Stuck bolts...

[dgrapes59]

Ronny, as you see this is a common problem and it looks like the Cub Fest is your best solution! As many have also posted, I too had the same problem. For those yet to encounter this problem, this post hits the nail on the head. Two tools noted are necessities for any shop, beginners for sure, MAPP torch & the Bolt Out's! MAPP torch is better than the propane ones and reasonably priced. Bolt Out's work on rounded bolts to "studs" left. I soaked them for over a week and got impatient and took some heat to them, Bolt Outs on the curroded, rounded heads, used a socket and a breaker bar and out they came, real slick, none broken! Pretty much a repeat of other posts here, so more of a testimonial I guess. Good luck!

[Eikel]

Ronnie,
I have to say you took on a challenge, all the work will make her running all the sweeter.

Bob

[JimT]

Is that a nut or a bolt I'm seeing in front of the tool box?

It's a bolt that holds the tool box on.

As far as the battery box bolts heat may be your best choice at this point.

[Ronny Bailey]

Looks like I'll be buying a torch!

"Fire is cool!" - Beavis and Butthead

[Chris Todd]

I've oiled them, mapped them, then taken a cold chisel to the edge to get them loose before. Worked pretty good for me. whatever don't be afraid to do some rapping with a hammer and let vibrations work in the oil and help break the bond.
Good Luck!

[Bus Driver]

I think heat is the best first step in rusted-stuck bolts. Classroom physics was very long ago for me and I regret that at that time, I did not appreciate how much value it would be in the years following. But the fact is that heating most metals (Invar is one exception) results in their expansion. No ifs, ands, or buts about it, Congress cannot change that. And with sufficient force, steel will flow like toothpaste (extrudes). Heating a bolt stub expands it and it either compresses the steel of the bolt, extrudes it longitudinally, or bursts the side restraints. Heat creates minute movement of the bolt. Tapping the the bolt lightly moves it more, penetrants help it move easier. I do not use impact wrenches on stuck bolts unless the diameter of the bolt is greater than 1/2". Any method at all works for some bolts, thus the various methods have worked in some cases.

[bear32055]

I had the same thing and the bolts were rounded off so no chance of a socket getting on them.What worked for me was to grind off opposite sides and put a good open end wrench on them and hit with a hammer and try turning at the same time.They finally saw it my way.

[Eikel]

I use a similar persuasion technique. I place the box end of a combination wrench on the bolt head; to gain a bit of leverage I place the box end of a second wrench on one "ear" of the first wrench's open end. While torquing the bolt, I have someone else use a BFH and punch to hit the bolt head.
Eikel

[Clark Thompson]

here is a sollution to stuck / rusted bolts that I have used with very good results. If possible heat the head of the bolt red hot. Then take a decent hammer and wack the head a few times while red hot. This will make a gap between the head and the surface it is tightened to. Let cool. Then try to turn. Usully they come right out. If the head of the bolt it rusted beyond use weld a larger nut to the head of the bolt. then use a socket to turn the bolt out. If the bolt is broken off even with the surface you can still weld a nut to it usually but if its not weldable you can heat it red hot and take a small chizzel slightly smaller than the bolt and with the hammer drive a slot into the red hot bolt. The let cool and use a screwdriver to get the stud out. If all else fail drill and tap.

[Rudi]

Dave:

If I am not mistaken the Craftsman Bolt-Outs are made in the USA. So are the Irwin Grab-It or Mastercraft Grab-it bolt out sets.

Sears in the US (the canadian ones will be for a later on if needed), come in a few variations.



Starter Set




Complete Set

A very good investment and an absolute must for any Cub owner's tool chest

[Ronny Bailey]

I was trying to figure out whether it makes an difference if you heat the bolt itself, or what it's bolted to.
With the battery bolts, it would be a little complicated to heat the axle housing evenly since you would have to heat one side and then the other side.
Also, the battery box is there to slightly complicate things.
Would heating just the top of the bolt be enough?

Lots of good ideas in this thread - I've learned a lot and appreciate everyone's input.

[Bus Driver]

My suggestion is to concentrate the heat on the bolt.

[Buzzard Wing]

I happened into a sale on the bolt out kit at Sears. Great tool to have, works well. But, even the big kit is not big enough for the seat post bolts.

Finally broke down and bought the small Victor torch 'kit'. I shopped for quite a while and the fellow at the Airco store hooked me up, less than $300 with tanks filled. They also sell them at Lowes and Home Depot, but you still need to fill the tanks. Since you are going to need to fill them, you may as well give your business to the place that will help you out too. He still beat the cheapest price anywhere, including the web.

I do like to buy local when I can.

[capecodcub]

My suggestion is to concentrate the heat on the bolt.

OK, I don't want to beat a dead horse here, but......The whole point of trying to get a bolt out is to make it LOOSE! When you heat something it swells and gets larger. The inverse is when something is cooled, it gets smaller. When you put a starter ring gear on a flywheel, you put the flywheel in the freezer, it contracts/gets smaller. You heat the ring gear with a torch to expand it/gets bigger. So, if you heat your bolt you are just making it bigger in it's threads and it gets tighter! Hence, the reason to heat the metal around a stuck bolt to get it to expand. Believe me, I just went through this on the exact same bolts he is talking about, and it took me all of 10minutes to get them out. I didn't have 2 weeks to soak them, walk by, hit them with a hammer, sprinkle fairy dust on them, etc. The right tool, heat applied appropriatley, and the right "cheater bar" and they will come out. There is my rant....
David

[RaymondDurban]

You don't want to heat the cast because it will change the characteristics of the metal, making it weaker and more brittle. Not the thing you want to do on the axle extension (or any other part). You heat the bolt, and yes it will expand, and some of the heat will transfer to the cast. But you do not attempt to remove the stuck bolt while it is red hot, you wait a while for it to cool (I spray down with penetrant to speed things up and to wick the oil into the threads). Dissimilar metal will cool at different rates, this is what you want because as one part cools faster than the other it will break the bond between the two parts. That is how you will get the stuck bolt/screw out, not in the actual heat of the moment, so to speak.
If you think about it, heating the cast will cause it to expand in all directions, including in the direction of the bolt, grabbing it tighter. Same-Same right??
But as I mentioned earlier, try not heat the cast unless absolutely possible, and then try something else first!!