Physics Majors Please Respond

I suppose I stand corrected by your experience, then... my experience is that air tools do much better at removing sensitive items like rusty exhaust manifold bolts, whereas wrenching on them seems to break them off more often than not if problems are encountered.

I will say that I would never advise using air tools to *install* bolts/nuts (as you say, there's a much better 'feel' to using hand tools), but I've always had better luck with air as far as removal goes.

Perhaps other forces are at work that I did not take into account. Apologies if I gave ill advice.

 

I dont know if anyone has mentioned this but I used a car jack to take my stubborn lugs out of my Legend and it worked. Slide a hollow bar through the wrench or what not all while resting the bar on the top of the lifter and raising it up. Worked for me, Might work for you.
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Uh, about using the jack...be very careful trying stuff like that. In fact, don't. You can seriously hurt yourself with things slipping and flying off if you try and use them in ways they are not designed for.

 

This is a really, really, really really bad idea!


Get an Ingressol Rand impact wrench with ajustable torque. That will knock 'em loose.

 

LOL. I guess I just got lucky. Got the work done but I didnt think it was that dangerous, I guess I do now.

 

Some C4 with plastique. You can ask the guy that was refusing the American Flag stamps for some

 

See the C4 would blow up the car and the surrounding neighborhood. That is why I suggested an M-80

 

Nutcracker: Sweet.
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Hmmm....I could have my mother-in-law come over and just nag at the nuts: they'll fall off in no time, seems that's what happened to my father-in-law!!!!!

OH!!!!!!!!

 

That can't be good for you know what they say!

 

Are you sure that you are not looking at reverse threaded bolts (ie. on the left of the car)? ... my Alfa is like that and confused me once ... for a few seconds

BTW: I would not use those nuts again ... and I would be worried about the damage done to the studs and wheels.

Some *****head must have used pneumatic cr@p tools on your car ... pneumatic tools were invented for the production line, not for quality work!@!. They should stay in the rubbish bin where they belong IMO. Real mechanics DON'T use them (and yes well aware that F1 tyre changers use them, but they are not being mechanics/technicians ... and the amount of effort that goes in to designing those nuts for air tools is massive, I believe).

Pete

 

What's funny is that this is what you see when you scroll over the title of this thread when you're in the Other Off Topic menu.

 

What is this 'neighborhood' you speak off? We don't have those in stinkin' Texas!

 

Karen,

On my krap old 330, most everything was corroded together.

What worked for me for the most stuborn bits is a spraying 'PB Blaster' on the parts for a several days (yes patience IS required, there is a soak in time you cannot avoid), then heat with propane or hotter PET (yellow can available at Ace HW) to expand the surrounding metal, then putting a SIX point socket/wrench on the head and slowly increasing the torque.

WD40 is _Water Displacement_ Formula 40! Anyone using it as a lubricant clearly doesn't have a clue of what it actually is. Sorry guys, nothing personal, but this stuff turns to glue as soon as you spray it. Great stuff for bored cylinders you don't want to get rusty - that's the proper application.

Patience Karen, that's the key sometimes.

HTH, JB

 

What tools do you have? If you have an air compressor that generates decent CFMs at around 100 psi, an Ingersol Rand 2135Ti will generate 1000 lb ft of torque in reverse and MSRP is $260. If that isn't enough to get it off, then just sell the car Also, on any quality air impact wrench, there are multiple torque settings. I have also broken more studs using hand tools as compared to air tools. The constant twisting force tends to do more than the repeated impact from an impact wrench. Also, with the using a hammer on the back side to knock a stuck wheel off, make sure you thread a lug nut on a few turns, otherwise you could screw up the face of the wheel if it comes off quickly. If your wheels are that stuck, I would suggest planning on replacing the wheels studs and nuts anyways. If they are stuck now, they'll probably get stuck again later. Its a relatively cheap fix for something that is obviously a major PITA.

 

Most people do know what the WD in WD40 stands for. And yes, it does work as a lubricant as well. Try not to be so condescending.

 

You know, I think that's the first post I've made which got someones hackles up. Sorry Mr TVR if it came across as harsh, it was a long week for me, but that has been my personal experience with it.

Have a great weekend.

 

Even water can be a "lubricant". Graphite is an excellent lube for precision parts (like door locks) that have to tolerate a wide range of climatatic conditions.

But the best way to soften up a rusty fastener is "penetrating oil": good ole 3-in-1. But it doesn't come in a spray can.

Sometimes, you just have to get your hands dirty.