siezed /rusted bolts, spanner or impact gun?

[steveo3002]

ive got a job coming up ( subframe on a golf ) thats well known for the bolts /captive nuts being siezed or shearing off etc

ive got a wide selection of tools , but i was wondering is it best to give a gentle turn on a ratchet or wang the impact gun on it , for the best chance of getting em out in one piece

they cant be soaked in oil either lol

[lewist123]

WD40 and then get the impact gun right on there.

Less chance of snapping it with an impact gun!

[popuptoaster]

heat is gonna work best, anything violent might break the captive nuts off.

[dave21478]

Use a proper penetrating oil (not wd40) a day before you start. - plusgas or duck oil are good.

If they look very fragile due to rust, then an impact will just snap them right off. Give them a tweak with the spanner and see if it looks like moving, if not, get in there with the oxy torch to heat up whatever the bolts go into.
If it doesnt look badly corroded, hit it with the gun.

[petetong]

heat ever time for me.. even a good plumbers blow lamp is better than nothing!!
did a diff pinon nut at work in the week.. WD40 it, impact guned it.. long bar on it.. still no go..
heated up the nut till it was curry red.. and then let it cool a bit. and tryed again with just a ratchet and it came undone peace off pi55!!!
some time a good smack on the head off the bolt with a BFH will loosen up an corrosion that's holing the tread tight..

[steveo3002]

as said they're hidden and cant be soaked with oil

the bolts are pretty long , so I'm not sure heat will be effective heating the head of a long bolt

[dave21478]

I see.
You don't really want to heat the bolt itself anyway, you want to heat whatever it screws into. Heating the bolt will cause it to expand faster than the nut its into, making it more likely to stick.

Hose the area with oil - some of it will seep along the bolt and to the threads and thats all you need. Get a spanner on it and work it back and forth, unscrewing a little more with each pull.

[claypole]

Surely if you can get a socket or spanner on the nut then you can stick a spray with one of those red straws on the nozzle and hose the area with something release oil related? :-)

[steveo3002]

i cant get a spanner on it , its a captive hidden nut deep inside the chassis leg ....apart from dunking the car in oil i doubt any amount of spraying will get at it

chances are might be fine ....but its engine out and cut chassis open if it shears off lol

[DavidB]

WD40 is rubbish! It's good for 'cleaning grass off mower blades' though.
I don't envy you. I just drill them straight out if they don't comply to my Stilson wrench, these things with remove any nut known to man - the harder you pull, the tighter the grip.

[Hudzoyne]

you can access golf subframe captive bolts from the inside of the car mate in the floor pans, lift the carpet and the sound deadening and there is a bung, take it out and you will see the furthest back nut this is usually the problem one I find I'm sure you could get some penetrating spray on the other nut from that hole also.

I always find impact gun does it nearly every time for me, sometimes required a long bar to crack it off first. Although i always always put the right size socket(19mm if i remember rightly) on an extension bar, put it over the bolt head, give it a good few smacks with a big hammer which usually losens off the rust holding them in.