Rusty a$$ screw extraction?

[Eck]

How do I get these stupid things out?!

[Justin]

Dose it with PB Blaster and let it soak overnight. Maybe hit it again before you go to bed and again in the morning.

[crawlercreations]

Weld a nut to them and thread it out while it is still hot. Works for me every time. I use that method at least 5 times a week and have yet to fail in thousands of extractions.

[Justin]

Dang, that's a good idea.

[Gunnibronco]

Heat is your friend. Welding the nut on is a cool idea, gives you a place to grab too.

For small bolts, or if you are trying to keep the heat localized, I use a mini torch like this (just the first Google image, not a recomendation where to buy):
http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/pa ... _mini.html

I just stripped a bunch of 1939 Plymouth parts and used my propane plumber's torch a lot. Since there was little chance of damaging other parts, I just hammered the bolts with fire. Get things red hot. I only broke a couple 75 year old 1/4-20 bolts, out of dozens of stuck bolts.

Just remember those bolts don't cool off when they hit the ground. It seems simple enough, but its a lesson I keep having to learn.

[akaFrankCastle]

Just remember those bolts don't cool off when they hit the ground. It seems simple enough, but its a lesson I keep having to learn.

Been working barefoot again?

Eck, how's the back of that door post look? Seems your Bronco has seen it's fair share of winter roads.
Were you able to extract all the door hinge bolts successfully? Those are the ones I had the most trouble with on my '66. But then those were all hex keys too.

[Gunnibronco]

Been working barefoot again?

Not barefoot, but I am constantly amazed that I forget how long it takes metal to cool off. I seem to have an uncontrollable desire to grab recently heated metal. Its fascinating, I'm 40 now and haven't learned about thermal mass yet.

[Eck]

Just remember those bolts don't cool off when they hit the ground. It seems simple enough, but its a lesson I keep having to learn.

Been working barefoot again?

Eck, how's the back of that door post look? Seems your Bronco has seen it's fair share of winter roads.
Were you able to extract all the door hinge bolts successfully? Those are the ones I had the most trouble with on my '66. But then those were all hex keys too.

The door post and inner kick panel are shot-- held together by duct tape. Hence one of the reasons I am taking the front fenders off to get to the repairs. The door bolts were fairly stuck as well but you can crank down on those a lot easier than phillips head screws, so they pried loose with a little bicep flexing!

[Flatheadpopup]

For those phillips head fender screws I have had good luck with an impact screwdriver and a good dose of pb blaster. The vibration/shock really seams to help break them loose. The hinge bolts definitely respond best to lots of heat. Good luck with your project.

[Justin]

I just remembered that I've got the screwdriver that actually fits those. Makes a huge difference. A couple of smacks on the end of that with a big hammer will do wonders. I'll try to remember to throw it in with the spot welding bit I owe ya.

[Gunnibronco]

I have a large #3 or #4 philips that I welded a nut to ( about 1/2 way up the shaft), so you can put a 3/4" wrench on it and really crank on it. Not a bad "upgrade" to make to Justin's, if needed.

[Justin]

This thread is apparently made of good ideas.

[Eck]

What's even better about all these ideas is it gives me so many reasons to play with my new welding machine! Thanks for the suggestions guys!

[PaulW]

How do I get these stupid things out?!

=
PB blaster and soak
Heat
Impact driver or drill and tap
PaulW

[Eck]

So I am about to throw every tool I have across the garage. So far I have tried the following....

Weld a nut. My welding skills aren't very good and I could not seem to get a good weld to get a nut to actually stick to the screw head.

PB Blaster - soaked it and sprayed them but honestly, not sure how this is suppose to work considering you can't really get to the screw threads-- I also tried to hammer the crap out of it with a screwdriver and hammer.

I have finally tried to drill into it with a hammer drill just to get the darn things out. Bought a cobalt drill bit and it is getting me nowhere. All six screws are completely rusted on and I have NO IDEA what to do at this point.

Any more suggestions?

[Gunnibronco]

Not sure you need a hammer drill, is the cobalt bit for metal?

Option 1: Lots of heat & vice grips?

Option 2: Grind the head off the screws without grinding the sheet metal. You'll still need to get the threaded part of the bolt out later. I'd only do this as a last resort.

[Eck]

Vice grips wont't work because it is the rounded phillips head screw driver that are on the door panels. I have had PLENTY of bolts that I am sure were just as rusted that I could break lose. I tried to heat it up and short of starting the sheet metal around it on fire (which has happened already)- nothing is breaking it lose and now the threads on the screw have very little left to grip.

The bit is for metal and I am surprised it is not working better than it is. I have tried both hammer and regular drill options. The problem is that these things are so rusted, that they have essentially welded themselves to the surrounding metal. I have thought about cutting the heads off and then I guess I will eventually have to still drill the screws out at that point.

[Gunnibronco]

I think your best bet is still welding something to the screw head and using a wrench.

How are you grounding the welder?

Clean up the screw head really good (grind all the paint& junk off). Take a bolt, and weld the bolt head to the screw head. Clamp the welder's ground to the bolt's threads. That will give a better ground than trying to ground to the Bronco.

You should practice doing a little welding to similar metals, then do your truck. You need to set the heat & wire right before trying it for real.

You might end up breaking the heads off the screws if they are that rusted.

[Justin]

Not sure what my calendar for this week is looking like, but I might be able to swing by one day after work and see if I can help you get it out. What's your availability look like?

[Eck]

Gunni- if you look at the picture in the first post from this thread-- there is no way to clamp on to any part of the screw to get a good ground. I am thinking that I may try an impact screwdriver and if that won't work, I will probably cut the heads off the screws and then should be able to punch the remaining part out since they are being held by the square clamps that grab ahold of the sheet metal.

Justin- I am leaving town Tuesday night for the rest of the week. Should be around a bit this coming weekend though. I will probably go to the breakfast Saturday but may not head out for the ride afterwards.

[Gunnibronco]

Instead of trying to weld a nut to the screw head, weld a bolt to the screw, head to head. Clamp the ground to the bolt you are welding, not the screw head.

Sorry maybe I'm not getting my point across.

[Eck]

Instead of trying to weld a nut to the screw head, weld a bolt to the screw, head to head. Clamp the ground to the bolt you are welding, not the screw head.

Sorry maybe I'm not getting my point across.

Ok-- gotcha. That makes more sense now.

[Eck]

Justin brought his welding hands over and we were able to get all of them off (sorta). I actually used the pnematic impact wrench to get 2 of them. We welded onto the remaining 4 and got 2 of them completely out, and 2 of them the heads broke loose of the screw. One of them is where I am replacing the door post so it doesn't matter... the other one I may have to drill out but will wait to see if that door post is rusted on the back side and needs to be replaced as well. Thanks for all the suggestions and a big thanks to Justin for lending a hand. I had pulled all my own hair out and was starting to pull the dog's hair out!

[Justin]

Glad we got it done! It was nice to play with a welder while I'm still shopping for one.