Date:         Mon, 24 Aug 1998 01:56:10 EDT
Reply-To:     CarlMarin@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         CarlMarin@AOL.COM
Subject:      Loosening Tight Fasteners (was: Help getting lug nuts off)
Comments: To: Vanagon@Vanagon.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

 Bryan wrote:
<<<<<
To:     bfeddish@netreach.net
Subject:        Help getting lug nuts off

My '83 westy has a flat in my driveway and if I use the "factory supplied"
lug wrench all I'm doing is stripping the nuts.  Any suggestions on getting
them off?

Thanks,
Bryan.
<<<<<
Hi all,
I see in a later post that the Pep Men came to the rescue in this particular
case but the subject brings to mind a couple of tips for removing really tough
fasteners, bolts or nuts, that have worked for me.

First, if the fastener in question looks like its going to be a problem child
as you apply a normal amount of force and it doesn't break lose, stop before
you booger it up and round off the points.  Now dig deep in your box of
Craftsman tools and find a 6 point socket or box end wrench instead of that 12
point job you probably have in your hand now.  You can apply alot more force
before rounding with a 6 point as opposed to a 12 point tool.  Those black
oxide finish impact sockets are usually 6 point and readily available as an
alternative to the normal 12 points.  6 point box end wrenches are a little
harder to find but look around and pick up the most common sizes at least.

Second tip for a really tough nut it to apply a sharp blow to the wrench
instead of just tugging on it hard and making it mad.  This works well on
smaller size fasteners and unusually soft fasteners like the fittings on the
ends of brake lines.  A crisp rap on the wrench with a ball peen hammer (ok, a
claw hammer will work too but its tacky) will get these turning while an even
pull will often start them to rounding (use a flare wrench on these, almost 6
point ;^)

Thirdly, apply heat liberally.  Works well on rusty hardware after the
application of some liquid wrench (please don't set your van on fire on my
account)  What you are trying to do with heat is make the fastener grow in
length relative to the clamped part, either a bolt or stud perhaps.  Some will
argue that the surrounding metal will heat up just as much and there will be
no net effect but this argument assumes you apply heat for some period of time
so long as to let the "system" reach equilibrium.  In general, the fastener
will be small, the clamped parts large and the heat sink effect of the larger
clamped parts will keep them cooler and "smaller."  Besides, it works! How to
apply the heat?  If there are delicate parts in the vicinity then a good hot
air heat gun will get the fastener pretty hot, enough to get the job done
sometimes.  If there is nothing around to burn up then use a propane torch.
(The hottest part of the flame is at the tip of the blue inner cone, BTW)
Many fasteners on the Vanagon were screwed in using some sort of Locktite
compound, BTW, and heat will neutralize this nuisance as well.

This brings me full circle to the lug nuts.  I had some that would not crack
loose for nothing even with me jumping on the end of a 4 foot long breaker
bar.  I heated the offending bolts with the propane torch, just hot, not
glowing red or anything, stuck the breaker bar on and they barked loud and
finally turned (I hate that sound!).

Next time.... "how to restore that boogered up nut or screw head so no one
will know what you had to do to it to get it loose :^0"

Good luck,

Carl Turner

What the heck, I'll tell you now.  Many fastener heads can be made to look
pretty darned nice after some major boogering by simply tapping down the
raised metal with a small ball peen hammer while supporting the fastener in a
vise.  Works really well on Phillips head screws, flat blade screw heads, the
internal points on an allen head bolt ( I made the nasty looking plugs on my
transmission look pretty nice again this way) and will even restore some
functionality to a hex head bolt or nut if a replacement is not convenient.
All the metal is still there after all, you just need to move it back to where
it started.  Pounding down edges like on the Phillips head screws generally
has the effect of "work hardening" the metal that you pound so this little
trick can actually create a slightly stronger head to work with next time
which is good!

Vanag  On !