Stuck "Nut"

[deepsquat]

Short story = long

I was changing the thermostate on my 88 Honda accord ...Both bolts broke when i took them out!.. So I drilled what I thought would be the thoughest one out, then bought an easy out to get the rest of the "shell " out of the bolt ..and the east out snapped off! Flush with the houshing of the thermostate...now on an 88 Accord you can actually remove the housing , but first I must remove an EGR ? line exshust line in the way running from the exshuast to the intake ...it is in the way of one of the bolt I need to remove ..I got 2 of the bolts removed off of the intake , but can't get the nut removed frome the exshuast manifold..I have srayed it with PB Blaster 4-5 different times over the coars of several days ...now I would like to just heat it up with a toarch but don't have one /and can't rent one .


So my question to you guys is what do you think is wiser ..take it to a shop to have the nut removed..or put a pipe on the end of my wrench and push ...my question is ...the nut has 186,000 miles on it .is it going to break/strip if I do this with out heating it up first?...the size of it is 15/16 so roughly 19mm ?????

 

[JHZR2]

If you think the car is sound and will go many thousands of miles, take it to a shop (preferably one that has a machine shop as part of it), and let them take care of it.

If you think the car is on its last legs, Id give it a try first, and then re-think your move from there.

One thing that ive found with Honda vehicles, theyre really well made, and they last and last, and run really well. But when something big needs to be done, or something needs replacement that is not on the top and out in the open, it is HORRIBLE to get to or try to do.

Good luck!

JMH

 

[RH+G]

If you torch it it will come off. Heat is your friend.

 

[deepsquat]

OH the car will definately last ..it runs like a top ..it may have 186,000 mile on it..but it is just broken in

I may have come up with another solution ..have found 4 differant local business that have mobile welding outfits ...so I may have someone come out and either weild 2 studs on ..were the bolts snapped off ( tig weild) or have them torch up the bolt...????

 

[andyd]

split the nut with a sharp chisel> my experience with EZ outs is the same as yours. Thats why I dont use them. Getting a sheared one out aint EZ.

 

[labman]

There are other techniques besides penetrating oil and a torch. See http://theoildrop.server101.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=000035#000000

 

[deepsquat]

trouble with trying to use a propane tourch is I have to invert it..and after 2-3 second it flames out! thjat is why i want an oxy acetalyn torch ...may have though of a friend that has one ..a retiered metal shop teacher ..used to own the Golds Gym I went to ...will calll him tonite and try to imposs on him

...one guy at work said ...belive it or not that a hair dryer can some times work to heat it up enough ..what the heck I got nothing to loose .

 

[doitmyself]

What's the consequence if the bolt/stud attached to the frozen nut breaks off???

Besides the chisel (great idea), there are also nut cracker tools (ouch).

This kind of stuff is why BITOG gurus are all wrong. What's the point of keeping the engine pristine thru good lubes when the rest of the car goes belly up! Just joking of course.

 

[deepsquat]

What's the consequence if the bolt/stud attached to the frozen nut breaks off???

well the nut is part of a hard line , so I am not sure that if i cut the nut that
1) part of it won't still be left inside the manifold

2) I won alo snap the line ..probably not too $$ though

BTW sorry for the really bad typing I have been sick for the last 3 days and it really shows in those last few posts ...no excuses for the other 300 posts

 

[vizvo]

You could split the nut with a Dremel tool and a cutoff wheel.

 

[cousincletus]

Good ideas posted above. Next time I have found that drilling and retapping the hole is the best way to do it. I had problems with easy outs breaking off too. Generally speaking the drill bit will follow the existing hole even if the housing is aluminum. But once you break off an easy out you will have to take it to a machine shop. Then the guy at the shop will ask you "did you break an easy out off in the hole?"

 

[deepsquat]

well my retired metal shop teacher friend came over tonight...and that bolt will not BUDGE! he was afraid that if we heated it too much we would really mess things up,, could not get to the bolt that I really need to even by bending a wrench ...so he had 2 other solutions to try ...
he called it a crows foot ...one of those open ended wrench heads that you attach a ratchet to get to the bolt that I want to take out ( not the stuck nut ,,the bolt that i CAN'T GET TO BECAUSE OF THE LINE THAT THE STUCK NUT IS keeping me from getting to

And then the ultimate in Mickey Mouse factor I may be able to fit 2 "C" clamps small ones , in the place were the bolts belong , pehaphs that and some J&B weld ..I actually think that may work.as cheesy as it sounds.

 

[labman]

Was the retired shop teacher a retired auto shop teacher? Older cars take special techniques. Did you go back to that thread I posted the link to? Vibration and penetrating oil often do the job. Heating and quenching nearly always works, although may need several repetitions. In the case of a stuck bleed screw, all the rubber parts need to be removed and replaced. Since this is on the manifold, I doubt there is much on it to be harmed by heating. Make sure if you do get the nut to turn, it turns on the line rather than twisting the line up.

All this is a good lesson on resorting to vibration, penetrating oil, and heat before you break off the bolt. Easy outs are easier to break than bolts. In most cases, the only reason they work is that the heat and vibration of drilling the hole loosens the bolt. Using the typical dull bit provides more heat and vibration.

I remember when I worked in a shop, what the owner had to say about people that brought in stuff with a broken off Easy Out after they left.

 

[deepsquat]

yes I did go to that other thread..thank you ..still no good ... what I beleive I will do is ."C" clamp the houseing on ..bought 2 small c clamps ..and they do seem to fit, though I don't know how well it will seal the houseing ,
Then at that piont after camping and J&B weilding it along with a health dose of slicone sealan I should be able to drive the car , there is a weilding shop a few miles from my house that I will have TIGG weild the houseing closed! I believe thay should beable to get around 90% of it ..and really once it is clamped closed just a tack weild should be good .. as the car has 186000 miles on it the thermostate should be good till the car bites the big one !

 

[rpn453]

So there isn't enough room for an impact wrench?

 

[deepsquat]

no the item that I need to get to is a 12 mm bolt ..easy to get lose ..but a egr line is in the way ...this line runs off the exhaust manifold and then goes into the intake manifold..but the line passes in front of the 12mm bolt that I need to get off to remove the thermostate housing. this line is held on by a 15/16 nut that will not budge!
We were concerned that if we heated the nut up too much that the hollow line might either crack or collpse ..leaving me in a heck of a mess .

As it is my "C" clamp have done the trick! I fist applied a solder weild sealant by Permatex ..it bonded the 2 halves together ..I could probably remove the "C" clamps right now ..but I won't

 

[RH+G]

What did u use to heat it up?