Frozen Bolts Driving You Nuts? How to remove rusted and sezied fasteners

Nothing can ruin a project faster than a seized bolt. Luckily we are here to help!  If you do run across a frozen bolt or nut don’t try to force it. If you try to force the fastener it will end up broken or striped, leading to more frustration and problems. Here are a few easy steps that should remove 90% of rusted, frozen, stuck and corroded bolts, nuts, and fasteners in about 7 steps. 

Clean – Clean as much debris and rust off the bolt as possible with a wire brush and PB Blaster. The less debris there is the farther the penetrating oil can penetrate. Your tool will also grip a clean fastener better, giving you more torque and decrease the chance of striping.

Soak – Give a generous squirt of PB Blaster and let it soak for about 15 minutes. Let the penetrating oil work its magic on the corrosive bond.

Tap – Strike the bolt head with a heavy hammer, you don’t have to beat it to dust, just a few swift blows. The vibration from the strikes helps loosen the corrosion.

Soak – Give the bolt another generous shot of PB Blaster and let soak for another 15 minutes. Oil will penetrate deeper into the threads than the first time and start breaking down more corrosion.

Heat – Heat the bolt with a torch until it’s near glowing. Make sure to keep electrical wires, plastic components, fuel tanks or anything else that could be ruined/explosive with heat as far away from the torch as possible. If you do have some rather sensitive components near the frozen bolt a heat gun may be a better option. A heat gun will not be as effective as a torch, but some heat is better than no heat. The heat makes the metal expand and loosens the corrosive bond. Heat also helps breakdown bolt dressings such as lock-tite.

Freeze – While the fastener is still hot, spray it with a bolt freezer or cold water. This makes the bolt contract quickly and breaks the corrosive bond.

Tap and Turn – Place your removal tool on the fastener and attempt to loosen it. While you are applying torque tap the bolt or tool with a hammer at the same time. You may need a helper for this. This applies two different forces to the Fastener, torque and vibration and it should break free.

Leverage – If all else fails you can either repeat the above process or get out the breaker bar and use brute force and leverage with out snapping the fastener.

Nuts – In some cases it maybe necessary or just easier to break a nut off. For around $20 you can buy a nut breaking tool that shatters the nut off.

Already Stripped? – Well we do have a few tricks up our sleeves…..

Phillips, Flathead, Hex, Etc – Take a sharp chisel or flat head screw driver, place it in the middle of the head and tap it with a hammer. You should be able to make a new slot and remove it with a Flathead driver.

Bolt & Nuts – Grind down the sides flat to a smaller size, or just make two sides flat and use locking pliers.

If you have any tricks or bits of wisdom please share, we would love to hear your comments.

Full Throttle Repairs LLC

Does your Lawnmower have the Shakes?

If your lawnmower is shaking or vibrating excessively it should be addressed immediately! Not only is it extremely dangerous but you can also further damage your mower. Good news is that in most cases it is an easy and inexpensive fix. The most common cause of excessive vibration is a loose or unbalanced blade. Remove and inspect your blades and replace if necessary. An easy way to check if the blade is properly balanced is to hang the blade from a horizontal nail in the wall, but we recommend spending $5 on a blade balancer from your local hardware store. Another cause of vibration is loose engine mounting bolts; most of these are accessible on the underside of the deck. While your checking the mounting bolt check for any other loose bolts and components. Worst case scenario is a bent crankshaft. If the shaft is indeed bent it may not be cost effective to fix.  If you have any other questions feel free to contact us www.fullthrottlerepairs.com  

Keeping Old School Videogame Consoles Working Great

With a little help your old school video game consoles such as Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega, and so on can play games without any tapping, blowing and yelling at least 99% of time.  The 2 main causes of this issue are dirty/corroded game cartridges or dirty/stressed pin connectors (it is what makes contact with the cartridge inside the console). In most cases to resolve the problem all you have to do is a little cleaning.

First check your pin connectors. Simply shine a bright light into the slot where the game goes. All the connectors should be shiny and inline. If the pins are extremely corroded or if the pins are damaged then it may need adjusted or replaced. In any case spray a small amount of electrical contact cleaner and blow it out with compressed air. Next check to make sure the pins have good pressure. When you put a game in it should fit snug. If the game falls out when console is tipped or it just feels a little loose then your pins are fatigued and need to be adjusted or replaced. After your pin connectors are spotless and all checks out proceed to your game cartridges.

Game cartridges are usually the culprit to the problem. Games take a lot of abuse, collect grime, and corrode easily. Shine a light on the bottom of the cartridge and check the connections, they should be spotless and very shiny. Even the smallest amount of grime or corrosion can cause interference.  They easiest way is to spray a small amount of circuit board cleaner and buff lightly with a cotton swabs. Repeat this process until the swabs come out clean and contacts look flawless. The best way is to disassemble the cartridge and buff the contacts with 500+ grit sandpaper, then follow up with circuit board cleaner and cotton swabs. Unfortunately games are usually put together with temper proof fasteners.

If all goes well your games will play on the first try 99% of the time. Do not blow into your cartridges! This temporarily works because the moisture from your breath improves the connection. But the moisture also causes corrosion in the cartridge and the pin connectors inside the console. If you need any help at all you can always contact us at Full Throttle Repairs  www.fullthrottlerepairs.com .