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    Default Removing Seized Nuts

    Tomorrow i have to remove some nuts holding an EGR flange and pipe on an exhaust manifold
    I am expecting it to give me some grief, its been on for 360,000 kms.
    I have been spraying the parts for the last week each couple of days with a Penetrating Spray.

    Any other suggestions for this type of job?
    Would it be better to attempt removing the nuts when the engine is warm or cold?

    I remember my grandfather would use the old Penatrene in that small plastic tube.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    EGR is the work of the Devil........

    i suggest holy water instead of penetrating spray......

    if that doesn't work you may need to heat the nuts with a blow torch....

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    Yep heat would likely be your best choice if they don't move with the cat's piss, and even then you may find they tear the threads off with them?

    Your other alternative may be to sacrifice the nuts if you can get at them with a die grinder or similar, just take a chunk out of each side and split them with a cold chisel.

    Either way you will probably need to chase the threads with the appropriate die so make sure you have one on hand.

    And apply some Coppercote (or some other heat-resistant anti-seize) to the threads when you put it back together, that stuff is amazing, next time you pull it apart you won't have any trouble whatsoever!

    Andrew

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    I use a portable gas torch and if you can a rattle gun, but defs use heat, if your lucky they will come undone, but my luck I always snap the bastards resulting in extra work

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    heat and if it wont move a nut splitter , have had ti use them a few times but life savers


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    Thanks guys, it might be hard to get flamed heat on there, some rubber hoses near by.

    I'll do my best.
    If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!

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    Something I tried a while back is a 50/50 mix of acetone and auto transmission fluid which is claimed to be the very best penetrating fluid and it worked fine for me. Needs some hours like overnight to get right into the seized area and a bit of heat, as always, improves the chances of success. The acetone evaporates fairly quickly so waiting for some hours before hitting it with the blowtorch is a good idea.

    Just found the jar I had the mix in out in the shed and all the acetone appears to have evaporated leaving just A/T fluid even in the supposedly sealed jar (been a couple of years I suppose).
    Last edited by Skepticist; 11-01-18 at 02:31 PM.

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    Rattle gun, Impact Driver, or nut splitter. Most of the time you've then got to drill the stud out of the block and then use Helicoils to fit a new stud. Have fun.
    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    If the usual soaking with all the magic oils doesn't work, I use a dremel with a fibre reinforced cutting disc to surgically cut and remove the nut and have never damaged a stud.
    Have done that with cross-threaded wheel nuts too, which some smart tyre monkeys with their powerful air rattlers created. Heat doesn't help there.
    There are many tight areas in modern vehicles where I wouldn't suggest a blow torch.
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    Aaaah...the mighty Dremel....
    The fact that there's a highway to hell and a stairway to heaven says a lot about the anticipated traffic flow.

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    For the dumb bastards on this site, what and how does a nut splitter work?
    There is a fine line between "Hobby" and "Madness"

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    Quote Originally Posted by allover View Post
    For the dumb bastards on this site, what and how does a nut splitter work?

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    Quote Originally Posted by fandtm666 View Post
    That's great, however getting a nut splitter on an exhaust related nut is going to be compromised by space & angle of attack.
    I've always managed with first penetrating oil to break down the oxidisation & then heat & a rattle gun.

    With a small percentage though, the whole stud will come out with nut still seized, then you can decide whether a new stud & nut are worth the effort of separating the old pair that have oxidized themselves together.
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    I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

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    I take it from your first post that the engine is still in the car and if so, what is where and how much space you have to work in.
    Heating the nuts and not the studs would be preferable although if you got the nuts really warm, engine off and then squirt some icy cold water on one and slip on a socket/spanner onto it and apply the pressure.
    Fingers crossed.
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    Quote Originally Posted by gordon_s1942 View Post
    I take it from your first post that the engine is still in the car and if so, what is where and how much space you have to work in.
    Heating the nuts and not the studs would be preferable although if you got the nuts really warm, engine off and then squirt some icy cold water on one and slip on a socket/spanner onto it and apply the pressure.
    Fingers crossed.
    Interesting thought there gordon, I've been experimenting with a product called Freeze & release which worked really well for me when pulling apart my tractor's slasher transfer gearbox.

    here it is;
    Last edited by Tiny; 12-01-18 at 06:23 PM.
    Cheers, Tiny
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    While normally you would heat the nut and cool the stud, in this case that's a bit difficult with the engine still insitu so why not try the other way around ?

    Hey Tiny, what ever works eh???
    There is no one way more right than any of the others that have been suggested, so long as it WORKS !!
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    I had one that decided to break in the head of an old Falcon many years ago, broke an ezy-out in the stud so the next fix was to drill around the stud, plug the hole and start again. Next time it happened ('nother Fraud) Didn't want to remove the head so just put everything back together and hoped for the best. Worked for a couple of months until the gasket blew out at that spot. A dab of liquid steel across the hole and it was still good, 2 years later when I finally sold the car.
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    Have you considered using CRC freeze-off OB? I have used it with great success when undoing manifold bolts, where heat cant be used, its around $30 a can but well worth it



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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    Have you considered using CRC freeze-off OB? I have used it with great success when undoing manifold bolts, where heat cant be used, its around $30 a can but well worth it
    Holy crap, $30 a can, you can get the Loctite Freeze & Release I posted above for around $12 a can.
    Cheers, Tiny
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