Stuck bolts...

[Ronny Bailey]

I've been really lucky getting the nuts and bolts loose on the Cub.
There are just a few left that refuse to budge.
They are the one that holds the toolbox down and two in the battery box.
I've been spraying them with PB Blaster and hitting them with a hammer every few days for over a month now.
They aren't any more rusty than the others, so I don't know why they won't come loose.
The two battery box bolts near the shifter came out after just a few days.
Looks like I'm going to have to try something else.
Any ideas?
The two plugs for priming the oil pump are stuck just as bad, but they're not a priority.

This may not be the reason they're stuck, but here's what they were under when I started this project:

[Former Member]

IMHO
Break them off to get to where you can get the PBBlaster on the threads, then you can use an easyout or weld a nut to them to get them out. Sometimes you just have to get mean.

If you get any movement, spray again and tighten up again, then loosen........again

I just did these same bolts. once I broke them and could get at them, they came right out

[dakcub]

Holy cow......that is one huge mess.....I know others will chime in soon.....I have been snapping a few myself...I will post pictures of my progress tomorrow. The air filter has to come off for a good old fashion clean up and service..........
Robert (going to be fighting rusted bolts too) Miller

[Bob McCarty]

Ronny, If you have a torch (acetylene, propane, MAPP) heating them red often helps. Also, if you have an impact wrench, the vibration from it can also free up the stubborn ones. You're lucky if the bolt heads in the battery box are still in good shape, they are often pretty badly corroded.

Bob

[troopfpc]

Ronnie, did you torch them? If not, try heating them up and then spray them down when still hot with the PB. Do it a few times and see if it works.

[Tim Martin]

If you can get a chisel in on the battery box bolts, I have had luck catching a side of the bolt head and slugging it a few times to break them loose.

Sometimes it have found it better just to ring those bolt heads off and once you get the box out of the way, then work on the bolts. Once the box is out of the way you can get at the bolts with vise grips, grinders, easy-outs, etc.

[t jackson]

how about kroil or freeze and release and a small propane torch?

[Eugene]

If you are in no big rush - keep spraying with solvent every other day or so and wait and wait and wait.

[Ronny Bailey]

I'm not in a rush to get them out; they're just taking so long to come loose that frustration is beginning to set in.
Can't do a lot on the Cub with the broken head bolt, so I thought I would paint the tool and battery boxes.
Don't know how to weld, so that's not an option for me. Can't quite bring myself to intentionally break a bolt off.
I've spent so much effort trying to not break them off!

I don't have a torch either, but I could get one.

The most logical method, I think, is for to use the impact wrench to rattle them real good.

But that leads to another problem I have that's a little off-topic. The 240v line to the barn has developed a short.
The previous owner did a great job on the building (he's a woodworker), but was a cheapscate with other stuff.
He apparently used scrap wire on it-an awful mess. Splices everywhere, and most without wire nuts.
Also, the line with the short in it is buried and runs under a wide driveway.
No PVC protecting it - just concrete poured on top of the wire!
With all the other projects I've got going, fixing something that may have been caused by someone else's cheapness is kind of annoying.
I just need to get off my behind and fix it. Until I do, no compressor or impact wrench, etc.
And that's my rant for the month.

[capecodcub]

Ronnie,
Funny you have brought this up, since I just went through the exact same bolt extraction last week! You have recieved some good advice, but I have a problem with some of it. One thing is people say "heat the bolts red hot". The reason you heat to get something loose, is to expand the metal around the fastner, hence allowing the bolt to loosen up. I am a very impacient person and didn't/couldn't wait for days to loosen something up. I considered posting my procedure as to how I did it, but opted not to. So here goes. The key is the heat, but you need to heat the axle tube right under the seat platform and at the back behind the bat. box. I use a rose bud with oxy/acetelyne and heat enough to just get good and hot. Than I throw this little tool at it

This set is awesome. It is a Craftsman tool, http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... s+%26+Dies
My bolts were so rotten and gone, I figured there was no way they were coming out. But I just used the heat, some Kroil, and than these babies and the 3 totally rotten battery box ones came out and the tool box bolt. The heat in the right place is the key. Good luck.

[DanR]

Battery box bolts are the most difficult to remove because of galvanic action. Dissimilar metals in contact with each other and a slight current will cause the metals to fuse together. Throw in a little pigeon poop and you have a strong weld. So get out the torch or chisel and get mean.

[JimT]

Well here is one instance a hammer can come in handy.

Sometimes if you rap on the top of the bolt with a hammer you can jar the bolt and work it loose. I have done it and it has worked. My neighbor taught me this trick. He calls it "Waking up the bolt". I had about 3 radiator bolts that I broke loose this way.

It's worth a try. Good Luck.

[pharmerphil3]

Ron, I had the hardest time with those same bolts. If you are not in a rush, soak them good with Kroil, and then get a torch and heat them up good and hot. It worked for me.

Good Luck
Phil

[rickguns]

Heat!

[Buzzard Wing]

Those are about the worst bolts on Cub... Aall the tips are good ones, but a big part of the problem is the battery box is in the way (except on my 70, the whole bottom is gone). One other trick that worked for me is cutting down the sides of the head to be able to use a smaller (possibly metric) socket. I think I still have the bolt and socket well stuck together as an art object somewhere.

All those bolts are through holes, so there may be rust on the inside of the tube.