Loosening rusted nuts with Acetylene torch?

[djd99]

Does this "heat treat" soften the socket? Would a thicker impact socket fair better than the thinner chrome ones? Hate to ruin my snap- on sockets.

Nope I've used heat for years and never had to replace any of my sockets. I don't even use impact sockets either I just use a standard 6 point 1/2" socket on my impact, That's the key I always have my impact ready to remove the nut and they always back right out or break off but usually back right out.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Kano Kroil has never let me down. Let it soak overnight.

+1, I buy the stuff by the gallon, It is amazing. Since you do have time, just give it a squirt of kroil daily and work the nut each time. After a couple days the nuts usually come out with little problems.


As for the comment on pulling rusted manifold nuts (by the y-pipe) with a torch. If the bolt is rusted onto the stud I usually heat the manifold near the stud and use an impact to run the stud out with the rusty nut. Then I immediately run another stud into that hole before moving to the next stud.

Chris

 

[yea.mitch]

a straight Acetylene flam is very dirty and if you use it to heat up your exhaust system it will be blacker than the ace of spades along with anything else you put the torch on. get an oxy-fuel set up

 

[Art From De Leon]

a straight Acetylene flam is very dirty and if you use it to heat up your exhaust system it will be blacker than the ace of spades along with anything else you put the torch on. get an oxy-fuel set up

Are you even able to get any appreciable heat from a straight acetylene flame?

 

[Tom2]

I am not sure how the 2 compare temperature wise, but I use a simple propane torch with MAPP gas. It's hotter than propane and does a fine job of heating bolts up to remove them. I have lots of experience with rusty bolts, I live in Western NY where road salt is heavily used.

Same here.. Used cars are a waste of money around here. After something is 10 years old, it's pretty well shot.
Although I use propane and WD40. Helps a ton. Sometimes it takes a couple heat cycles. I'll look into MAPP gas.. I would like something that works faster and gets a little hotter.

 

[Ripped]

Yeah a couple cycles of heat. I hear the model T guys used to do this. The studs/bolts in the engine block used a slotted screw driver, instead of a hex head.

Heat em up red hot, let em cool down, do it again. The expansion and contraction of the metal will usually break the bond.

Good luck.

 

[craig1980]

how bout this way?

 

[some zilch]

i have never had to use "heat cycles" to get ANY fastener off/apart after getting it red hot w/the torch. i work on heavy equipment, quarry machinery, OTR trucks, etc. once its been heated red hot, it comes out. who has time to heat it up, let it cool, do it again the next day, do it again the next day, etc? heat it up, and take the damn thing apart.

i cant imagine trying to do even home shop-type jobs without the torch; let alone spraying some rat piss on it over and over for a month and then hoping it might come out. kroil has nothing on the flame wrench

 

[Drew_flux]

Heat it with a torch, apply a candle to the exposed theads, wax melts into the rusty bolts and helps loosen.

^^^ Bingo. just be careful, sometimes the wax will catch on fire.

 

[InsanePyro]

I bet that Ace torch would be hot enough. Hell I've used a propane torch in the junkyard to get some of them loose

 

[JakeKohl]

There was a thread on here a while back where some outfit did a comparison test on various penetrating lubricants. Out of five or six different things (including WD40...which didn't fare well in the tests), a 50/50 mixture of ATF and acetone outperformed everything by a ton. Just remember that it's flammable. The test also include Kano Kroil

here's the thread...interesting stuff. Make up a mixture and put it in one of those old-style oil cans...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=182271&highlight=acetone

 

[Bondo]

i have never had to use "heat cycles" to get ANY fastener off/apart after getting it red hot w/the torch. i work on heavy equipment, quarry machinery, OTR trucks, etc. once its been heated red hot, it comes out. who has time to heat it up, let it cool, do it again the next day, do it again the next day, etc? heat it up, and take the damn thing apart.

i cant imagine trying to do even home shop-type jobs without the torch; let alone spraying some rat piss on it over and over for a month and then hoping it might come out. kroil has nothing on the flame wrench

Ayuh,.... My background is as yer's,... Lotsa Heavy equipment, 'n heavy trucks...

I carry my blue-tip wrench on my pickup, won't leave home without it....

I can't believe the Trick I learned nearly 40 years ago has only been mentioned once in these 3 pages,...
You should Try it sometime...

Get the bolt red hot then douse it with water the rapid expansion then shrinkage will crack it loose. After that you can spray some oil on it to make turn easier.

I learned that Trick changin' Springs on ole antique Box trailers...
With the Trick of Quenchin' rusted bolts, 'n nuts, I've done exhaust nuts that no longer looked like a nut, 'n the threads were nearly non-existent,..
After Quenchin' 'em, they'll come off with little more that yer fingers....

I've done it with Mapp gas on up to 1/2", any bigger ya need O2/ Ac for Big heat, Quickly...

 

[Murphy4570]

I mostly use Oxy/Propane cutting torch for that stuff. Heat it red hot, take apart while hot. This is 100% required on stainless fasteners, as they always seize themselves together.

On that GM style cat stuff, you can just torch off the nuts and pound out the studs with an air hammer, and then just bolt it back together. If I have to mess with that stuff, it is usually faster and easier to just cut the flange off altogether and weld new pipe in (having a pipe bender helps to swage and bend the pipe correctly)