Tricks for removing rusty bolts, '85 cat....?

[Malibyte]

Hey all -

I'm trying to replace the stock cat in my '85 with a high-flow unit (smog test coming up, and I'd like to let it breathe a bit easier anyway). When I got under the car I noted that the 14mm bolts/nuts at the front of the cat are lookin' pretty rusticled (and beginning to meld with the surrounding metal). I put some WD-40 all over them, but they look like they're going to be a bitch to remove, mainly because access to the nuts on the back side of the front flange is so limited...I can't get a socket in there at all and getting even an open-end on is a problem. The ones on the back flange will be no problem because I've already pulled them once before and because they're much easier to get at. Does anyone have a trick for the front ones, or am I simply going to have to brute-force it?

TIA -- Bob

[Dangerous Ken]

Kroil overnight, then brute force.
If that don't work, torch it, then brute force.
If that don't work, dremel tool with cut off wheel should get in there.

(sprinkling in some cussing also helps the soul)

Ken

[Tanya]

sawzall




lol sorry, works for me
:lol:

[Malibyte]

Yeah, I have a feeling it'll come to that (or wimping out and taking it to the local muffler shop and having them do it, since they probably have some $150 SST that'll take them off in five minutes).

[CJSREDPRA]

Bob....

Spray can of Liquid Wrench. Spray on & let sit for a few days.... May work better than WD40???

Then vicegrips???

[Dangerous Ken]

Remember the mechanics pricing scale:

$10 for each 'sheet'
$50 for each 'fook'
$100 for blood drawn.

Ken

[bracham]

Personally if I wouldn't be able to turn the bolts out, I'd take an angle grinder with a cutting disc and cut off either the bolt heads or same idea on the nut side, whichever is easiest to get at. If it's accessible with an angle grinder. Or if an angle grinder is accessible/available!

[Funkycheeze]

i find with the really stubborn ones, i use kroil , and if that doesnt do it then i use a torch to boil some of the kroil in there and heat it all up (the smoke stinks!)

i havent yet found a bolt that wont come out with that kind of treatment

[Donn29]

wd40, sucks, i used automatic tranny fluid and varsol(I think) when i got rid of my parts car, my pops mixed it up for one of his projects and had leftovers. 100% sure it was atf and some sort of thinning stuff, ill sheck tomorrow.

[Tire Shredder]

I've had good luck using a pentrating oil called "thrust" made by a comapny called "krown or Crown" I can't remember. I got it from a delivery truck that supplies mechanics in the area. I gave him a few bucks and he gave me it (I had heard of it before) let that stuff soak for a day and see what happens. Hitting with a hammer every once and awhile and doing it while removing seems to help too.

If you have to, heat from an oxy acetlyen torch has never failed me. get that thing red hot (the pen lube resists heat and should only smoke, not catch on fire) and try and crank it out of there. Impact guns work good for this.

Lube, hammer (vibration, brute for and heat are your maint tools. outside of that is cutting.

[drftsupramk2]

how to remove pesky bolts
1. Step one smoke sherm
2. Remove bolts with hands.
3. Jump off bridge and run away from cops with broken legs
-Large

[Malibyte]

how to remove pesky bolts
1. Step one smoke sherm
2. Remove bolts with hands.
3. Jump off bridge and run away from cops with broken legs
-Large

Larry's obviously been smoking something while sitting in front of his 'puter.

Thanks all for the suggestions. I don't have a torch. Will look for Kroil - never seen it before, but we do have Liquid Wrench down here in So. Cal.

Bob

[TOYMAN321]

I was about to suggest a torch too, you can pick a cheapie up at the hardware store for $20-$30 or maybe find someone that can loan you one, if I still lived up that way I'd loan ya mine

[85 rat rod]

i just got threw doin this job about 3 weeks ago, all ive got to say, use 6 sided tools you throw a 12 point socket on either end and youll be hurtin when you cant get a vise grip in there, other than that, dont be too suprised if something or another breaks (as both my back bolts shattered) one more thing wear safety goggles some people find this stupid, but as much rust that got into my eyes, i wish i had, wasent anything serious, but another unessicary distraction,

[Angkistrodon]

One answer....PB Blaster.............. 8-)

[BuddyJ]

:werd: PB Blaster is the dogs danglies.

[Donn29]

atf and laquor(sp?) thinner

[batmobile]

`1

[Dangerous Ken]

Does anyone have a trick for the front ones, or am I simply going to have to brute-force it?


Bob,

I'm under a 270,000 mile 82 now, removing the cat for slimfast.
It's stock, and here's a few tricks I used.

First, I removed the two bolts holding the outside 'rubber band' hangar and got that rubber out of the way.
Then there was a 'hose clamp' (12mm) that I loosened and rotated out of the way to get at the outside front bolt.
I was then able to get a deep socket 9/16" on a swivel head socket in there to loosen. Wrench is only a foot long.
The inside front bolt is accessible without getting the rubber band out of the way.

I kroil'd everything and in just a half hour of sitting, the front bolts were loosened, but 'creaking'. So I put more kroil on and posting now.

I got Kroil mail order from Eastwood Company, eastwoodco.com.

Ok, back under the car and I'll edit this post with news of progress.

Edit:
I got the cat off.
I believe the front bolts were never touched, ie. stock, and noticed the following:
The outside front bolt was put in fron the back of the flange, with nut toward the front of the car. The inside front bolt was reverse, with nut toward the back of the car.
The nut tends to rust and round.
In my case, I was able to get a socket on the nut on the outside front bolt, and that loosened easily. When I got most of the way through loosening, the bolt head 'broke free' from the back of the flange, and had to secure it with a closed end 14mm wrench.
The inside front bolt I was able to get a socket on the bolt head, and the nut on the back of the flange was 'rusted and fused' to the back of the flange (maybe came that way?) so I only had to torque with the socket on the bolt head fron the front. It's still fused on the back of the cat flange.

I couldn't loosen the rear bolts of the cat though :mad: .
So I dropped the whole exhaust with cat and now going to just cut off the piping behind the rear cat flange to free the cat.
So another breather to get something to eat while I try to remember where that pipe cutter went to.

Didn't draw any blood, and just a few motherfooks in there.

Ken

[Malibyte]

OK. Stopped by the Toyota dealer earlier tonight...the parts guy had no clue about the rust penetrant.

Ken: The '85 has a shorter cat with a flared (toward the front) heat shield on the bottom side. It's the heat shield that's preventing me from easily getting a socket on the nuts on the front flange. The shield isn't in the way towards the back, and I was able to easily get those nuts off when putting the cat-back system in a couple of years ago.

I had none of these problems when swapping the longer cat in my '84 a few years ago (before the 7M swap). I think the short cat/shield assembly was designed poorly. Oh, well...will try the Liquid Wrench. I need to get this dealt with by the weekend.

Thanks for the come-backs -- Bob

[SlimFastSupra]

I usually attack with (2) 14 wrenches, 1 normal and one offset (not sure the term) style with the angled end. The offset of the end of the wrench, or elbow, lets you scoot in behind heat shield on the cat.

I haven't found any setup yet that this didn't work on.

Now if I could just afford a ratcheting 14mm wrench I would be golden.

[Angkistrodon]

Honestly,the best thing to do(thinking of the future) is just cut the bbolts off, drill some holes and REPLACE THEM with new ones.

[Chrisfrom1986]

i just took of my 82 exhuast form the cat back. no problem whatsoever. 2 14mm bolts in front of the cat, 2 12mm bolts midway between the cat and muffler. rubber hangers at the back. cat was welded to the rest of the piping :mad:. the way mine is bolted on the front of the cat is super interesting and easy to remove.

[Burkeyro]

OK. Stopped by the Toyota dealer earlier tonight...the parts guy had no clue about the rust penetrant.


In Ohio we have this stuff called Rust Eater. Autozone carries it. I took my '82 apart 3 weeks ago. My suggestion would be Rust Eater and the 2 14mm wrenches, and a whole lot of elbow grease. Deffinately want to replace the hardware once you get it off.

[Malibyte]

Well, I probably won't have to worry about those bolts anyway. Car passed smog easily with the stock cat, and I just picked up a Thorley header today, so I'll just yank everything from the stock header to the cat-back exhaust and put in the Thorley and the high-flow cat at the same time.

Thanks for the come-backs, anyway!

[KesekiSupra]

wow seriously, rust being that much of an ass to u? only takes me like 10 mins to swap cats. cept for the first time, i hadta cut off the bolts on the cat. but even that only took no more than 30 mins to do and it was only one bolt on the front hanger end

[Kevin Kisseberth]

theres some stuff in an orange can that my brother uses that is for CAT diesel engines. The stuff is the best anywhere. I say that because the company Catipillar has used everything and they found this new on the market and works incredibable. CRC is one thing this is a whole nother

[Dangerous Ken]

Kroil comes in an orange can (16.5oz spray with red tube) and the orange gallon can.

http://home.comcast.net/~kenmizoi/kroil.jpg

Ken

[Kevin Kisseberth]

Thanks Ken for yor help. Thats it

[Malibyte]

wow seriously, rust being that much of an ass to u? only takes me like 10 mins to swap cats. cept for the first time, i hadta cut off the bolts on the cat. but even that only took no more than 30 mins to do and it was only one bolt on the front hanger end

The rust wouldn't be that much of a problem if I could actually get a reasonable grip on the bolt heads and the nuts. The heat shield's in the way. Anyway, no matter, as I'm going to swap out the header, downpipe and cat all at once.

Never seen that Kroil stuff here. I take it's not sold at AutoZone or Kragen or Pep Boys. Anyone here in California seen that stuff?

[Kevin Kisseberth]

No I could not tell you where to get it. Try a google search and see what happens. I heard only heard that it is only sold to corporations

[Dangerous Ken]

I mailorder Kroil:
http://www.eastwoodco.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=2190&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&k eyword=kroil

Just pulled a diff at the yard today with Kroil.
All I use is a swivel head foot long socket wrench and it's short enough to get the four top bolts without removing the external fuel pump junk or axleshafts out of the way first.

Edit: The swivel head wrench is only 9 1/2" to the swivel point!

Ken

[batmobile]

`1