DIY - Rusted Nuts and Bolts Come Loose Easily

[ChiefWindRunner]

don't use those bolts again! the heat weakens the metal!! and also you dont need wax. The heat loosens the molecules in the nut causing the metal to expand away from the bolt!! :)

[KlasykaPolskiegoHH]

use air gun and problem is gone -.-

[jeffpicks]

@KlasykaPolskiegoHH -- along with the wheel lug, requiring a time consuming repair.

[TommyChevyBugle]

gota a engine block bolt 9 16 ths , will this work? to remove

thanks dawg

[NETWizzJbirk]

You don't need the wax. The heat causes the metal to expand a few thousandths of an inch to temporarily be almost loose... Just loosen it immediately after heating. You can't do this on painted rims.... Honestly, you should always try a penetrating oil first like WD-40, Liquid Wrench, PB Blaster, 3-in-1 High Performance Penetrant... whatever.

[pvtskitzo]

Safety glasses are completely useless if that tyre explodes (and they do), might i suggest that you let the tyre down and pop it off the bead before you try heating the nuts, might save you a trip to the morgue

[andydiscovery]

@pvtskitzo - I know a guy that used Oxy/Acetylene to free off some wheel nuts on a JCB, the tyre exploded - taking 3 of his fingers with it

[pvtskitzo]

@andydiscovery Lucky it didn't take his life, thats why you never heat on or near a rim that has an inflated tyre on it, always where possible remove the wheel, if you can not because the wheel nuts are seized or the studs are slipping in the hub, let the tyre down and take it off it's bead, that way there is no way the tyre can explode,

[FabKing1]

@pvtskitzo You can heat the center of mounted rim red hot with no issues. With 25 years in the biz I have never seen a tire come off the rim nor have I heard of it even through urban legend.

[andydiscovery]

@FabKing1

No urban legends here, I've seen his lack of fingers first hand (no pun intended)

[andydiscovery]

@pvtskitzo

Yes, I agree 100%

[vinnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy]

@Frets0nFirePhenom ohh okay.. have you senn those induction heaters.. do you like those?

[vinnnnnnnnyyyyyyyy]

im just wondering, and note im a teenager, but wouldnt heating the nut also heat the bolt causing both to expand?

[TsmnnDvl5]

This is a very old old school method and yes it does work!! Using heat well, you just have to learn how to do that without damaging anything else. Quite easy if you take your time. Heating the nut up till it's red hot DOES break the rust bond however, you do tend to lose the "integrity" of the nut itself, meaning, you just made it useless. Unless of course you intend on replacing with new from the get go.

[HussamStands]

Yep, the wax trick work awesome for bolts and nuts that are rusted up like crazy. This is a REAL old school method, but works perfect. there are few methods to consider before doing this. maybe WD-40 at first and let it sit for an hour and try again. break the rust by tightening then loosening. If did not work, then heating the nut (but not the bolt) hot red and break it loose. heating the nut quickly will cause it to expand and break the rust.

Thanks for the video.

[dureyes]

Nice trick, thank you.

[niper99]

Brutal lol



[spsfish1]

can I use this method for the bottom of my lawnmower the reason for is I have a rusted bolt that holds the blade on and I want to turn it into a gokart and yes I have used wd40 and it seems to not loosen it

[pvtskitzo]

@spsfish1  just cut it off, bolts are cheap

[discretesignalz]

If the lugs and studs are that corroded and won't budge, we just grab the impact wrench and break them off. No, cutting or heating necessary. Then we press in new lug studs and use new nuts. Other times someone will over-tighten the lug nut causing the threads to stretch. When they stretch the lug nut cross threads coming off. No amount of candle wax is going to get that off. Always tighten your lug nuts with a torque wrench set to the manufacture's recommended torque.

[mindfreek454]

hey, ive got a rusted nut holding on my transmission hose on my 95 Cavalier...The hose is leakin and I need to replace, but I just can't get the damn nut loose. I've tried PB Blaster and that didnt work. I'd try this, but to get to the hose I have to fold my body 24 time...I'm considering cutting the line and sticking a deep well socket on there, but thats a last resort...got any ideas to help me out FabKing1?

[malachy1847]

@mindfreek454 after soaking same with a Penetrant spray... Get two hammers .. Hold one up against the Flat on the Hex coupling then Hit the opposite flat @180 Degree with the outher Hammer ...This Shocks the fitting allowing same to be rotated off. Worth a try....

[audiocable]

didnt work on my audi, they had to cut the rim off, fuck its a 300 dollar rim. 

[thegenrl]

wow cool, never heard of this method!

[painfull94]

hey i have a bolt stuck on my spoiler on my car and the nut on the bolt will not budge but the whole bolt does and the bolt is one the inside of the spoiler so i cant get to it. i dont know if that made much sense but any ideas

[FabKing1]

@painfull94 I am assuming that your spoiler has a section of body so to speak at each mounting pedestal. Figure out where the internal bolt head is and drill a whole large enough to get a grip with needle nose vice grips. To repair the hole you can use premium body filler. Might I suggest that before you close the hole up, put a good amount of 2 part epoxy in the hole to cover and trap the head in the spoiler to avoid this happening again.

Hope this was of some help.

[painfull94]

@FabKing1 dude thanks so much would have never thought of that i will do that next time i have the time

thanks

[FabKing1]

@nicerak47 Maybe some people are too dumb to work with fire?

[silentknight2112]

you just have to be careful if you heat too much it can cause a fire inside the tire without you een noticing it and create an explosion and kill you

[40smokd20]

thats fuckin awesome good job man

[Neroscot]

Yes but the rollers take a "candle" !

[giantbluemarlin]

This is a great tip. Esp good for people who do stuff backwards. Let them rust then come up with solution...

Put anti-seize on them in the first place. Check it every spring. Use WD-40 to slow rust progression. Keep it all off your brakes and make sure you check torque again after a drive or two.

If you put a little anti-seize on the back-side of the wheel too, the will not stick on. Amazing what anti-seize can do. It stops stuff seizing and sticking together. Who'd a thunk it.

[MANproducts]

anti seize them BEFORE they rust.. or use an impact gun

[scalabration]

Have you had luck in general with any of the bolt extractor sets?

[maxestuardo]

JUST USE PREPARATION H it works all the time

[dodgedart74]

i doubt this works as well as people make it out to,

[poopcola]

@dodgedart74

you have NO idea. this very trick has saved my ass roadside.

[apt1331]

That's cool, but not if you care about the finish on your wheels.

[FabKing1]

Yea the finish on those wheels I have - Would want to mess up that rust.

You could just leave them on and whine about them?

[apt1331]

The point was not all of our wheels have the finish yours do.

[Akathepriest]

@apt1331 Why aren't you taking care of your threads if you have nice wheels?

[taledarkside]

ive tried the wax thing, and its never worked for me. usually the nut is frozen that it only came off heating it red hot.

not talking about lug nuts thou

[1972FordF150]

use anti sieze on the threads so they won't sieze on there

[FabKing1]

Anti Seize is great for parts you want to have come apart, but an ill advised idea on a wheel stud for obvious reasons. Don't get me wrong I am all for anti seize, just for the right applications. IE on Spark plus - saves a world of hurt.

Lubricating the threads prior to tightening generates an incorrect torque yield. In the case of a wheel it can and most likely will warp the rotors.

[1972FordF150]

I use anti sieze on my tire threads and I have never had a prob with the coming lose

[FabKing1]

I would call you lucky then, I can not count the number of times I have seen anti seize and loose lug nuts come together for a disaster of loose wheel or warped rotors.

[1972FordF150]

me and my dad use it and we have never had any proboblems

[FabKing1]

I hope that you never do have any problems, thanks for the interaction here.

[1972FordF150]

yeah thanks me too, but I don't cake the stuff on there I just barley put a enough to cover the threads!! your welcome for the interaction here.

[FabKing1]

I was think about that very thing earlier today. There is a difference between caking it on and just enough to get the job done.

[1972FordF150]

well DUH just barley use enough to get the job done

[brentjames24]

lol no man i am not the one who is using a chemical compond made to keep bolts free and easy to remove on a nut and stud made to be tight and hard to remove, you are defeating the purpose, so not me my friend, i am not dumb, i am not going to be immature and say that you are dumb again, but i am not the one who is dumb

[1972FordF150]

FOR THE LAST TIME I only use just a tiny bit adn get em on there tight and 5 years later there still hard to remove

[brentjames24]

like fab king and i said you and your dad are lucky

like i say you and your dad are stupid

[1972FordF150]

your really dumb dude. I just use barley enough to do the job !!!!!

[brentjames24]

consider yourself lucky but stupid

[brentjames24]

you are not to put lubricants on wheel nuts ever! it changed the resistance on the stud so when you go to torque you easily over torque it and can break it

use you head listen to someone with experience (licenesed mech)

[TheOnlyMomo02]

so this will also work for skateboards?

[FabKing1]

This will work on any bolt you can heat up. Be careful with skateboards, there is a lot of flammable material there.

[Grizzlymarine]

that's a great easy simple tip.

[FabKing1]

Semper Fi

[bmitchely]

Cool trick! I have not thought of using it on wheel nuts. I have done it on Corvair engine blocks to remove the cylinder hold down bolts from the block. An aluminum block and steel bolts and no anti-seize is a bad combo. Thanks for the tip!!!

[FabKing1]

Interesting that you mention the Corvair - It was where I was first introduced to this tip.

Works great on lubricating the joints for the convertible top before you install a new one.

Milk of Magnesia make a great anti seize.

[nonamesleftorwhat]

how do i do this looks like all my head bolts are siezed on my z24 1993 3.1 and i need to replace the head gasket...

[bmitchely]

Using A propane torch heat the aluminum head carefully and just lay the candle wax into the heads of the bolts. A little tricky on a car. On my '75 TR7 I had to first soak the bolts with PB Blaster (a rust penetrant that is not flammable) then heat the aluminum head, and finally freeze the studs quickly with freon from a can tap (Treehuggers relax it was R134). Some can be a real beast! Good Luck

[FabKing1]

Sounds like a great trick I'll have to remember that one. Sounds like the removal of dents with a heat gun and CO2 trick.

[FabKing1]

In all instances head bolts must be replaced. Make sure you use a high quality 6 point socket. Using a punch to nail the heads as hard as safely possible can shock them loose. See my remove case bolt video and you will see what I mean. Now just do it to match you scale.

Watch carefully for a cracked block, these are notorious for cracking a cylinder mid way and hiding until it is all put back together.

[FabKing1]

I realized I should have been more clear and said "Shock hit the heads of the bolts"

[narcovice]

what is that candle wax

[FabKing1]

Why yes it is, just a plain Jane dollar store candle.

[outlawICE]

THANKS A LOT FOR POST KING!

[FabKing1]

Thanks for commenting.

[tomtom3245]

Thanks, great great tip!!

[FabKing1]

Glad it was of help.