$#%@&^! Rusty Bolts... wonder if this would work?

Working on an O/T truck, but it has a GM 8.5" 10-bolt rear in it. Lately seems to have developed a leak in the cover or cover gasket, leaving puddles and wet on the bottom of the housing lip and up into the cover. So I figure time for a change (and it wasn't much more money to get a cover and gasket set as just a gasket, so...)

Turns out about 9 of the 10 bolts on the cover, the heads have partly rusted away, and with no lift it's a pain in the ass to try to get under it to whack at them with a chisel or clean them up with a grinder so I can at least get them started turning. They're supposed to have 1/2" heads; one an 11mm socket will catch and then slip and spin on. Thanks road salt. Or maybe just thanks GM, I just went through the same thing with one Pontiac intake manifold bolt.

Anyways, I had the idea that maybe I could use JB Weld to put some say 7/16ths nuts on the heads of the bolts - smaller so that a socket will also reach and catch on some of the points of the head that are left - and see if that will hold long enough to get them started. I could stick them on and let them set a day or so before taking another crack at it.

Any thoughts? They just going to spin off like I'm taking apart an Oreo cookie?


Worst case I drive it to a buddy's and put it on the back of an old rollback to get room to work, that's just most of a week and 75 miles drive away. It seems to leave a silver dollar sized puddle underneath every time it's driven long enough to get warm, I figure eventually the 2 liters the manual says is supposed to be in there is going to get low enough to cause deeper problems. More headaches I don't need.

 

Doubt if JBweld would work. I just had the same issue. Ground two sides of the head flat and used one of those sockets that fit anything, the ones full of spring loaded pins. Worked like a charm. My situation the heads were rusted more than the bolt threads being stuck and couldn't get a socket to stick similar to what you have.

Scrump

 

I guess that's why they call you rustynewyorker

 

Assume you mean the rearend? If you have a torch (O/A), drain the oil, heat the heads up red, then let them cool off.

Should come right out.

 

I saw the results of a penetrating oil test and a 50-50 mix of acetone and atf works best. most dollar store nail polish remover is acetone, cheaper there . I have welded biger nuts on before if there is enough room for a socket or wrench,

 

Is that not why they invented vice grips?

 

Squirt some brakefluid into the fill-hole.
This might swell up the seals again and maybe take care of the leak.

 

Yeah, I could probably try to say MIG weld nuts on but with my luck I figure I'll just manage to weld the bolts into the case permanently. I figure the JB Weld would be cheap and I could do it in the driveway. Anything else I'm liable to kill myself or break things unless I get it in the air someplace that I know it's not going to fall down on my head.

It's not even that they're going to be stuck, I don't think, it's just overcoming how much they're torqued down. As far as I know the other end of the cover bolts go through the case and right into the gear lube.


Not the first time I've had this kind of trouble, though, another 10-bolt rear replacing the front U-joint turned into a $100 bill when the bolts in the yoke on the differential just twisted off and the only easy way out was to buy another yoke.

Why vise grips are unlikely to work: Bolts are rusted at an angle, there's nothing flat to grab, the cover has a lip around the outside edge and bulges in the middle. No room to get in with the things.

 

You could try it; no harm no foul as you will not be doing anything that is irreversible.

Probably the connection is not wide enough to withstand the twisting. But still worth a shot.

Do you have a Dremel? If so use a rotary cutter to clean up the ends of the bolts so the JBW has a good clean dry surface to adhere to.

For that matter, you could use a cutoff wheel in the Dremel to cut a slot in the end of the bolt. Then hammer in a straight screwdriver bit. Then use a small open end wench to twist the bolt out. The insides have been well lubricated to once you crack them, they should spin right out.

 

its that dam atlantic ocean, i grew up on the east coast, i now live on the west coast, what a difference, so a guy brought me an exhaust manifold with one of the studs snaped off, this is now i got it out, i have used this method for 30 some years now, i drilled a hole the same size as the stud into the end of a piece of 1/8"x3/4" flat bar, then i plug weld it to the stud that was snapped off flush, now i have a handle and to work it back and forth, if you still have the bolt head then you could just weld right to that.

 

Rusty, sure as hell fell your pain! NOTHING like having to do things the HARD way. (Cause it hard to get at!)

Cut the heads off, drill, re-tap, start over. Oh, my God!

 

Use to do this in the Air force, Apply some heat, tap bolt with a ball peen hammer while still hot and try to TIGHTEN the bolt, this usually loosens the bolt

 

A-right! Let's try THAT, bro!

 

The joys of cars. Of course, applying heat is somewhat delicate of a procedure too since you're only a few inches from the gas tank. I think I'll just wait until I can get it up on the back of a rollback and go to town with torch/grinder/etc there.

The Dremel is actually a good idea - I have the harbor frieght super el-cheapo version which is even smaller.

 

You quote Savage yet you can't cut a fuckin bolt off w/o input?

 

I hope that came with a smiley face. Since I'm sure it didn't, maybe you can tell us about your suggestion. Next time try it and maybe you'll amaze yourself. You know, everybody loves a piece of ass but not a smart ass, Have a nice day!

 

i've had realy good luck with sandblasting. It gets rid off all the rust and scale and usally you can find enough left to get a socket on and get them out

 

Serge, I agree with your suggestion. Doing it this way breaks loose the "rust connection" and the stuck bolt usually will come out. The only thing I would add is to heat a candle and to drip some wax onto the bolt so that the wax will wick down into the threads. This really seems to help with getting the bolt out without a lot of drama.

 

these work well,

 

Yo, InPrimer. Did I say something that got misinterpreted? I was referring to the heat input. I'm on RustyNY's side here, where he's trying to loosen rusted bolts in a hard-to-get-at place. That was all -- trying to offer encouraging words.

 

I live in the rust belt and come across this time and time agian.I just grind the top off the bolt and weld a flat washer on to the rusted bolt then weld a nut to the washer.I use the washer because it is hard to weld a nut to the top of the bolt.9 out of 10 times it get it out on the first try.Trick is when welding it to use alot of heat so as to heat the bolt up good.

 

^^^^^ +1 ^^^^
I've also migged a lot of nuts on, as mentioned use a lot of heat.

 

you know what my favorite is for striped bolts, i take a cut off wheel and notch the bolt head like a screw then use a screwdriver to take em out....hasnt failed me yet

 

should send you some rusted parts from up here.I have tried that with not much luck, but it does work.

 

Since Rusty doesn't think the bolts are rusted in their holes, a simple chisel should be enough to get them to spin out once he gets it up where he can get to them.

As far as extreme cases, the washer then nut trick works extremely well. One of my nieces tried this the other day to remove two broken and rusted bolts from a '28 Chevy head. Awesome tip!

 

Unclee, when we were younger & swapping engines a lot ('70s/'80s) my wife was always there with bells on to help any way she could. Reminds me of what you said about your neices. Once when my dad & I had a 440 up in the air & struggling to clear osmething, the engine came loose & swung forward FAST. If my wife hadn't been THERE to stop it with her feet (she was sitting on the front end), it would have trashed the AC core.

I LOVE it when women love the same things I do!

 

TBill's socket looks like a good way to go.

Blue Point?
A Snap-On brand?



If things aren't too far gone, a 6 point socket tapped over the hex will do it many times where a 12 point will just strip the hex.

Dad bought me a 6 point socket just for pulling flathead water pumps when I was 17.

Worked like a charm.

I'm guessing that it may help to use an impact wrench.

Along with proper penetrants and heat etc.

 

heat and beeswax!

 

I got a set of those sockets tbill posted from snap-on they are the shit!!!! work great you can even get then at sears now. Keith

 

I wonder IF it's the front, "pinion" seal that's actually leaking, and getting tracked to the back with gravity and vehicle motion? I can understand not having access to something you're working on, sometimes it's easier just to take it in to someone with a lift, and the proper tolls, and let them do it. I hand carry stuff to my local muffler shop all the time. Most recently, it was an exhaust manifold that the PO had messed up an air injection nozzle, that I futher messed up trying to get it loose. Nothing wrong with paying someone to do what you can't. Butch/56sedan delivery.