Guest gtmattz Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Hi there, was wondering if anyone has some tips on removing the bottom fender bolts when they have been all rusted to beat hell.. Ive been checking over the body, and the only place that is really rusted is the backs of the fenders, the bottom corner of both fenders is rusted through from someone driving the car on muddy roads w/out the fender shrouds installed. hence the bottom bolt is now rusted in place. I am planning on replacing the fenders so im not worried about saving the sheetmetal, but i do not want to harm the threaded hole in the body. Any assistance would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruez Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Try some penetrating oil (not wd-40 or liquid wrench) , and a little heat... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gtmattz Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 so, would the heat from one of those little propane torches be enough? I dont have access to an oxy/acetylene rig at this time (hopefully in the near future, father-in-law is supposed to be hooking me up with a used setup) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 use the sears bolt out kit or... the grinder worked well for me yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruez Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 You can try one of those small torches and try to heat up the nut (if you can get to it) that will get the nut to expand a bit more than the bolt... Try some PB Blaster or equivalent and let it set on it for a while.... if its really bad, you're probably fighting a losing battle... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Those thread into the rocker and I don't believe there is any way to get penetrating oil or heat to the rusty threads. I broke all four on my first 240 but ended up scraping the body so i didn't have to deal with it. My plan was to drill and retap to the next size up. Don't do like I did and get impatient just slowly work them back and forth to see if you can get the threads clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gtmattz Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Would be a shame to have to find a new car for such a small problem.... I just wish i could give whoever did this to the car a piece of my mind.. somwehere along the line it looks as if the car has had more than one really crappy attempt at a paint job, there are patches where someone took it down to bare metal and then applied a couple coats of paint, which are now flaking off completely due to surface rust under the paint... its not serious rot, as the rust is rather shallow. This is a Nevada car, so most of the car isnt rusty, just the places where the mud collected inside the fenders and the poor paint jobs... I know there are going to be people who say "Scrap this junker and get a rust free shell" but I dont have the $ to do that. I got this one essentially free (did some work for a guy in trade) so spending a little extra to repair the rust is not an issue for me, just want to get this car looking sweet again before i stick my 327 into it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted October 23, 2003 Share Posted October 23, 2003 Would be a shame to have to find a new car for such a small problem.... I just wish i could give whoever did this to the car a piece of my mind.. I just reread my post and I worded it poorly. I scraped my 240 but it was because of major rust issues not the broken bolts. Even if you break them the fix shouldn't be too bad just take your time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Coke? Possibly the Carbonic Acid breaks down the corrosion? If that is so, I would guess that ammonia (since it is a stronger weak acid) would work better. Or you could aways get a little Sulfuric Acid and really remove some rust. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 Back in my days at the tyre shop, we would often get these old trucks that hadn't had their tyres replaced for ages. The bead of the tyre would be firmly fused to the rim. The only thing that would work well was to pour a can of coke into the bead (with the wheel laying flat of course) and leave it overnight. The next morning we could break the bead by hand. Make you think what that stuff does to your body!! Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gtmattz Posted October 24, 2003 Share Posted October 24, 2003 maybe thats why when i drink anything anymore my navel leaks?? ;P but seriously, im going to try the coke trick and see how she goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RPMS Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 A propane torch will do the job just fine. Heat the bolt head for about thirty seconds, let it cool a bit, and spray with PB Blaster. If it still won't come right out, try TIGHTENING it a bit. Often bolts will tighten a bit, break the rust bonds, then loosen out with a back-and-forth motion. Tighten a quarter turn, loosen a half. Tighten a quarter, loosen a half, etc. I broke off about a half dozen rusted bolts trying to muscle them out, then I applied the above techniques and things went MUCH more smoothly! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilRufusKay Posted October 25, 2003 Share Posted October 25, 2003 Another thing to consider is the head of the bolt. Many times because of corrosion the head expands and might seem like it is bigger than it should be. (no jokes please!! ) What you should do before trying to remove the bolt is put a 6 point NOT 12 POINT socket on the head and work it a little. Take the socket off, wire brush the head (ouch! ) and try the next size down. If it is metric try the next standard size down. If it is standard try the next metric size down. Even if you have to tap it on with a hammer it will grab much better. There is NOTHING worse than a stuck bolt with a stripped head! Good Luck! Rufus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cbuczesk Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 You can access the inside of the rocker from inside the car. You can even drill an 1/8" hole in the rocker to spray the penetrating oil and then weld it later. All of that probably won't work by itself. The best trick that I've learned is to use a MIG welder to remove rusty bolts. Just weld on a big blob of metal to the head of the bolt. Don't weld on the sides! As soon as you're done welding just unbolt it. This works very well for removing bolts that have broken heads. The weld blob gives you a big area to clamp your vise grips. Chuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Being in AZ, it's been a while since i worked on a rusty Z:) However, as I recall a friend who worked at a Z wreckyard swore that he could get rusty bolts loose by turning them 1/4-turn TIGHT before loosening. Most penetrating oils made for loosening rusty bolts are largely kerosene. I've also heard good results from automatic transmission fluid (ATF). The acid that's probably working for the guys who have reported good results with Coke is Phosphoric Acid. I'm no chemist, but understand it to be one of the most powerful acids known to man. Guess that's why the dentist says it will rot your teeth. I once saw a list of things you could do with Coke that made it sound like an industrial-grade solvent...including cleaning grease off your driveway! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 just watched a show yesterday called Mythbusters on the Discovery channel, evidently coke makes an excellent chrome cleaner with al foil, cleans blood somewhat, but does nothing to a rusted bolt. pretty interesting stuff... also did tests on a tooth, penny and a steak, phosphoric acid did a bad job cleaning the penny, but the coke worked well, coke tenerized the steak while the acid started decomposing it, and the tooh just got stained dark by coke and was half the size and bright white with phosphoric acid. the tooth and penny tests where done over 24hrs and the steak a little over 48 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Washington Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 I guess we have a new steak marinade to try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-REX Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 john... this from a former chef. coke+ketchup=barbecue sauce. use just a little and usda grade f beAf melts in your mouth.....bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aaron Posted October 29, 2003 Share Posted October 29, 2003 john... this from a former chef. coke+ketchup=barbecue sauce. use just a little and usda grade f beAf melts in your mouth.....bob How much Coke+Ketchup? I am always looking for new BBQ ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-REX Posted October 30, 2003 Share Posted October 30, 2003 hmm... i wonder if this is off topic???? mix 1.5 parts ketchup to 1 part coke, a little salt and pepper and coat your meat. (that sounded pornographic.) let it sit for at least 30 mins- when you grill it, keep basting with the marinade. goddamn i feel like martha stewart. dark beer like a guiness or the equivalent goes perfectly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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