I was looking underneath my truck lid today. I have a nut that is rusted solid to the screw. Any tricks to get it off? I tried forever with my socket wrench but couldn't grab it.

 

The only thing I can think of is a can or pb blaster. I would just hit it every chance I could over the span of a few days. I know for me it has helped getting stubborn exhaust bolts off. And if all else fails get a torch and heat it up and then try to get it off.

 

make it hot, then drip candle wax in it (an oldie but a goodie)
use a 6point, if you rounded it some then drive it on with a hammer (put a small piece of pipe on it and use it for a cheater bar.
or if your using a wrench put another wrench on the end and it locks together like a cheater bar.

if your putting too much umph on a ratchet you can break it's meachanism ( i advise a breaker bar )
and you can break a wrench the same way, just watch your knuckles when they go they usually go.

I had a 2ft cheater bar on a ratchet today getting the seats out of my parts car.
BTW if its a craftsman or snap-on they will replace it free no matter what you do to it, I have broken a ratchet on a dozer with a 7ft cheater bar hanging off it, had to cut the bar off the bent ratchet, and they replaced it no problem, good luck.

 

Thanks for the ideas. Anybody have a way with things you might have around the house?

 

6 point socket, 6 point wrench, if your using a wrench you hook 2 together a pry like hell with it.
a cheater bar is just a piece of pipe... anything you can stick the end of your ratchet on. ie. a broken metal broom handle.
if you have one of those lil propane torches they will get it hot enough to swell (only heat the nut itself, not the bolt you want it to stay cool and smaller)
Do you have any WD-40 at least? if not degreaser works ok, but it dissipates really fast and if it gets too hot it's a fire and innhalation hazzard.

BTW i do have all those things around the house, a welder, torches, 100's of feet of pipe, LOL
everybody needs a transmission rebuild in their basement... but you have to keep that seperate from your wood working shop or you mix oil and saw dust, hahaha

 

yeah WD-40 can help. spray it often and let it soak in for 5-10 minutes
strike the center of the bolt with a light hammer. it can sometimes help break down corrosion between the threads and helps the WD-40 or penetrant in.

also instead of loosening it. tighten it a little bit, that gets it moving a little and you wont strip the threads.
but dont tighten it too much

 

I tried a couple things, didn't work.

I am trying to cut the nut in half to break it, but I don't really have the correct tools, so a hand saw was my best. I'll probably whip out the jigsaw tomorrow when it's lighter outside.

Thanks for all the help folks!


(FYI: The bolt was already stripped to hell, and the other nuts fit my 5/8s socket. When I put the socket on this one, it was much to big. Odd.)

 

bout everything on these cars are metric.

you can rebuild a 70's truck with 5 wrenches but these are a meddly of bolt sizes, I attribute them to my newfound huge metric (i hate) inventory of tools.

 

The problem is that I have to work on my car with a ton of sockets that were just thrown into a little wooden box, and then another little plastic tub. Most go to different sockets. There's like 2 adapters, and I can never find then. Earlier, it took me about 30 mins to find a socket that would fit the bolt to remove the third brake light. 11/32nd? wtf is that?

 

use break free - it is a lube used for guns - stuff is so fine you can watch it absord into metal. use that for a day or two and if that will not work - you can use it on your 44 mag and when it is working good you can shoot the darn block.
and be a big boy - got to sears and buy some socket holders and put them in order on the holders. they come in every sice from 1/8 to 1 inch - that is ratchet size.

 

Unfortunately, I'm a young guy, and that's just not an option right now. However, when I can, I'll just buy an entire new socket set.

 

Metric is crucial on these cars... even the seat bolts are 13mm
my Dodge is a sellout to the metric darkside too.

 

i believe crc makes some stuff called freeze off, the name may be diff.