Best Ways to Get Rusty Nuts and Bolts Off (Effective Techniques)
How do I get this rusty bolt off? I have run into that problem hundreds of times myself, so here are 16 tips for loosening rusty bolts. And if you happen to know a trick for getting stubborn bolts off that I did NOT mention, please let me know in the comments section below... because we all know how frustrating it is to be stuck in the middle of a project with a rusty bolt holding up progress!
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Пікірлер: 387
Best of the internet right here folks. This guy presented more solutions in 10 minutes than most politicians do in 4 years.
@JMrealgamer
2 жыл бұрын
So true!
@shannonforusa45
2 жыл бұрын
Exactly. Yet, that is never the goal of pols
@Muddface100
Жыл бұрын
😄😄🙌 Facts!!!!
@npmerrill
Жыл бұрын
I mean, yeah, but it’s their corporate handlers that prevent any real change or solutions.
@Turk_313
Жыл бұрын
@@shannonforusa45😅 😮😮😮
After watching 15 of these videos you are the only one who actually MENTIONS using cold. I always like to use hot / cold together.
Awesome tips. Opened up the mind to a different way of looking at problems -- Improve the grip, increase the leverage/torque. This line of thinking can be applied to other problems too.
You sir, are a gentleman and a scholar. outstanding. The only one that you didn't mention was the smoke wrench. Oxy acetylene torch. That as my dad used to say "is for when you are done talkin"
I notice these videos always use easy access bolts as examples, but the most common reason for stuck and stripped bolts is that they're in hard to access places, which makes them hard to get a wrench around, which is what caused the fiasco in the 1st place.
@mog7501
Жыл бұрын
YES! I'm struggling with a really rusted rear damper bolt, it's squeezed really tight up there, there's barely any room. I need a 6-12" extender to even get to the thing. And the bolt faces downward. No leverage at all.
@Shr1mp2K
Жыл бұрын
@@mog7501 Wow, Im having the same problem with my rear shock bolts on my mazda 3 2006... Did you get them out?
@mog7501
Жыл бұрын
@@Shr1mp2K I gave up and went to a mechanic. Even for them it took like 2 hrs lol. Ended up paying $80 for one nut 😭. Most expensive nut removal in my life. They had a really tighter extractor socket and some other special tools. I already tried heat, extractor socket, grinder tool and nothing worked.
@ottofumbler7267
4 ай бұрын
Exactly! The title says "nuts and bolts", but he's only working on a nut, which is a walk in the park compared to bolts. Let's see him try these same tips on rusty seized caliper bracket bolts while working in his driveway. Lots and lots of heat is usually what's required.
@jeffgeisinger6832
Ай бұрын
Agreed, Getting the nut off is one thing. Backing a seized bolt out of an engine block is where I struggle
One of the best of the entire internet. Thank you!!!
Absolutely the best reference on youtube about frozen nuts. I have watched several longer ones on just one technique.
Best video out there.Was always lookin for one that could give a preventative tip and only yours explained about antiseize. Greetings from England🇬🇧
love it - thank you! I'm going to use some of these tips to try and remove some rusted bolts on an old compound miter saw someone gave me.
Thank you, So much!!! I have an alternator I am trying to replace. The tension belt adjuster is a monster rusted. I am certain one of these techniques will work.
Thanks for the tips. I have just had a fight with a small outboard. I used most of your ideas but the combination of ferrous metals mixing with alloys created a lot of galvanic corrosion. In the end I had to drill it it off. I like the nut splitting idea. The problem with small outboards the very small constricted space available for tools
Great tips. I pretty much go to the heating the female and adding wax from a candle as a time saver. Works for threaded plumbing joints, manifolds etc...sometimes on very large marine applications I have to use oxy acetylene to get the parts hot enough to suck the wax in but this is king!
@johnjames77
3 жыл бұрын
I was taught that years ago and was happy to see it listed here ! I am in a situation where if I break off the bolts it could cost thousands and major labor. I am going to use most of the ideas before I go -for-it.I really like the ATF and Acetone combo which I will let soak for a few days before I do the heat and wax. I am also going to just turn it a quarter turn and the tighten about an eight turn and soak it again.
Great info for the DIY guy or gal that gets into a bind with rusted or siezed nuts. I have used mose of these in the past with varied effectiveness. Also used impact hammer with shake and brake tool to help loosen the rust
I really didn't want to change the inner tie rod, but the adjustment nut was frozen on with rust from the 2000 Eldorado being in Wisconsin most of its life. With tips from this video, I soaked the nut in PB Blaster overnight then tried again. Still couldn't get the nut to move (Wenches, high torque impact driver, etc.). Then I tried heating the nut with a BernzOmatic followed with a douse in very cold water. Instead of trying to loosen, I instead tightened to try to break the nut free, and it did break pretty easily. Thanks Error Code Guy, I would never have thought of doing this!
Sir, you have my sincere thanks! Great information, great video!
Excellent info right here! Got those bolts out with the pipe wrench method + a torch, thank you, you’re a life saver!
Great solutions for headaches. Seems like each one will work. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much dude. This is video is the most complete tutorial for removing stuck bolt i ever seen. So many methods. I succeeded with using pipe wrench.
@antoniolopes8776
3 жыл бұрын
I tried that too using a pipe wrench made in China. It broke! The bolt, a very large one, is still there (in a farming implement).
Awesome!! Thanks for sharing these tips to us. Usualy, i used to grab an hammer an hit the spanner, to allow the loosen for the bolt itself. I'm curius to use the ATF+acetone combo. If the problem is the rust, i've listened from a mechanic that he used to tight and the loose the bolt, few degrees, just to broke that the rust in it.
Great video with various techniques I didn't know about. Thank you
Thank you for your video. It saved us on a motorcycle build. Thank you
Great Vajayo! only two additional tricks I know that you did not include welding a bolt onto a stripped head ( typically an oil pan drain plug) the other trick is use an air chisel on the end of the tool ( best if it is used on cheater pipe and not the tool itself) to hammer off the bolt. The important point that may have been missed here is that it seems like the hitting, tapping and shock ( thermal and mechanical) is the secret and use all the different options prior to stripping the nut or bolt.
Great video thanks. I have used these techniques with good success. I find that rust check is an excellent penetrating oil especially if you can let it sit over night. If possible you can put rusted assemblies into warm vinegar for a couple of days to remove rust, the hotter the better. I have done that with rust seized alternators and have gotten them working without any disassembly.
SPOT ON MATE!! thank you!!!
interesting re the Acetone/ATF mix.....i'll try that on my winter project !
Extraordinary detail ! Super helpful !! I learned lots !!! Thanks mate . 👊🏼 🔥
Best ways of removing nuts, Verymuch interesting, many many thanks.
Very informative video. All in one video on rusted item removal. Thank you sir.
Very good thank you. Also you can sometimes knock on a smaller size socket with a hammer and a scrap piece of ally or a mandrel on to a rounded nut. eg - 3/8ths can be forced on to a 10mm nut. Heat is best if you are not going to damage any surrounding area. If you are removing glow plugs on a diesel run the engine to got them hot first, works for me every time.
Thanks for the cool techniques!
Just started doing hvac and rusty bolts and shafts are the bane of my existence 😤
I switched up from.the wrench to other tools and that did it brother thanks so much 🙏 😊
I got my husband a fur-lined jockstrap for frozen nuts.
@cameronwoodall1811
3 жыл бұрын
you're a saint
@bradleysmall2230
3 жыл бұрын
@@cameronwoodall1811 my best friend used deep penetrating lube on my girl friends deep hole when he got his SCREW stuck in it.. much to my chagrin after he un froze the connection he loosened and tightened the shaft so it would not bind. He was free to withdraw his cam shaft from her exhaust manifold when he was done....
Like this a lot. An old mechanic friend of mine used to say "liquid steel can't hold torque".....so if it sTHAT bad, just heat it up until it flows away...🙂
Thanks Hank Hill, this is very helpful!
Very helpful and interesting techniques indeed! 👍Thank you sir 🙏
. That was a great lesson on really useful experience.
An excellent video. Thank you.
ATF + acetone. I didn't knew that one. Thank you.
good video I learned a lot thank you, PATRICK
Filing it down to the next size... My God how come I never think of such good yet obvious ideas
@duttydiesel8303
4 жыл бұрын
Gotta get rid of what the world teaches "specific tools for specific jobs".... Reality is use what works if it works. Lol
@dw4940
3 жыл бұрын
Same!
I worked at an aircraft engine plant. Outer rings and nuts would be heated and dry ice (-109.3 F) would be placed against the bolt or inner surface. I know it might not be practical but it demonstrates how expansion and contraction can really loosen married items of metal.
@kylebaird4642
Жыл бұрын
Great tip, thanks!
@boots7859
Жыл бұрын
Hah, thanks for that. Heated up a mower deck wheel leg which is frozen to 800 f with acetylene for 15-20 minutes, still no movement. Someone suggested heating and dousing with cold water, which I'll try first, after that I'll try the dry ice.
Very great job and thanks for sharing with us
God bless you! i tried the heat up and cold water ,, it works perfectly
excellent and comprehensive
Thanks for your effort friend.
Excellent information Sir
Great video, thanks
This was awesome!
Awesome tips!! Thanks a lot!!
Great video. Thank you.
Thank you sir your video really gave me knowledge.
When I used a Chester bar it became part of the 3/8 in Ratchet I was using at the time and is now the extension tool of choice
Probably best video on subject. ✌From England ♑
Thanks for the great video and all the information
@errorcodeguy456
5 жыл бұрын
👍
8:35 Brilliant. I have never seen that technique before.
Very very good tips...
EXCELLENT VIDEO, THE BEST!!!
gentleman , all the trics you explained are true but it is certainly useful under different situation i.e., position of bolts etc. a solution of sulfuric acid h2so4 is quite helpful to remove old rust that I have experienced subject to precautions.
Thank you only left if is a touch, got all the possibilities !
Candle wax is bloody good. It's like solid freeing oil which doesn't evaporate in a cloud of vapour if you've been heating the job. WD40 and GT85 or TF2 are crap. I was brought up before they were mainstream and I used Plus Gas, Holts Rustola, or Duckhams Duck Oil. Plus Gas is really good. It creeps and gets everywhere. It's like slightly oilier paraffin ( kerosene ). Even paraffin/kerosene on its own creeps well but doesn't lubricate so good.
Am binge watching your channel after finding the vid on fuel problems. What an Aladdins Cave of ideas. Never seen the paraffin wax trick before.
Great information ! My problem is lug nuts on a car, much harder to get to and a major pain in the _ _ _.
Great video, can't thank you enough!
Thanks Bud I subbed - great video post and thumbs up!
Brilliant‼️
Wow 😮 Paraffin wax and auto ‘box oil are genius. Thanks so much. 🙏 I sometimes use a small rag, wrapped around the nut and then soak the rag with WD40 (as well as the nut prior to wrapping) and then leave for an hour. I then remove the rag, heat with a torch and try again. Sometimes it works and sometimes I cry 😭
great video, thank you
the best way is heating up the nut , so it expands cracking the rust hold , and then dousing it thoroughly with PB blaster allowing it to work it's way down into the threads !
The blowtorch with the cold water works wonders
thanx i was trying to undo two parts of a little dremel-tool type thing. number 8 did it. i heated the thing up, then dipped it in icey cold water, didn't work. did it three more times, worked like a charm although i had tried everything before. now i just need to figure out how to prevent this from happening again. i don't know if you can get this anti-seeze thing in my country but maybe you can get something similar
Men nice video,And I prefer the last way.
awesome ! thank you
Awesome video!
Great vids man. Now I got so many options to ruin my bolts LMFAO. Cheers
I'm not a fan of the heating up red hot then dousing with water technique. Unless you like broken bolts and studs. Awesome video thought. A lot of great ideas to get off those stubborn fasteners. Cheers.
@martinparker6536
5 жыл бұрын
agreed ....makes them brittle.....better with some penetrant after heating the heat again......rinse and repeat !
actually if you can heat the nut while being careful not to heat the bolt (on something big enough is the easiest way but adjust your torch size to the job) the inside diameter of the nut will expand, and can make it easier to extract. be careful though, if you heat the bolt equally it negates the effect. This is how rail car wheels are put on (a wheel is heated then allowed to cool on the axle creating a friction fit) (thanks physics 101 and 102 professor at my community college! You were bad ass Mr. Burkhart!)
@errorcodeguy456
6 жыл бұрын
+Horrible Hebrew It's great having a great teacher. I am still forever indebted to a few of my high school teachers. The more we understand about physics, the better problem-solving we can do.
@dfgyuhdd
6 жыл бұрын
That principle is only effective for two parts that are not already bonded together. After they have bonded with rust you'll never get a temperature delta of more than 20° or 30° F. What is happening is the iron oxide is actually combusting (or beginning to) and the bond is weakened.
@foxxyrocker82
5 жыл бұрын
Actually, even when both parts heat up and expand, anything between them expands as well, including gaps/air filled spaces, which can help loosen things up.
Super good information
I used a short 6 point socket, ratchet, pipe extension and a scissor jack to remove a couple exhaust flange bolts under my car. Wish I'd done that on the other two that I cut off, but probably wouldn't have worked well because that part of pipe wasn't bolted to frame like the two I was able to remove.
great video
This helps out big time
@errorcodeguy456
6 жыл бұрын
+Mark Paez Jr Glad you enjoyed the video. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask. Also if you have any techniques that have worked for you, I would love to hear about it. It's always a tough job getting these rusty nuts and bolts off.
Thank you so much for your advice. It’s been so helpful but the one problem I’m having is getting brake lines loose without tearing the you know the fitting up or getting it off in one piece and I do the things you talk about with the bolt, but is there any different procedure for brake lines on old cars?
Thanks much. Do you need to clean that rubber ( or plastic ) hose that the Acetone/AT fluid came out of ? If so, what ? Thanks.
I found rocket sockets to be incredibly beneficial for Frozen bolts. Also the go 2 socket..
Excellent
The chisel method where you cut into a bolt is my go to. I don’t use a chisel i take a dremel with a cutting disc. Very small tool and can get in tight areas
Hi Error, I am interested using method Number #5. I need to remove these rusted bolts on the exhaust under the car. Thank youtube for subtitles, I didn't know the heck you said and thought it was Kerosone lol. I am not familiar with Parrafin but I'm gonna look it up and hopefully I can buy one. I think I may need some help. I am doing a home job on my Mitsubishi Triton 4WD, doing it myself. I got the car on the stand, etc, so far so good. If I need to remove the rusted bolt on the exhaust which has 3x bolts a set at point A, B, C, D making it 12x bolts all up I think. One of the bolt set is elevated from a 45degree, a little tricky but can use the breaker and correct socket size to get to it. However, it is on a 45degree angle how would I use the Parrafin or is it better to use heat instead? In your video you have the nut and bolt on a flat surface but I need to remove it as if it is upside down? Hope that makes sense. Would really appreciate the good advice.
I just removed two broken off bolts from a Polaris ATV metal rack extender using a torch. Simply 4 bolts hold rack extender to the plastic rack . Cant heat it so, if they break too bad. After separating the parts, broken bolt end stuck up a little. Heated end of broken bolt and welded on some metal to build it up higher. Then heated surrounding threaded area to red hot. Let it cool down, then touched candle wax to give it some grease. Grab onto welded bolt using vice grips and wiggle back and forth till it started to move and they came out. MUCH easier and quicker than drilling and tapping. AND will grease it or anti seize to prevent from rusting again.
came here because the engine mounting nuts and bolts of my project bike are all completely rusted. the problem i have is that the metal they are made of is soo soft that i strip the nutby the easiest push with a wrench. this thing sits in my garage for one year untouched now because i just cant get them lose and lost focus. these are some interesting new ways on losing bolts i didnt know thanks
Loved this..thanks man
@errorcodeguy456
4 жыл бұрын
Glad you enjoyed the video!👍👍
great ideas...thanks
@errorcodeguy456
5 жыл бұрын
👍
A lot of good suggestions for removing stubborn bolts and nuts. But my favourite is using an acetylene torch it can't stay on if it's liquid
Very interesting.
Methods worked well on nuts. But rusted bolts into threads you have to save inside threads, and replace with new bolts. Will try 6 point impact socket with breaker bar with pipe over it and more penetrant. But harder to get penetrant in when you just have the side bolt to get penetrant in. Am going to try a little heat on the part I am trying to save. But not a lot. Other ideas for when just the bolt head is showing ? Thank you for your post.
Anti-Seize is a godsend when you live in the rust belt! When I was younger, I would buy a car and completely take apart all the stuff underneath and reassemble with Anti-Seize to prevent issues down the road. It has always beat me why auto manufacturers don’t put this stuff liberally on every fastener when new. I’d gladly pay more just to have that peace of mind!
Excellencies ideas 👌👍
Great Video. I am struggling to take a 1/8 hex set screw from the base (collet?) hub of an inducer motors where the squirrel cage blower wheel is rusted and gone. Any ideas are welcome. I tried PB blaster, heat.. (may be need to cycle it some more hot/cold like you suggested) It's destroyed a few 1/8 allen keys so far.
I love this video. 100%
@errorcodeguy456
6 жыл бұрын
+Anthony Gonsalves Glad you enjoyed the video. if you have any techniques that work really well, I would love to hear about them. These techniques will help us all. Thanks again for your comment.
Breaker bar did the job for me... thanks
This is great. I have a snapped off bolt head that is making me question all reality. Ran out of 4 letter words yesterday.