Removing rusted or broken bolts and screws

[Tech Rob]

Speaking of anything from an 8/32 screw to a 3/4" bolt. How do you do it? I'm on a job where we had a heck of a time getting a 3/8" bolt out of a tapped flange. My usual procedure is to heat the bolt up red hot and tap on it with a hammer while heating it, let it cool down, and soak it with a penetrant like CRC Screwloose. When it cools down, I get on it with some vise-grips, and it usually comes out without much effort.

On this bolt, we drilled the center and tried two different kinds of screw extractors. Broke off both of them inside the bolt. Had to use a dremel tool with a tungsten carbide bit to grind out the screw extractors, then drill and re-tap the hole. What a pain in the azz!

Another one we had trouble with was a little 8/32 screw holding a small terminal plate. The screw broke off, and I went to drill it out with a cobalt bit. I broke the bit in the hole. Had to drill that bit out with another one and re-tap the hole.

Anyways, I was just curious what sort of tactics the rest of you are emplying when you encounter a rusted/seized/broken bolt. I bought a set of Lisle screw/bolt/stud extractors today, and I was also wondering if anyone here has ever used them with any success???

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41-gBHlaa7L._SS500_.jpg

[ryan1088]

Soak for 15 minutes with a penetrating oil. If it's a larger bolt I go for the impact. Hammer on it and either it comes out or it snaps. If it's a phillips or flat, I'll try it but shortly there after I'm looking for something to cut it off with. Patience, patience, patience! If its broke in a 4x4 box in a refrigerator I just rip it all out and start over.

[Eddie1KRR]

I've used the craftsman extractors on lots of things with great success when dealing with stripped bolts. These things were lifesavers on my old Mustang restoration.
As far as the drill and screw in type extractors, Snap On were the only ones that could really hold up for me without breaking, especially the smaller ones.

[tranger03]

Same tactics. Pen lube and heat normally gets it done. I have welded nuts onto broken studs. The intense heat and new gripping surface really help. Have used the bolt outs like the ones shown from craftsman and have had good luck with them. Never had much success with the screw in type extractors. It would always just seem to make me more pissed when the not so ez out would break.

[caheiman30]

I've used transmission fluid mixed with nail polish remover and it works good


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[ryan1088]

I've used transmission fluid mixed with nail polish remover and it works good


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Interesting combo. How did you come up with that? How does that combination work?

[Joehvac25]

Heat the bolt but don't let it cool, every time I have that problem I get it red hot and get on it right away and as it cools it gets harder and harder to turn.


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[caheiman30]

Interesting combo. How did you come up with that? How does that combination work?

I learned that from a instructor when I was in school, that's what he uses out in the field and uses when he is working on his cars and motorcycles on bolts that are rusted


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[Tech Rob]

I've used the craftsman extractors on lots of things with great success when dealing with stripped bolts. These things were lifesavers on my old Mustang restoration.
As far as the drill and screw in type extractors, Snap On were the only ones that could really hold up for me without breaking, especially the smaller ones.

I looked at that exact same kit when I was in Sears today. I'll pick it up next week. I don't like the "not-so ez out" drill and screw in type extractors either. The only time they have worked for me is when I use them on broken 1/4" NPT and 1/2" NPT pipe nipples. Every time I have used one on a broken bolt, it has broken before before the bolt did. I think I am officially done with those things.


I've used transmission fluid mixed with nail polish remover and it works good

Sounds interesting... Although I gotta admit that the idea excites my b.s. detector just a little. :whistle: What is the mixture ratio? What about it makes it work better than other penetrating lubricants?


Heat the bolt but don't let it cool, every time I have that problem I get it red hot and get on it right away and as it cools it gets harder and harder to turn.

Yup, that works too. If you can get them moving while they're hot, then you're better off that way. Bolts do expand as they heat up and sometimes that can make them harder to turn when they're hot. The heat and expansion is what breaks the chemical bond with the material that surrounds it.

[GT Jets]

I've used transmission fluid mixed with nail polish remover and it works good


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I was a boat mechanic for 15 years, seen thousands of broken bolts, this actually works (but I used acetone which is the active ingredient in nail polish remover).

Incidentally, these are the exact ingredients in Aerokroil... http://www.kanolabs.com/google/

It just needs a little time to get the job done. Been using this stuff like it's free for years. Keep it next to the Marvell Mystery oil...

GT

[Tech Rob]

Not breaking bolts is something that requires a certain touch and feel that only comes with experience. Experience only comes after you need it. :grin2: I've found if you tighten the bolts a little before you try to loosen it, most of them come out easily. Sometimes you have to just go back and forth with it before it comes all the way out.

[caheiman30]

Sounds interesting... Although I gotta admit that the idea excites my b.s. detector just a little. :whistle: What is the mixture ratio? What about it makes it work better than other penetrating lubricants?

He said a 50-50 mixture depending on the bottle that you are using. I would normally use WD40 but tried this and it worked alittle bit faster than WD40.

[Tech Rob]

He said a 50-50 mixture depending on the bottle that you are using. I would normally use WD40 but tried this and it worked alittle bit faster than WD40.

Any particular brand or kind of transmission fluid??? I think I'm going to try this out.

[caheiman30]

Any particular brand or kind of transmission fluid??? I think I'm going to try this out.

I just bought the cheapest and it worked. I don't think it really matters.


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[jpsmith1cm]

Here's another that I've used with some success, particularly with fan shaft/hub assemblies.

Heat it up cherry red. Take a candle and smear it at the junction of the two parts.

Some of the wax will smoke off, but some will melt and flow between the parts, creating a lubricating film.

[jug_may]

For broken bolts that are not too rusted in I like to use a left twist drill bit to drill them out. Many times just the drilling force will be enough to back to broken portion out. Otherwise heat and patience normally work.

[GT Jets]

Here's another that I've used with some success, particularly with fan shaft/hub assemblies.

Heat it up cherry red. Take a candle and smear it at the junction of the two parts.

Some of the wax will smoke off, but some will melt and flow between the parts, creating a lubricating film.

That is a trick that I believe came from the military. I believe I read it in a field handbook having to do with tank tracks or something (my granddad was a Screaming Eagle Paratrooper in WWII, I was never fortunate enough to be in the armed forces).

GT

[jpsmith1cm]

That is a trick that I believe came from the military. I believe I read it in a field handbook having to do with tank tracks or something (my granddad was a Screaming Eagle Paratrooper in WWII, I was never fortunate enough to be in the armed forces).

GT

I never knew where it came from.

I believe that I read it online somewhere.

[ryan1088]

Here's another that I've used with some success, particularly with fan shaft/hub assemblies.

Heat it up cherry red. Take a candle and smear it at the junction of the two parts.

Some of the wax will smoke off, but some will melt and flow between the parts, creating a lubricating film.

Wow, interesting. Gonna have to remember all of these for the next time!

[chuckcrj]

In automotive repair, and later in boiler and pump repairs, I have used the candle wax trick many times with success. It gets sucked into the threads like solder.

Guys, if you heat the tapping instead of the bolt you will get better results. When you heat something with a hole in it the hole gets bigger. If you heat the bolt more than the tapped piece, it gets tighter until the temps equalize.

[chuckcrj]

As for extractors, I have tried a lot of different ones. So far these are the best I have used. http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=644921&group_ID=675 457&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

[Tech Rob]

Broken link

[71CHOPS]

gotta shock them too.....a few good swift whacks with a hammer will sometimes break the rust.

[chuckcrj]

Broken linkTry this.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=&item_ID=644921&group_ID=675457&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

[chuckcrj]

gotta shock them too.....a few good swift whacks with a hammer will sometimes break the rust.

Yes. A good impact wrench, one that you can feather the trigger to just get a steady slow hammer action works wonders too.

[Southern Mech]

Left handed drill bits are must, X2 on Snap on extraction products (been through many Snap on works and lasts) and X3 or 4 on the tranny fluid.

the candle wax trick works, I also never done my self but a friend in the marine industry uses ''Mint'' on aluminum.

[Random]

Kimball-Midwest Penetrating Oil. Smells like cherries, works like nothing you've ever seen. I blew up the front end in my old mud racing truck once, in the process of taking that apart, I had to remove the spindles. The first one I had to ram with a forklift to remove. The second one got a little spray of the Kimball-Midwest stuff, it came off with a couple light taps from a 16 ounce hammer. The stuff is magic in a can.

In this field, anything I've snapped off, I've just put another screw in right on top of it. I only do residential though.

[Tech Rob]

Try this.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=&item_ID=644921&group_ID=675457&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Those look good. They don't look like you can break them very easily. The price is right, too.

You guys are coming up with some awesome suggestions that I will add to my toolbox. Thanks! Keep it up! Maybe we can write a book on the finer points and nuances of removing broken stuff without pulling your hair out.

[luv2cruiserccl]

Wow, interesting. Gonna have to remember all of these for the next time!

Done a similar thing made for steam like a wax do that and some heat and works great

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[Reeferman]

And for those times that a torch can't be used. Works great.

http://www.theinductor.com/index.php?m=41

[FrostyBeer]

Every time I encounter a rusted bolt that I know is gonna be a ***** to remove I bust out the O/A. Heating AROUND the bolt until its just about cherry and IMMEDIATELY start trying to remove the bolt when the heat is taken away. I also make sure before I heat it up, that the wrench or w/e is going to fit perfectly snug on the head of the bolt.

If the bolt does brake or its a rusted stud like on a boiler header. I'll just go right to grinding it flat, drilling and tapping it.

I <3 my tap and die set.

Always use an oil too when drilling and tapping. When tapping, do one full turn and then back a half turn to break up the filings. When drilling, press down and drill slow. Just like a drill press. :.02:

[FrostyBeer]

And for those times that a torch can't be used. Works great.

http://www.theinductor.com/index.php?m=41

That thing's sweet! such a good idea for use around rubber seals and bushings etc.