Thread: sheared off and stuck

A bit of heat would probably help - a sheet of aluminium or copper with a suitable hole would avoid damage to the door. Heat will expand the bolt and if you add penetrating oil as it cools, it will be sucked into the gap.

Trying to drill them out would be a last resort.

John

Thanks John. I was a little concerned about the paint etc - I'll dig out something to protect it and have another go. I managed to get the r/h one out with WD and much effort on the wrench. I think as well as its rusted solid , its also bent, which doesn't help much.
cheers,
D.

Hello from Brisbane.

I had something similar with a seat belt bolt through the body of my truck that steadfastly refused to budge no matter how much WD40 etc it was drowned in. Concerned that different methods of attack might damage the panel, so it got left alone for a long time.



However, after a fortifying can or two of beer one Friday evening I gently took to it with a cutting wheel on a small angle grinder. Came off sweet with no damage at all. Just needed a steady hand cutting directly at right angles to split it.

Cheers,

I would remove the alloy skin from the frame, then that way you can really get into it, taking the door skin off is as easy as falling over, just my thoughts, cheers Dennis

WD40 isn't much chop. Try a penetrating oil.

I just tried out PB Blaster and it worked well.

Also Loctite Freeze and Release or CRC Freeze Off have been recommended for frozen./rusted nuts and bolts.

See this thread: Exhaust heat shield removal

Can't help too much with removing what's there, but a tip when you fit the new door tops - take them off regularly and they don't seize up. . I take mine off almost every time I use it, so they will never get stuck.

Thanks for all the tips.


I achieved nothing with the blow torch hammer and wd apart from slightly mucking up the paint work and bending the panel a bit. Bugger. But its all part of the learning process.
I didn't realise penetrating oil was different from WD40. Another lesson learned.


In the end I drilled it out - or more correctly , drilled straight through it and then knocked it out with a nail punch.


I'm beginning to realise the benefit of preventative medicine - so will have those window tops off on a regular basis. I don't want to have to go through all that again in a hurry!


cheers,
D

Glad you got it out. For future reference (forgive me if you already know this), if you have a welder available you can try the following.

Take a spare nut and put it on the thread, then weld the nut to the thread. The heat from (MIG) welding will be concentrated on the nut/thread, unlike a gas torch, but will travel down the thread and help to break the seal. You now have heat concentrated right where you want it, on the interface of the thread and what it's stuck to, and you have also turned the broken thread in to a bolt to give yourself a handle. Apply a spanner, and most times the thread will start to unscrew (in this case just rotate). In all cases, never just try to unscrew it, instead turn it fractionally one way then the other, until it loosens and you can gradually increase the degree of free movement.

As the nut does not need to actually be on the thread (weld inside the nut to the top of the sheared thread) this will work even if the thread has sheared flush with the surface, and a good operator can make it work on a thread that is marginally beneath the surface. It will remove bolts sheared off flush in alloy engine blocks without damaging the alloy if done carefully, it's far quicker and easier than "EZ-Outs" and works on hardened bolts that can't be drilled.

In this case, once the thread is moving up and down in the hole, if it won't come out downwards just cut off the nut and push it up, or push it up and cut/grind off the bit that won't fit through the hole!