mkriete

After 4 weeks (including vacation and a lot of travel for work) of stubbornly trying to free three frozen bolts on my water bridge, I gave up and got out the sawzall. I had stripped 2 bolts and broken the head off the other. Of all the bolts that came out, it was the one under the oil filler, and I used a tool that came with my fiberboard desk! The tool was the perfect length so I could add a 3/8" deep well socket and a couple of extensions for leverage. Once I cut the water bridge, it took 1 1/2 hours of prying, heating, wiggling, and pulling to remove the right side of the water bridge. Look how corroded the bolt is!

I would have never thought to cut the water bridge without great advise found on this forum. Thank you.

Now back to repeatedly heating and spraying PB Blaster on the bolts. I hope I break them loose.

OTR18WHEELER

that rusty one looks bad, just an idea if you cant twist it out.... cut it close with a dremmel, then cut cross cuts to locate a true center, drill into the bolt and try a eaze out bit, or then just drillout the remaining bolt and try to chase the threads with a tap.

Herman K

Better than any of the shelf commercial product that you can buy to get any threaded item to loosen up.

Mix Acetone and ATF transmission fluid 50:50 place a small rag or piece of it on the bolt or around the threads if you can get to it soak it with this mixture for 8-24 hours.

The Deputy

I believe that water bridge is going to leak badly when reinstalled...lol.

Those bolts, me, I'd heat the bolt end slightly with a torch, then soak the living daylights out of them with penetrating oil, heat them again slightly with a torch, let them cool, soak them, heat them again just mildly, let them cool, soak them and then clamp a good set of vice grips on the remaining part...and working very slowly... start working them back and forth (tighting and losing). By heating the broken bolts, they will expand and contract...offering a better chance for penerating oil to make its way along the treads.

If that doesn't work...go with the cutting and drilling procedure mentioned above.

Good luck,

Brian.

jcorenman

^^^ What Brian said, and also the ATF/acetone mix, or Kroil: http://www.kanolabs.com/penLub.html#anchor173855

If you break off the stub (likely) then you will need to drill-- be sure the bit is centered and use left-handed bits.
If the bit "grabs" (likely) then you want it to unscrew, not screw in farther.
I've used these with good results:

Good luck!

mkriete

Thanks for the advice. Hopefully a little heat and ATF/Acetone will do the trick. I really don't want to drill these out!

uraniummetallurgist

This might help if you have access to an air impact tool and you have cut the top of the rusty bolt to accept a screw driver blade. Use whatever lubricant you like as well.

http://www.how-to-build-hotrods.com/...oval-tool.html

The impacting breaks the rust cement.

All the best,


Joe

Fogey1

+1, except I would build a clay or wax "well" around the protruding bolt and fill it with the atf/acetone mix, then cover it with plastic to slow evaporation. Good luck.

BTW, kudos for the Alexandrine solution to your Gordian knot problem.

P.S. If you clean it really well, is there a chance you'll have enough threads left for a couple of jam nuts after the penetrant soaking?

Kiln_Red

The best method from here is to weld nuts over the exposed bolt threads. They'll be easier to break free as the welding heat works on the corrosion. If it doesn't turn right out from there, then don't get greedy. Use an impact tool as stated above. The impact tool shouldn't be too strong for what would be appropriate for the hardware ordinarily. Otherwise you'll just twist some more of the corroded bolt off from the rest of it still threaded into the block.

For the damaged threads, I recommend TimeSert thread inserts. They're high quality steel inserts and easy to install.

mkriete

I had not thought about building a dam around the bolts. That is a great idea! I'll try the jam nuts as well. However, welding is a skill I do not have.

s54venture

I wouldn't try an easy out. I did that on a shock bolt with a blind tapped hole and broke the easy out in it, the machine shop couldn't drill it and I had to replace the whole trailing arm.
Drilling alone is the best option.

sstrickstein

An old friend of mine was a German mechanic came up with the idea of waking up the bolt. The process involves banging the head of the boltseveral times and then slightly tightening the bolts. Then try and loosen it. If it won't come loose bang out of the bolt again.

UpFixenDerPorsche

Might sound out-of-place but how about trying DeoxIt?

It is designed to chemically remove metallic oxides/salts that prevent good electrical contact, but these oxides/salts are not found around electrical contacts exclusively.

Anywhere that metals are subject to a mix of oxygen and humidity is a potential site for chemical reactions.

Since metallic salts/oxides occupy a greater volume than the base metals (and are good electrical insulators), then when present between close fitting surfaces (threads, sleeves) these larger molecules can/will mechanically "jam" (and lock) any movement between the two surfaces.

So IMHO, a few drops of Deoxit beforehand may well un-sieze troublesome threads by dissolving the oxides, in particular if used with the "bolt wakening" method, in that this would seem to allow deeper thread penetration by Deoxit because of mechanical 'cracking' of oxide layers.

HTH.

UpFixen

UpFixenDerPorsche

As for your claim to now being a 'true' 928 owner ... ... we.l.l.l.l.l ... ... I'm not so sure .... ....

Where are the pics of your bloodied and skinned knuckles? Of your oil and grime soaked hair? Of the latest hole in your garage wall made by a completely innocent and un-deserving ring spanner? And of your grime-covered keyboard permanently logged into Rennlist? And your maxxed-out credit card?

Naaah. Sorry.

ROFLMAO.



UpFixen.

mkriete

UpFixenDerPorsche, I'm not much for selfies, so no pictures of my blood soaked knuckles and oil soaked hair. I may have pictures of blood left on the exhaust manifold. I replaced my white laptop with a black laptop; the grim is not noticeable until I use it with clean hands . . . "why are the tips of my fingers black?"

You forgot to mention the love/hate relationship the wife has with the car. OK, more hate, than love.

Back on topic, I'll try the Deoxit. I'll try just about anything to save me from drilling and tapping or welding. Thanks!