Rusted Bolts!

So, I crawled under my car to install a new cat-back exhaust only to find that the bolts on my cat to my B-pipe were so insanely rusted and fused that I can't even begin to get them loose. I've tried hosing them down with w-d 40 after scrubbing the crap out of them with a steel brush, but that had literaly no effect. On top of that, one of the bolts is almost round now. Thanks Robo Grip!

Any magic fixes? Anyone?

No magic solutions, hacksaw and drill it out and start all over again!

ohh, isn't there a new craftsman tool, just for this...?

I'll search....

Well I'm going to try heating it up and bashing it with a hammer first, my problem lies in the fact that the bolts are special OEM bolts that don't have a regular head. So I can order them online and wait a week, but I'm very impatient. I guess I could try to carfully cut the nuts off (ok that sounded really bad) without damaging the thread.

here it is...

Craftsman Bolt Out

looks pretty good to me!

good luck

edit: I guess these things cut into, and grip even odd size bolts.

special OEM bolts

Do the replacement bolts have to be this special type, can't you just hack them out and use standard bolts and washers?

Do the replacement bolts have to be this special type

I probably could, it's the kind of bolt with a rounded head but a small square bit under the head, (at least thats what I'm guessing is underneath), I'm just hesitant to do that, but if it comes down to cutting and drilling I'll probably give it a try.

looks pretty good to me!

Me Too... I'll be headed to Sears during my lunchbreak.

N.B Do not take advice from Attila the DIY bodger, my success rate is low, ask those who saw my Empeg installation at Amersfoort, I was robbed of the worst installation award by a cat's cock hair!

Do like the pros do and burn it out with an acetylene torch and then replace with new ones, OEM or no. If you think you may ever do this again, I recommend replacing with stainless steel hardware, if possible.

Stuck bolt? Heat it. Still not out? Melt it!

-Zeke

the real pros burn the nut off and leave the bolt still there

the real pros burn the nut off and leave the bolt still there

I bet a hooker like that costs afortune!

Coat liberally with penetrating oil, not just WD40
Leave for 24 hours
Use a breaker-bar

If that fails, blowtorch.

If that fails, dremel

Well, just got back from sears, I bought some real penetrating oil (not wd 40), a set of nut/bolt removers I can use with my breaker bar (thanks for the info on that Matt) and a nice set of work gloves. If that doesn't do it I'll be going to a friends house this weekend to cut them.

They look better than the threaded "easy outs" that go in after you drill a hole into the old bolt, but still - good luck.

Something to consider is to REALLY heat them up. Oxy-acetalene torch perhaps. If you get the bolt, and the surrounding area cherry red, then you do something interesting: Hot parts expand. The bolt will try to expand out into the area around it (the nut, or the part it's screwed into), and of course the threaded area will try to expand towards the bolts. When they run into each other (very quickly), they will have no choice but to stop expanding "that direction" and instead expand be forced to expand "up and down" - basically a different direction. This is good because they change their shapes a little bit, and once they cool off, they have now changed shape permanently. The threaded part will cool and pull slightly away from the bolt, and the bolt will cool and likewise pull away from whatever it's screwed into. You will hav now created a tiny gap, or at least taken some of the pressure off. Also, if you can, put a little candle or ski / snowboard wax on the pieces when they are starting to cool. The melted wax will wick in there and help keep the parts from sticking to each other.

We do this all the time here at work (Diesel engine remanufacturing plant). Workds great, just make sure to stop at "cherry red" or you may start changing the shapes of things more than you bargained for.

Thanks for the tip, not necessary though. That bolt out kit from Craftsman gets my vote for product of the century! I slapped one on my breaker bar, and once I put it on the bolt it's teeth sunk in and was as if the breaker bar and the nut were one piece. With a little, ok A LOT of sheer force, they broke free, all 3 of them. The coolest thing about the bolt out kit was that all 3 of the bolts were stripped down to almost being round. Took less then 30 minutes, probably would've taken less but my jack stands aren't very tall so I had no room for leverage.

That bolt out kit from Craftsman gets my vote for product of the century!

glad it worked!

This is a Coach Bolt, they are available anywhere. Also, you could probably get them off the shelf from any decent exhaust supplier, or an equivalent.

I would not waste the effort trying to save them, or the nuts. Cut 'em off and get new ones on: don't forget you will strain the other bolts trying to shift them, which means if you re-use them there's a good chance they will break in service later on. They are as like as not weakened by corrosion anyway, so is it really worth the risk for a few quid?

Don't be a cheapskate in this case - dosh out for a new set.

PS: I have just checked with my local KwikFit, and they change about 5-10 pounds for individual fitting kits.

Well the bolts ended up being fine, I replaced the nuts.

Fun project, the exhaust ended up being a lot louder then I really wanted but it's growing on me. It did give me an excuse to get some cool tools, like my new torque wrench.