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Title: TIP: stuck fastener removal. Post by: Ed on August 17, 2005, 04:56:48 AM Hi guys,
Got this off a motorcycle site I'm a member of... havent tried it but every one over there reckons it is magic Cheers Ed ENJOY>>> quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a digest of experience removing stuck/broken exhaust, head, and other stud fasteners from air-cooled motors (VWs): The hardest part was removing the self taping screw which holds the shift rod to the trans shaft. Frozen. Stuck. Wouldn't budge. Heating didn't help. An overnight soak in Kroil didn't help. Then I remembered a hint that has circulated on this list and others. The paraffin moment. We happened to have sticks of it in the attic left over from a Christmas candle making session. I heated the screw with a heat gun and fed paraffin to it, much the way that one feeds solder to a heated wire. I watched as some of the paraffin wicked up behind the screw head and, I hoped, into the threads. The first time I put a wrench to the screw after doing this, it spun so easily that at first I was sure I had stripped the head. Not so. After it cooled, I was able to withdraw it with my fingers. Here's my contribution, got it from a GM pipefitter. Stuck nuts (and bleeder screws) that resist heat, vibration and Liquid Wrench will often succumb to moderate heat, then a touch of paraffin to the joint between the nut and the stud (or where the bleeder screws enters the casting). The wax is sucked into the joint like solder into a copper plumbing fitting, and the bond is thereby lubricated. I tried it on my drums, and it worked great. Nothing else did. Score one for skilled trades. I was stuck with two of my bleeder nipples until I applied moderate to high moderate heat, then touched a candle to the base of the nipple. The wax/paraffin got sucked into the "socket" (like solder does when you sweat a copper pipe joint), and Voila! out it came. Probably doesn't ALWAYS work, but it did for me, even after much heat, Liquid Wrench, etc. heat it with propane to hot, not red, then apply paraffin wax and allow to cool. I use heat a lot more than I used to, paraffin sucked in to the threads and tapping on the bolt. It takes longer than I want it to, but it's amazing how often it works. ------------ Sometime back, someone on some list posted a tip on using candle wax to free rusty bolts by lightly heating the bolt and applying the candle to the threads. The wax is sucked into the threads and bolt comes loose. Over the weekend I striped down an old rusty CB750. This bike has been used as a daily rider in the rain, snow and salty roads of upper Minnesota for years. The chrome on the pipes had turned to crusty, deep pitted rust and most of the other fasteners were worse. After heating and applying the wax, the rusted header bolts turned out with little effort. The pipes were still rusted to the mounts but a little wax had them free in no time. The rest of the bike came apart with out one rounded off bolt head or broken bolt. A new shop record! |