The Stovebolt Forums Forums The Parking Lot General Truck Talk Breaking bad...bolts or, How to get unscrewed

For a while, I used PB40, use it for general stuff now. I started using heat and melting candle wax into the threads (like the beeswax above), tighten just slightly, then loosen and a tad more wax into the threads and have yet to break on off or damage the threads. Downside is it only works if you can get the candle to threads. If it's in a blind hole with no threads showing, not much I've had luck with other that heat the wee out of area around offending fastener, then place some dry ice on head of bolt before trying to tighten, then loosen. Usually end up snapping the bolt off and drilling it at that point.

Many, (including moi) feel the best stuck bolt buster is Kroil. And yes I use the homemade version of 50% transmission fluid/50% acetone. Procedure is spray, wait, spray, wait....repeat. Then a day or two later, smack with a hammer if possible, then tighten a bit, loosen a bit, tighten again, then, well you get the idea. If no luck, then bring on the heat and if the area allows don't be afraid to get the nut red and loosen asap.

RonR

Nut busters also work good on some applications.
We had hydraulic ones that would bust a nut off a 2+ inch stud. No damage to the threads.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8g-EDEUd7Q

Don

Edit: One more for the medium size nuts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU1LXvlCvmI

My biggest headache is not rusted bolts and nuts- - - -it's pistons that are frozen into rusty cylinders. I usually give them a good soak for several days or even weeks with KROIL, followed by the application of a rosebud torch. As a last resort, I use a big hole saw in a variable-speed drill motor to cut a plug out of the top of the piston and allow the perimeter to shrink away from the cylinder walls. A few aluminum pistons bring more pocket change at the recycler than several trash bins full of beer and soda cans!
Jerry

In the past I made the 50/50 mixture and put in a small oil can (vented w/a hand pump). I didn't use for months. When I went back to it it seemed like the Acetone evaporated. Has anyone else had this? My fault for using a vented container.

A sealed container will reduce the enol form to less than 7% because It forms a hydrazone with phenyl hydrazine and an oxime with hydroxylamine. Furthermore like most ketones, acetone exhibits the keto–enol tautomerism in which the nominal keto structure (CH3) 2C=O of acetone itself is in equilibrium with the enol isomer (CH3)C(OH)=(CH2) (prop-1-en-2-ol).

In acetone vapor at ambient temperature, only 2.4×10−7% of the molecules are in the enol form. Yet the enol form is chemically important in chemical reactions and freeing a stuck ring or bolt. One might expect acetone to also form polymers and (possibly cyclic) oligomers of two types. In one type, units could be acetone molecules linked by ether bridges –O– derived by from the opening of the double bond, to give a polyketal-like (PKA) chain [–O–C(CH3)2–]n. The other type could be obtained through repeated aldol condensation, with one molecule of water removed at each step, yielding a poly(methylacetylene) (PMA) chain [CH=C(CH3)–]n. This is the reason why repetitive hydration’s are required on a stuck bolt or piston ring. I sometimes find myself losing patience when I observe a rate greater than 2.4x10-7% molecule dissipation in the enol form. We work hard for our money. And to see that? How much more can a person take?! Very unsettling.

But keep in mind that a baggy can help slow this reduction phenomenon but a baggy is only as good in temperate climates where the ambient temperature links hydrocarbons in basic trisomuble properties to that of local atmospheric conditions not to mention contaminates from outside sources. Press seal baggies are the preferred choice than the fold over type. All of us make choices and need to decide if limiting enol forms is worth the effort. I for one sleep easier at night knowing this. But it’s your choice if you continue to use a vented dispenser system. There is a loyal following for these to be sure and those types tend to congregate in social structures worthy of mention here (most of us on this site have this in common). If confronted with the loss of acetone in his oiler back in his day, Shakespeare would have asked the same: “to limit enol forms or not, that is the question”

What did Tom say??????????????

I started in on a rant, but pulled it back to stay on topic. Apologies.

On a more serious note, since I mentioned heat as a next step in a post that was mentioning the use of Acetone (a highly flammable solvent) and we are talking about Acetone vapors, I felt a need to mention the dangers of Acetone. I am sure most everyone here knows this but it never hurts to make sure.

One of my wife's best friend's husbands was severely burned and almost lost his life when he was working in his shop and unplugged an extension cord which resulted in an explosion. He was removing some carpet with a highly flammable solvent. He also had safety training where he worked, so he was very familiar with the dangers of flammable solvents. (He just made an almost fatal mistake.) This happened several years ago and he is still recuperating and lucky to be alive.

Shortly after that I purchased an explosive gas alarm for my shop as a precaution.

Phillip