Editing Removing stuck fasteners (section)
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==Miscellaneous tips== *A pipe wrench will grip rounded off fasteners. *Weld a piece of metal to the top of the bolt, to use as leverage when loosening. *If the slot of a round-headed screw is stripped, file two flat edges in it. Then, it can be turned with an adjustable wrench or Vice Grips. Or, use a hacksaw to file a new slot at a right angle to the existing one. Depending on the size of the fastener, using a Dremel tool or a die-grinder with a fiber wheel, carefully grind a large, deep slot in the head of the fastener, and before it cools, use a large screwdriver or impact driver to remove it. The fastener is obviously not reusable at this point, but it can possibly save the difficulty of having to drill and tap a new hole through a hardened, broken-off easy-out. *Six-point sockets will grip better on hex nuts and bolts than 12-point sockets. *Drill and tap the bolt to run another, smaller bolt down the center. A bit about half the diameter of the headless, stuck bolt is usually sufficient. Use a jam nut on the small bolt and lots of penetrating oil. *If it is a stripped screw, either slotted or Phillips, try using a dab of valve grinding compound on the tip of the screwdriver. The valve grinding compound will help with friction to hold the tip onto the fastener when turning. *Use a piece of tubing that fits in the bolt hole (OD) with the center (ID) the size of the drill bit. This will keep the drill bit centered in the bolt, when you use the EZ out. *Where access allows, put a box end wrench over a stripped nut or hex bolt head, then use a center punch on the corners of the hex to spread the metal and wedge it in the wrench. *If the bolt or stud breaks off below the surface, try this method. Using a high grade bolt of same size, grind off the threaded end until the bolt will fit into the hole and touch the broken bolt. Using an electric welder, clamp the "electrode" bolt in the stinger. This works best if someone is there to help you by turning the welder on and off. With the stinger bolt inserted into the broken bolt hole and firmly against the broken bolt, have the power turned on just long enough to fuse the stinger bolt to the broken one. You might want to practice this technique on the bench to get the power and timing right. Once they have cooled for a few minutes, but are still hot enough to burn skin, place a wrench on the slave bolt and turn them out. *For removing stubborn Phillips-head screws, wet the tip of the screwdriver or screwdriver bit, a little bit of spit will do, and dip the bit into some valve grinding compound or abrasive cleanser like Comet or Ajax. Use enough to cover the tip of the screwdriver. The abrasive gives the tip of the screwdriver a little added "bite" and it's less likely to slip out of the screw. *If you break off the head of the bolt, grind the remainder out with care using a TrueBite carbide bit and a high-speed rotary tool (Dremel MotoTool or similar). See [http://www.truebite.com/remove/ Removing Broken Bolts And Studs] for details and instructions. *With heating, bear in mind axles and other important structures may lose their strength if they are overheated and seals can be melted or degraded to the point of being useless. If you have the oil and grease starting to smoke, then you are in the 300-plus degree range. *When taking off cylinder head studs or bolts, look where it passes into the head. If you see erosion into the fastener at the block surface, odds increase that the stud or bolt will break on removal. *Whatever system you use, once you have a hold of the fastener, try rocking it forward and reverse a little at a time. If you can get it to move, it is more likely to come out. An older mechanic said always try to tighten a little before you loosen. Remember, if it moves, you are half way home. *Use the largest cobalt drill bit (that just covers the ID of the nut) to drill through the nut- parallel to the bolt- then used a chisel to turn/peel the nut off of the bolt.
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