workhurts

I'm in the middle of swapping out my exhaust. I had previously removed the center muffler and of course fought with the bolts/nuts. After serious amount of liquidwrench they all came out. I re-installed everything and 3-4 months later I've decided to change things out again.

Good news is that they all came out no problem making the job easier but they just feel gritty and awful.

Is there a way to clean bolts to make them like new and have the threads be nice and smooth? I'm just going to buy new nuts but some of those bolts (like on the cats) are welded on. I want to clean them up nice.

Once cleaned up, is there anything to coat them with? Like the cosmoline they used to use?

StormRune

I had noticed that Fabspeed ships their x-pipe with what appeared to be copper nuts. I was curious and looked this up online and it does seem like copper nuts are frequently used on exhausts, both for the fact they won't rust and that don't chemically react with the other metals that they touch in the exhaust (bolt and flange), especially given that the presence of very high heat and water helps speed up such reactions. This makes them much less likely to seize as well.

neanicu

Soak them in gasoline overnight. But it's overkill...get new ones if they bother you.
Put anti-seize on the threads before reinstalling and they'll come right out in the future.

Dennis C

Soak them with PB Blaster for about 15 minutes before removal and it will go much easier...

ecostellodo

I just use my dremel tool with the wire wheel and WD-40 when I want to knock rust off.

workhurts

Not worried about the nuts. It's those bolts that are still on the car that you can't really soak overnight. Gonna wire brush them and do the anti seize.

KNS

You can clean up the threads with a brass brush found at any Home depot or auto parts store and then coat the fasteners with copper anti-seize, also from the auto parts store.

TerpsRED

I second PB Blaster and a wire brush. Works wonders. Wear glasses and gloves though. don't want that stuff getting in your eyes.

OKB

they cant be copper, its too soft, they may be cadium coated or coated with some other anti rust material, the origionals will work fine if you get them off w/out hurting them, then put them right back on

StormRune

They are actually advertised as copper and you'll find extensive mention of them if you'd do the trivial web search, but I agree they clearly must be a copper alloy to get past the softness issue you mention.

Here is an example at ECS Tuning, although these seem more pricey than others on the web: http://www.ecstuning.com/ES276297. I've had copper nuts on my exhaust since my first exhaust experiment and while they turn darker, there is no sign of any corrosion and are have been easy to remove each time I've changed them.

StormRune

OKB, I did a little more poking around and it appears these are typically copper-coated steel so that explains how they are both strong and rust resistant. At first blush you'd think the copper would quickly wear down but that hasn't been the case since I've had them on and off several (too many) times doing exhaust experiments.

OKB

I bought copper gaskets from fabspeed, but not copper nuts

FlatSix911

Copper coated steel nuts are the best answer ...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VW-AirCooled...item35d9017640