I Hate My Nuts; They Are Causing So Many Problems.

[Atari Boy 11]

I am seeking some very basic (yet valuable to me) advice regarding undoing old nuts and bolts on my 205.

 

I have assumed that I use the best methods of tackling them but I am not convinced.

 

What method should I be using to undo these, my car is eighteen years old and as such more often than not they wont budge that easily.

 

Up until now it has been a case of brute force, lubrication oil and blood sweet and tears, followed by a rounded nut or bolt head followed by some quality time with my angle grinder.

 

Is this the only method? Probably not.

 

Should I soak things in oil or use a heat gun?

What do proper mechanics do? Any trick would save me a lot of time.

 

Thanks

 

Jonny

[jackherer 543]

You'll get better with experience, there really is no substitute. There is basic stuff you should do like wire brushing corroded threads, shocking bolts with a hammer to break the corroded bond and using something like plusgas or wd40 to soak it. Mainly it comes down to tool use and feel for whats happening. Never gradually apply force, always stop the moment it feels wrong etc.

 

A good rattle gun is useful but not until you have a good feel for using hand tools IMO.

 

Some useful stuff here: http://www.pumaracing.co.uk/ToolUse.htm

[Atari Boy 11]

That is exactly the steer I need, nice one.

 

Thanks

 

Jonny

[Rippthrough 98]

Get a can of plusgas instead of using pound shop maintainance spray etc, you'll wonder how you ever got on without it.

[welshpug 1,626]

A decent ratchet and a cheap (but good) set of sockets, and a decent set of spanners will get you a long way.

 

and use new bolts where its advised to do so and coat them liberally with copper grease (i.e lower balljoint bolts, strut to hub carrier bolts etc)

[Atari Boy 11]

I use 3 in 1 penetrating oil, £6 or simalar, is that okay?

Thanks for the help, it sounds as though everyone has had the same problem.

[welshpug 1,626]

wd40, GT85 they all lubricate so anything of the type will help.

 

what I find that helps a lot is to clean up any visible threads (i.e threads that protrude further out of the nut), either with a wire brush or if possible a wire cup in a power drill, usually if I dont do this the nut comes loose, then a turn later gets stuck on the corrosion and ends up shearing the bolt in the worst case.

[Rippthrough 98]

I use 3 in 1 penetrating oil, £6 or simalar, is that okay?

Thanks for the help, it sounds as though everyone has had the same problem.

 

 

[Guest sleep envy]

impact screwdriver will help but they ususally knacker the fixing so worth checking you have spares to replace

 

also applying heat will help too

[huxley309 0]

3 in1 is pretty decent for a penetrating oil.

 

Biggest difference is my facom ohv ring spanners, designed to place minimal stress on the nut face, ive never had problems since, well only if the nuts that badly corroded it decides to shear off.

 

Giving the nut a smack with something like a lump hammer can help to break the corroded bonds.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

WD40 is not actually a lubricant. It is a Water Dispurser.

[jackherer 543]

WD40 is not actually a lubricant. It is a Water Dispurser.

 

really?

 

http://wd40.com/Brands/wd40_product_info.html

[Pugnut 9 1 Cars]

i wouldnt let a bi-hex socket near a 205 . you'll never have a rounded nut again if you use hex sockets.

 

all you're really looking for the wd40 to do is to reduce the friction on the end of the corroded bolt. this friction builds heat making the nut grab the bolt. the bolt being weak because of the heat just snaps.

 

even if you spray duck oil, wd or plusgas or whatever days before hand, it helps marginally but a nyloc nut (the most corroded normally are) is pretty hard to impregnate with fluids since it has a good seal on the thread.

 

hex sockets, wd40 and a wire brush - voila

[Simes 248 2 Cars]

i wouldnt let a bi-hex socket near a 205 . you'll never have a rounded nut again if you use hex sockets.

 

here here, especially on the softer manifold stud nuts.

[Atari Boy 11]

I have been quite lucky so far, that Puma Racing article helped no end. I now use a combination of Plusgas, brass tube as described in Dave’s text and a whack of a hammer and normal sockets/spanner.

I have also realised that not splitter are crap and if all else fails I can still use my trusty angle grinder