Best way to remove exhaust bolts?

[Antman]

Wish I had seen this earlier!

This method works great- and if they aren't completely round may still work.

Find a socket that is just too small to fit onto the nut. Heat the nut with a torch until it's glowing- almost transparent red. Physically hammer the socket onto the nut all the way. Allow everything to cool down and then hit it with the impact wrench.
This has worked for me at least 3 times in the past. Good luck!

 

[Robb235]

This is so damn frustrating.

The nuts are completely round. My Dremel w/ cutting wheel is making zero progress. It just keeps burning up wheel after wheel.

How the fukc do I get these studs out?

 

[I_bRAD]

No room for an angle grinder? When I replaced my exhaust recently I had to take the angle grinder to the bolts on the other end of the cat and even then it was like 5-7 minutes of continuous grinding to cut through them.

 

[Singtoe]

This is so damn frustrating.

The nuts are completely round. My Dremel w/ cutting wheel is making zero progress. It just keeps burning up wheel after wheel.

How the fukc do I get these studs out?

Take it to a muffler shop. They'll use a acetylene torch on them and cut them off. The will replace them with new studs.

 

[Robb235]

Take it to a muffler shop. They'll use a acetylene torch on them and cut them off. The will replace them with new studs.

That's exactly what I'm going to do.

 

[lilsid112]

I agree with Singtoe and take it to an exhaust shop when the bolt is shot. I'd also spray some PB blast before I started working.

 

[Robb235]

I'd also spray some PB blast before I started working.

I did, but it didn't help.

 

[OTB]

In the past, I never never had luck with hand tools on exhaust bolts that have been on for a period time but always have been lucky with impact guns even on bolts that were old and in northern states where they salt the roads (this was also before I ever discovered PB Blaster). I think if you would have used an impact gun to start with the results may have been different.

 

[Brian757]

 

[EraSevera]

I try to soak exhaust bolts with penetrating oil for at least a couple of hours before trying to remove them (over night if I have the time and patience). As mentioned before, PB Blaster works great.

 

[Doc2012]

This is so damn frustrating.

The nuts are completely round. My Dremel w/ cutting wheel is making zero progress. It just keeps burning up wheel after wheel.

How the fukc do I get these studs out?

If you can't get those studs to cut with a Dremmel you're doing something wrong. There's no reason that a Dremmel wouldn't get cut those bolts.

Remember, light, but firm pressure. You don't want to go balls to the wall, especially with those small ass disks.

I've had no problem cutting 1x1/8" angle iron with a Dremmel before. Sure, it took a while. Yeah, the disk was almost gone by the time I was done, but it still cut it. Trick is not to do it too hard or fast.

For Cutting Nuts off bolts, I alwats make a "X" on the nut, all the way down to the bottom. That way, when it comes time for the but to come off, a light tap with a hammer or a flat head screw driver will break it into 4 peices. then you still have the stud you can work with.

 

[Robb235]

If you can't get those studs to cut with a Dremmel you're doing something wrong. There's no reason that a Dremmel wouldn't get cut those bolts.

Remember, light, but firm pressure. You don't want to go balls to the wall, especially with those small ass disks.

Well, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong then, because I'm already doing what you described. And I made sure I was using metal cutting discs, not masonry.

For Cutting Nuts off bolts, I alwats make a "X" on the nut, all the way down to the bottom. That way, when it comes time for the but to come off, a light tap with a hammer or a flat head screw driver will break it into 4 peices. then you still have the stud you can work with.

I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying. Can you post up a sketch or something?

 

[01thunder]

heat the damn things up and when red, take the next smaller socket and beat it on. that will create new flats on it and you can take them off. done. that is what i used to do to rusted, stripped nuts/bolts while living in chicago for many years. worked every time.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Hey Robb, I just went through this on my rig. I used a dremel and went slow to cut those studs off, I got most of the way through it with that. I also went to harbor freight and got a 3in high speed cutoff tool (pneumatic) that I could weasel up there. It was weak and also went really slow, but didn't get eaten up like the dremel. Harbor freight also has a high speed metal saw that is reciprocating that you could probably weasel in from the wheel well to cut them off. I wish I'd seen that before I went after mine because it probably could have saved me from cutting a hole in my transmission dipstick with the cut-off wheel, and some bloody knuckles...

I just described what I did in this other cat thread... http://www.toyota-4runner.org/3rd-gen-t4rs/137889-write-up-catalytic-converter.html#post1556661

 

[Doc2012]

Well, I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong then, because I'm already doing what you described. And I made sure I was using metal cutting discs, not masonry.



I'm not sure I'm following what you're saying. Can you post up a sketch or something?

Yeah. Still at work. Just got back from a round trip to Portsmouth. I'll do it when I get home or tomorrow morning.

 

[FROGrunner]

Liquid wrench actually works a little bit better then PB blaster from my experience working at a exhaust shop. It takes less torque to break bolts loose. If you have access to a acetelyene torch, you can hear until glowing, then quickly you can usually remove the bolt/nut.

 

[eddiebx]

This is so damn frustrating.

The nuts are completely round. My Dremel w/ cutting wheel is making zero progress. It just keeps burning up wheel after wheel.

How the fukc do I get these studs out?

Stop wasting energy and just get the dremel's big brother, lol

Those tiny dremel discs are so fragile and infuriating, not to mention costly.

 

[Nelsonmd]

Stop wasting energy and just get the dremel's big brother, lol

Those tiny dremel discs are so fragile and infuriating, not to mention costly.

Yeah but good luck reaching the exhaust posts with that big grinder. The reason we use the dremel isn't because we have weak, underpowered tools, the dremel is the right tool for the job because it fits where the bigger tools don't

 

[thardy]

What about a pneumatic die grinder? I also second the heat it up RED and pound a smaller socket on, let it cool then impact wrench. I just did the exhaust on my 96 in Utah where they don't skimp on salt. Impact first time no problem.

FYI if a 6 sided socket is the right size it will never round you bold heads. It will break the bolt or ratchet first. The reason it did is because the 12 sided one rounded it and the 6 sided one finished it off.

 

[Robb235]

What about a pneumatic die grinder? I also second the heat it up RED and pound a smaller socket on, let it cool then impact wrench. I just did the exhaust on my 96 in Utah where they don't skimp on salt. Impact first time no problem.

FYI if a 6 sided socket is the right size it will never round you bold heads. It will break the bolt or ratchet first. The reason it did is because the 12 sided one rounded it and the 6 sided one finished it off.

Found out over the weekend that my impact wrench took a dump

I also don't agree that a 6 sided socket will never round off bolt heads. I only used the 12 point on the first nut. I went to Sears down the road and bought a deep-well 6-point 14mm socket and used it on the other two bolts. Rounded off almost immediately. And yes, the socket was on square.

When I get some free time away from work, I'm just taking it down to a local muffler shop to have them torch off these studs.