My nuts are stuck.

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Soldato
Joined
18 Oct 2004
Posts
10,897
Location
Kent
Snigger.

Anyway, I need to replace the drop links on my Focus...it's been making a bit of a creaking noise lately when braking and turning to the left. Apparently worn drops links are the cause and cheap and easy to replace. So I bought a new set off the popular auction site and, happy in the knowledge that it was less than an hour's job, decided to have a crack at replacing them myself on Sunday.

One hour after starting on the passenger side and I simply could not get the old drop link off...the nut holding it is jammed tight. I tried copious amounts of WD40, leverage and swearing, all to no avail before finally giving up after one side of the nut looked it it was starting to round off.

Whats the best method for shifting stiff nuts? My dad has an oxyacetalene torch at work so I might take it up there at the weekend as I hear heating the nuts (fnaar!) can cause them to loosen. Is there a technique to this? Or do you jsut heat the nut for a while then have another go with the spanner?

Any tips from you spanner monkeys would be appreciated :D
 
heating can work well, or you get release fluid which you spray on and leave to penetrate for an hour or two (tee hee)
 
Matt82 said:
if you do a bit of car work get an impact gun, £20 from machine mart. mine has yet to be defeated
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I might be showing my ignorance here, but if Ive already put enough force in to start rounding the bolt, wouldnt an impact gun just do the same thing (or throw me into the air)?
 
Warm it up and use penetrating oil, the capillary action will draw the oil through the thread and after a while it should be free. Works on 40 year old cars so it should work on the Focus :D
 
Get some plusgas and spray it on. Leave for a while and then try. Also try turning in the tightening direction slightly too to help get it started moving. As others have said, heat applied to the nut and then try again.
 
Conscript said:
I might be showing my ignorance here, but if Ive already put enough force in to start rounding the bolt, wouldnt an impact gun just do the same thing (or throw me into the air)?
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impact guns are great. basically the it shocks the nut/bolt off, hence impact. make sure you use 6 sided sockets on it, they are much less likely to round.
 
Good tools are the key. 6 sided socket and a decent length breaker bar will do a much better job than a spanner. Were you using a ring spanner or an open ended one? Open ended will round nuts off pretty easily and won't allow you to put a great deal of torque into the nut either.
 
kaiowas said:
Good tools are the key. 6 sided socket and a decent length breaker bar will do a much better job than a spanner. Were you using a ring spanner or an open ended one? Open ended will round nuts off pretty easily and won't allow you to put a great deal of torque into the nut either.
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It was using a socket that started to round the bolt, so I ended up rooting around in the shed for a ring spanner. A friend has offered to lend me a breaker bar but as Im working inside the wheel arch, I don't know if I'll have room to manouvre, unless I can also get hold of a bloody great extension.

Thanks for the tips so far, gents.
 
Always use 6 sided sockets if you can get your hands on them, much much better than silly 12 sided sockets... that's just asking for trouble on stuck bolts.

I like 3-in-1 penetrant fluid, very similar to PlusGas.

Get a 6 sided socket on a breaker bar and give it some welly with your feet. Should shift it ;)

Failing that, heat as has been mentioned should work well.
 
The sockets were 6 sided. I think Im gonna have to get hold of a breaker bar and eat my Weetabix before giving it another go then. Im just scared that I will round the bolt off even more. Cheers guys :)
 
latercomer2 said:
Trouble with breaker bars is that lots of people use them to great effect and shear off the nuts......
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End of the day it's a droplink that's being replaced, no great loss if it shears as the bits are going in the bin anyway. If you round the bolt then grind it off.

Having said that most of the bolts I shear are little M6 jobs which I break off easily with a 1/4" ratchet. It's very rare the bigger stuff breaks.
 
Indeed, the whole lot would be replaced. I think we have an angle grinder somewhere so a last resort would just be to cut down the middle of the nut/bolt and break the whole lot up.
 
6 sided sockets break in 2 though with too much pressure, i use 12 siders apart from with impact wrench (clarke machine mart one)
 
I was trying to replace my steering rack on my Focus a few years back. I couldn't undo the track rod for the life of me, so I removed the whole rack and took it to the local tyre place. For a fiver towards a tea pot they used a blowtorch on it and it then came off easily.

I know you can't remove the whole hub just for a drop link :p but they still should be able to get it under there.

Ideally though an impact wrench would be the best option imo. I was just in rush so couldn't wait to order one or pick one up as my car was out of action.
 
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