Working on the Jeep, spinning wrenches. Except the last guy who came near a couple of bolts torqued them down. I even got a cheat bar to get some extended leverage on the ratchet wrench.
Broke the danged wrench. Those bolts don't want to spin.
I have them liberally soaked with penetrating oil, and will see how they are tomorrow morning. I'd hate to have to take it to a garage to get bolts loosened. Sheesh.
Since I have a compressor, maybe I'll just head out to Lowe's and get a danged pneumatic impact wrench. Fight fire with fire. But this is really annoying, turning a one hour job into an all day one, just because Cletus was in a hurry to clock out and drove the bolt down.
18 comments:
Just make sure you are using a quality socket.
Speaking from experience, it's really no fun when they decide to split in half under maximum torque while you are on the other end.
Best of luck!
Bustednuckles.
I like the PB Blaster Penetrating Catalyst.
If you're fighting a nut and bolt, go after the nut.
An impact will get what straight torque will twist off.
Even if that means getting it in a bind and whacking your tool.
That didn't seem weird before I typed it..
Soak them good, put a socket on it, and smack the socket a few times with a BFH. I've had that work. All else fails, get a torch and heat up the nut. When it's nice and hot, soak it again with penetrant. It takes time, but can get frozen nuts loose.
An impact is also great, but always soak the bolt/nut and wait an hour or so.
Got a hand torch? Heat 'em up, let them cool and have at 'em!
Often , these days, for the price of an air impact, you can get cordless
Be sure to get Impact sockets, don't use your chrome ones.
Also: Heat the nut heat one side quickly to expand it.
Use Kroil- the only way to go. Never use a cheater bar on a ratchet- the ratchet will usually self destruct first. Use a six point socket. If all else fails, get out the gas wrench (oxy/acect), not propane. Good luck.
Depending on how mad ya get…this might be an option.
https://www.norbar.com/products/view/nsubcategory/categoryname/pneumatic-torque-multipliers/category_multid/109
These are pneumatic torque wrenches but they need a surface to react against. Sounds like you’ll need somewhere north of 750 ft.lbs. Some rental outfit in town can probably set you up with one for a day.
How big is the bolt, BP?
A multiplier might work too if you have the room…
Pray the nimrod who torqued them down too far didn't cross thread them first....
+1 to what "B" said above. Battery electric impact wrenches really do the deal now. The Milwaukee M18 Fuel High-torque model will match just about any 1/2" air impact on the market today, and doesn't have the downside of needing air lines. Nice to bring on road trips with trailers too, trailer tires always are a pain in the backside and that M18 thing rips the nuts right off even if the last idjit that put them on just fired the ugga-dugga gun until they stopped turning.
Heat it up and use bees wax or a candle on the bolt and or nut always worked for me.
If all else fails, hammer and chisel. Air chisel if you have air.
You might try Open and Shut from Lawson Products:
https://www.lawsonproducts.com/Drummond/Open-and-Shut-NutBolt-LoosenerRust-Penetrant/DA6152.lp
I had galled bolts on my car a few years ago - stainless steel - and could not get them to break free. Talked with my neighbor and he recommended same and loaned me a can. Sprayed it on the bolts and waited a few minutes. Crawled back under the car and reapplied a wrench and they ALL came free without too much effort. Have loaned my can to friends since then and they also cannot believe how well it works. Of course, my problem was galled bolts, not overtorqued.
Imagine if you had been at the side of the road. I have been there. At this point I am too old and injured to handle a large truck tire and have to call a tow service to help. Now I have to contemplate lack of cell service.
1) You have violated one my major tenets, Never start a project on a Sunday. It angers the gods.
2) I had one nut on my tractor tire that refused to loosen. Soaking, cheater bars and impact wrench did not work. The final solution was an angle grinder.
Good luck
Glen, it's a 3/4", about 2" long. A washer is keeping the penetrating oil from penetrating.
I'm starting to wonder if the guy who put the bolts in had stripped the threads or some such, and so used some Lok-tite.
Get a 24 inch long 1/2" flex-bar from Horror Fright Tools. The pivoting head works better than a breaker bar with the sliding head in most situations. Avoid the chrome plated sockets for impact use. They seem to be more brittle than the black sockets. The black ones also tend to have thicker walls, so clearance issues can sometimes occur.
Heating the nut with an O/A torch, or a plumber's torch, will really help. Both will get it red, the o/a will be faster. Turn it while still red, don't wait until it cools, or you will have wasted your time. A mild red is fine, it doesn't need to get toward white to be effective. Try not to heat the bolt at the same time, you want to get a temperature difference that will change the dimensions of the two parts relative to each other.
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