Shop tools needed to repair frozen fasteners?

[OilPatch197]

Okay I need to setup my garage for Rusty, oxidized fastener removal.

Got some rust buckets coming up that I need to do some work on.

Fastener range will be from 3/8ths to 24mm, bolts to long studs(stupid gas tank bolts) fuel/brake lines(some metal lines screw DIRECTLY into aluminum, now tell me that isn't going to get stuck?) to leaf spring brackets.

But before I list what I have. I will tell you what I have learned(correct me if I'm wrong!)

PB Blaster or other penetrating oil for initial soak.(NOT WD-40)

Snapped off bolt heads- Weld on nut OR use cutoff tool to slot, heat with torch(?) and use air impact chisel tool.

Stripped bolts- Drill out and tap for larger bolts if room allows, OR use Helicoil. If bolt is stripped and will not pull out, use a slide hammer with vise grips welded to the end.

if bolt will absolutely will not loosen or is so corroded, just cut the nut off with the cutoff tool.

Use six sided sockets with a GOOD impact wrench, either the fastener will come loose or it will twist off!

NAPA crowsfoot wrenches std and metric. Evercraft.

Clean rusty threads with die grinder with wire wheel before PB Blaster.

THE TOOLS I HAVE NOW...
-4 1/2" Makitia angle grinder converted to 4 1/2" cutoff.
-a campbell hausfeld impact gun that has to beat on a lugnut forever
before busting it loose.(like 200 ft/lbs of torque)
- 3" pneumatic cutoff wheel
- I only got a hand impact driver.
- Air Ratchet
- I only got a MAPP torch.
- die grinder pneumatic tool with wire wheel
- Standard and Metric die set
-20 gal air compressor with 5.8 CFM 3/8ths air hose.
- Hobart Handler 135 MiG welder w/ Co2 Argon mix.
-high speed drill bit set, 3/8ths drive electric drill.

THE TOOLS I DON'T HAVE OR ARE IN QUESTION:
I feel my Impact wrench is weak.
I feel that the hand impact bits are unhandy in tight places(want air chisel)
I have no Helicoil kit
My torch is a single cylinder MAPP gas, will that get the bolts hot enough?
I have no bolt "extractors" is it something I would need?

 

[Explorin94]

Brakefluid works very well on rusted fasteners also.

 

[pengintamer]

1:1 mix of diesel and atf is the best for rusted bolts.

 

[Andy D]

patience is required too

 

[97RangerXLT]

add to your tool arsenal a sawzall. it will make your life much easier. this tool is essential for doing the spring hangers and shackles. you can cut the old shackle and spring hangers off so that you can get the grinder in on the rivets easier.

also a sawzall will cut the head of the rivets off very quickly, so that hat you just have to spend a minute or two grinding the rivet flush.

you also need a 3 pound mini sledge, some large punches and chisels. you will not always be able to get the air chisel on the fastener in question.

smaller fasteners you can use a dremel tool and drill to remove, if they are really rusty, it may be easier to cut/dremel and drill them out.

for the 21mm leaf spring bolts, get a 24 inch long 1/2" breaker bar. you might also have a nice long length of pipe for a cheater bar. a good breaker bar is essential for breaking loose the bolts. in terms of sheer torque, I think you can do more to break it loose with a breaker bar/cheater bar than you can with an impact wrench. Once you have broke it loose you can get the impact wrench to get it out.

bolt stud extractors are a must have.

AJ

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Seafoam Deep Creep works better than PB Blaster, IMHO.

You can also use Acetone and ATF 50/50 mix for fasteners.

Ingersoll Rand Classic impact gun. I have an off brand, but if you hold it up next to an I/R gun it looks absolutely identical.

I prefer a proper cutting torch over a MAPP torch because you can both heat and cut with it. But a MAPP torch will work for heating.

A long breaker bar and a long cheater pipe are in my toolbox too. Even with the impact gun.

New fasteners.... I prefer Stainless whenever possible if I'm likely to have to work on it again. For suspension stuff, I stick with grade 8 though.

 

[modelageek]

You can also use Acetone and ATF 50/50 mix for fasteners.

that is the best rust penatrator^^^^^^^^^^^^^it is also the cheapest........just be careful....it's very flammable

 

[OilPatch197]

What about a "nut cracker"?

Anything else? I just don't want to dick around for hours on one fastener. Good suggestions so far.

I also got Liquid Wrench.

When you say bolt extractors, you mean the spiral ones you must drill a hole through the bolt? I have heard they are VERY brittle and can break requiring a EDM machine to remove....(?)

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I'm coming to the conclusion that it's a lot less frustrating to drill and 'heli-coil' rather than try to remove the original with e-z-outs. I picked up a off-brand metric 'heli-coil' for ~ C$130, it includes six of the most common sizes, drills and taps, and a bunch [20-30] of coils.
I second, or maybe it's thirdz, atf and acetone.

Richard

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

What about a "nut cracker"?

Anything else? I just don't want to dick around for hours on one fastener. Good suggestions so far.

I also got Liquid Wrench.

When you say bolt extractors, you mean the spiral ones you must drill a hole through the bolt? I have heard they are VERY brittle and can break requiring a EDM machine to remove....(?)

A quality nut splitter can be very helpful at times. But since I usually have a torch handy for heating purposes to try to break something free, it only takes a squeeze to burn the nut off.... of course, it takes a little practice to be able to do it without gouging the surrounding material.

The new liquid wrench is crap anymore. They reformulated it (probably to comply with EPA regs) and it just doesn't work like it used to. I had picked up some of their lubricating sprays awhile back but after discovering Seafoam Deep Creep, the liquid wrench stuff is just taking up space on a shelf.

Bolt extractors go over the outside of a rounded or broken bolt. I have an Irwin set, I've seen them at hardware stores and places like Autozone. IIRC Sears has some too, not sure if they'd be lifetime warrantied or not though. It's kind of limited use though, if it is stuck bad enough to break it or round it off, grabbing onto it with something else isn't likely to help a whole lot.

Those EZ-outs that you're thinking of (the spiral tools that you have to drill a hole to use) are of pretty limited use (more so than the bolt extractors) because of the likelyhood of them snapping off (and they are incredibly hard). I have used them with some success in the past, but mostly when dealing with something soft - not a badly rusted steel bolt in a chunk of rusty steel.

 

[ZMan]

I started using kroil penetrating lube recently, you have to buy it online, its far better than pb, a little more expensive as well though. Torches were the best thing i added to my tool collection, if you can find a used set for a hundred or two it will be money well spent.