts...

Propane torch sometimes won't get the bolts hot enough, or it takes a lot of sitting there warming the bolt/nut. Oxy torch takes seconds to get up to the right temp.

I've also had luck with welding, ie adding a spot weld on the top of the bolt, nut. That amount of heat will usually help break the "seal"

I soaked every piece I knew I would be working on last Sunday.

What's the candle wax trick?

Hopefully I'll get this suspension out tonight.

heat ---- up, push candle onto hot parts. It'll melt and hopefully the wax will seep in and lube ---- up. You want it really hot though, so it's liquid wax, not warm sludge.

Well, got the rear shocks out. Minus one alignment bolt that is stuck, can't get a good angle to whack it with a BFH.

I figured out both the shock bolts on the front are bent! I didn't notice this until I put the nut on the un-molested driver's side bolt and saw it wobble when I was turning it. It's insane how much I can move the shock around. Enough, in fact, to get a sawzall blade in between the shock and shock-mount. So I'll probably be cutting the bolt on both sides, removing the shock and hopefully the remains of the bolt will be easy to punch out.

I didn't use much heat on any of these bolts. I didn't know how much good they would do on a bent bolt. I'm thinking heat is the ticket to the seized alignment bolt in the rear. I haven't touched the front alignment bolts yet, I'm sure they will be a PITA too, lol.

Yeah, the local MSC here is a small office. By doing a walk-in I saved the shipping. It's less than five miles from my place.

There's also a product called 'Deep-Creep'. Made by the Seafoam people.
I've never tried it 'cause I have the releasall.

Well I'm fairly confident I'll be able to cut the bent & rusted shock bolts, but I'm kind of stuck on how to get the broken alignment bolt out. I can't turn it fully, it seems it's in a bend of some sort with the bushing. Although I would figure the metal fitting on the inside would prevent it from that. It twists about an 1/8th of a turn and the LCA rises.

I'll also have to source a new bolt to replace the bent one that I'll end up cutting. Hope to find one similar, can't seem to find a direct replacement on rockauto's or oreilly's website. I wouldn't figure there would be anything to critical on that bolt if it's the same diameter, same strength, and fairly the same length.

Alignment bolts are readily available, I have a full set.

You might want to find out why the top hat bolts are rusted. In my experience they won't rust unless you have a leaky top.