Rusted on nut methods ?

T

Traveler74

New member
Do you have a favored method of getting a rusted nut off , especially in a tight, hard to reach place ?

I am currently attempting to remove the alternator from a 3 gen T4R.
No problem getting the pivot bolt off, but the locking nut will not budge. (The locking nut is part of the belt tensioning system.)

Currently, I have sprayed on WD-40 and I'm letting it hopefully soak in for 2 days. several spays during that time.

PLAN B: If that doesn't work, I plan on buying a propane torch and heating the nut.

Any other ideas ?
Thank you
 
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Standard WD40 or penetrant?

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You need to use some sort of penetrating oil, I use PB Blaster. Liquid Wrench is another popular one. Spray that on and wait a while and then try again. If it doesn't budge, a torch on the nut should help.
 
I have heard of PB Blaster, but I have not yet tried it.

Currently using what I have on hand, regular WD-40.

My tool box is somewhat limited, as I have been out of the country for 15 years.
So, I may have to buy a breaker bar, and a 6 point 12 mm socket.

If nothing else works, I'll have to take out the radiator to have better access.
 
Traveler74 said:
I have heard of PB Blaster, but I have not yet tried it.

Currently using what I have on hand, regular WD-40.

My tool box is somewhat limited, as I have been out of the country for 15 years.
So, I may have to buy a breaker bar, and a 6 point 12 mm socket.

If nothing else works, I'll have to take out the radiator to have better access.
Click to expand...

Yikes. If you're forced to pull the radiator, you might just consider replacing it while you're at it if it's never been done. PB blaster done several days ahead of wrenching is a game-changer though when combined with a good socket and breaker.
 
eleven14 said:
Yikes. If you're forced to pull the radiator, you might just consider replacing it while you're at it if it's never been done. PB blaster done several days ahead of wrenching is a game-changer though when combined with a good socket and breaker.
Click to expand...

Yeah. I was doing some reading on youtube and many people said that a 6 point socket/wrench has "more grab" than a 12 point.

A bit hard to tell without pulling the radiator, but the nut in question may be a tad worn. Either that or a gorilla over tightened it.
 
ruckerz said:
Oxy Acetylene and a candle. Only way to go.
Click to expand...


For better or worse, I am stuck in Mexico. My Spanish is not good enough to give explicit instructions to a mechanic's shop. There is a Toyota dealer, that I COULD have the T4R towed to , but their prices for such work is completely open ended. I very well might come back and have a $600 bill. No way !

So, I'm on my own. I'll have to do the job with hand tools, WD-40 (perhaps some PB blaster) and a propane torch.

At age 74 and on retirement SS, there is no possibility that I could ever afford a new T4R.
 
I just watched a very interesting video on youtube about a side-by-side test of a wide variety of penetrants. He had a steel beam with about 30 rusted on nuts on bolts. He mixed up a solution of tranny fluid with equal parts acetone, moving on down the line he sprayed on 3 coats of penetrants (one hr apart). Tests were of PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench, WD-40 etc etc and finally heat only. Each test was of 4 rusted on nuts.

The clear winner was heat only. He had a digital readout torque wrench that showed exactly the foot pounds needed to remove each nut in turn. 2nd place was Liquid Wrench and 3rd place was WD-40. Surprisingly, PB Blaster came in 5th place.
The mix of Tranny fluid and acetone was better than nothing but nowhere near as good as the top 3: heat, Liquid Wrench and WD-40.

I'm certainly a long way from being a mechanic but it seemed to me to be a fair and honest scientific test.
 
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Trick is with a breaker bar to get minutely small 'jarring crack' the movement either way, preferably lefty loosy... Add penetration fluid again. The first small incrimental movement this may need a hammer for a 'jarring love tap or two'. WAIT a couple of minutes for re-spraying fluid to work. then small movement the opposite way... a few times back n forth to get penetration fluid all the way into the threads before undoing the nut. A tad of heat on nut only if needed to get the first cracking movement. Heat begins annealing (softens) metal so go easy or refrain from adding lots of heat, to the rod-bolt part.
This worked well, works well on my 1st and 2nd gen 92 4runners. Tell us how it goes dude.

Sent from my ATU-L22 using Tapatalk
 
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My go to penetrating oil is using kroil since its a spray or sometimes I'll do the tranny fluid & Acetone mixture in one of those little eye glass cleaner sprayers. But my newest purchase was one of those induction heaters for bolts. It worked great recently removing some stubborn body mount bolts on a F250 that was used for plowing.
 
There's something about 4R's hardware, no experience to say all toyotas, that rusts so completely. I've never had more trouble removing bolts on the underside of vehicles like I have my '14 4R. It's maddening.
 
I’ve been using PB blaster on my rusted 4Runner bolts as well, way more than I care to mention. It’s ridiculous! Kroil is a great penetrant as well, we use it at work. Spray before hand and let it sit.

One great piece of advice that I received from a long time mechanic is once you get the bolt to break free, while loosening if there is ANY resistance turn back the other way, spray again and then try to loosen. Keep going back and forth as needed. It is very time consuming, especially since every seized bolt I have seems to be an inch longer than it needs to be, ugh. That’s kept me from twisting off and breaking even more bolts than I already have which is a fair amount.
 
Good luck in solving the issue.

The video that the original poster mentioned was this one:
Which Penetrating Oil is Best? Let's find out! - YouTube

That video is interesting, not only from the conclusions, but also from the rigorous home-brew scientific approach to testing. His (Project Farm Channel) other comparison videos show similar originality.

I wound up choosing Liquid Wrench + time, based on his comparison.

That was to deal with a rear shock bolt going upwards into the frame of a 2004 Jeep Wrangler, where the head snapped off and the sheer point was inside the frame. (Almost a perfect storm of worst-case). So, in addition to the penetrating oil this required some drilling upside down at an odd angle, plus a good quality 'EZ Out'.

At least I didn't have to resort to taking the body off of the frame to remove this bolt...
 

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cwilliams563 said:
I’ve been using PB blaster on my rusted 4Runner bolts as well, way more than I care to mention. It’s ridiculous! Kroil is a great penetrant as well, we use it at work. Spray before hand and let it sit.

One great piece of advice that I received from a long time mechanic is once you get the bolt to break free, while loosening if there is ANY resistance turn back the other way, spray again and then try to loosen. Keep going back and forth as needed. It is very time consuming, especially since every seized bolt I have seems to be an inch longer than it needs to be, ugh. That’s kept me from twisting off and breaking even more bolts than I already have which is a fair amount.
Click to expand...

i advocate the "back and forth" method as well. forcing it forward will usually end up breaking the bolt. penetrating fluid, back and forth, and go slow.
 
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