2 bolts that wont budge even with 250ft/lbs !!!

[wangless]

so yesterday i was helping out my friend with his s14. we were putting on some kyb agx's with some prokits. we followed fiznat's DIY which was VERY helpful btw. we finished up the rears in about 2-3 hours i think. then we went to the fronts. and thats where the problem was.

we jacked up the front, took off the tires. then there were the two bolts thats holding the shock, the two bolts that are above the caliper. the 17 and 19mm ones. we took off the top with ease on sides. the bottom was the more difficult pare. the bottom bolt of each side wouldnt budge. we had a torque wrench set at its highest setting of 250ft/lbs and it wouldnt budge. and for sure we were moving it the right direction. after about 30 minutes of waiting and penetrating it with some "bolt off" we gave up on the torque wrench.

we then found a huge pipe that we would use as our breaker bar. i mean it was like 6 feet long. and we were for sure gonna own that little f'en bolt. so i got my 3/8" drive ratchet and put on a 17mm socket. lined it up with the 6 foot long pipe. turned as much as we could... then it went CRACK. we were like YEEEEEEEEEES !!! got the bolt loose! but we look closer and the socket cracked! and the ratchet doesnt lock anymore!!! WTF... good thing we had another set. we tried it on the other side of the car... and CRACK again! we broke another ratchet and socket. it was ilke impossible to get off. with that huge 6 foot breaker bar... it shouldve came loose! good thing we broke the craftsman, i went back today and got some new ones, gotta love that lifetime warranty

my friends car now rides lower in the back... and stock in the front. he rented out an air compressor today... still didnt budge. wth is wrong with the bolt ? i looked up the spec on my manual, its only supposed to be like 140 or around there. so... whats wrong with the bolts... my friend might just dremel them off and get new ones.

and yeah we were twisting the other bolt in the opposite and correct position. i hope whoever reads this understands what im talking about...

[Touchdown038]

Try heating up the bolts with a torch, if you have one. And keep trying! If you have a lifetime warranty, no biggie.

[DAEDALUS]

I knew where this story was going once you said you used a 6' cheater bar on a 3/8" ratchet. I've used cheater bars before, but not on a ratchet! Use a breaker bar next time instead. And an impact socket would be stronger if you're not using one already.

[DAEDALUS]

I'm not familiar with the setup. Are the bolts being fastened with nuts? If so, try breaking the nuts instead. There's less friction to overcome. Once you break torque, you can work the bolts then.

[thes14project]

torch does work, just make sure you heat them up and not melt them..This happened to me once on a mustang, blew a hole right through the exhaust manifold. if your using an acetiline torch, just don't press the handle down. That's the oxygen, which is what cuts the hole.good luck man

[wangless]

ill try getting a torch then, thanks guys

[NISTECH]

Do as Daedalus said use a breaker bar on the nut instead of the bolt. Also if you use a torch be extreamly carful around the strut. I cringe every time I hear someone suggest using a torch on a strut. That is very dangerous because the gas in the strut could expand and you could potentially have shrap metal in your face. Not a good thing!!

[kblast523]

If you are going to use air wrench (impact) use sockets of the same grade and capacity (much heavier and a 1/2 inch drive) or you will end up with even more scrap metal and possibility of fragmenting tool steel with too much force. Even a small propane torch will heat stuff enough to break it free with about 10% of the effort. 3/8" tools are for small stuff, or anyone who does not regularly visit the gym. I personally prefer air, and when nnecessary, heat in MODERATION. Here in the rust-belt, EVERYTHING needs heat...anti seize works after you have it apart...

[Hijacker]

try getting some penetrating oil before using a torch. i don't like heating up things that contain compressed gasses. PB blaster is my weapon of choice in penetrating oils.

Also, why the hell were you using a torque wrench to break a bolt? I've never heard of anyone using a t wrench as a breaker, and I've always been told not to do that cause you'll damage the wrench

[hudy]

Also, why the hell were you using a torque wrench to break a bolt? I've never heard of anyone using a t wrench as a breaker, and I've always been told not to do that cause you'll damage the wrench

He is right, a torque wrench is for tightening not loosening. Use an air powered impact wrench or a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar.

[driftaholic]

i broke a ratchet doin my front shocks. craftsman too. w00t. eventually got those dang bolts off though with a cheapo ratchet and a 4 foot cheater bar

[BadMojo]

He is right, a torque wrench is for tightening not loosening. Use an air powered impact wrench or a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar.

That's more like it. I used a 1/2" drive breaker bar and a ton of PB Blaster when I did the front shocks on my car. Those two bolts down at the knuckle are tough, but usually not *that* tough.

[Touchdown038]

Also, why the hell were you using a torque wrench to break a bolt? I've never heard of anyone using a t wrench as a breaker, and I've always been told not to do that cause you'll damage the wrench

There's nothing wrong with using a torque wrench as a breaker bar, as long as it's set on zero and unengaged. There was a thread about this a while ago, and the point was made that it is fine to do.

[Hijacker]

There's nothing wrong with using a torque wrench as a breaker bar, as long as it's set on zero and unengaged. There was a thread about this a while ago, and the point was made that it is fine to do.

i prefer to listen to manufacturers warnings. If it says "not for use as a breaker bar" then I won't use it as a breaker bar and use my 1/2" drive breaker bar instead.

Btw, when i did my front struts, i had no problems with getting the knuckle bolts off. used a little liquid wrench and a propper breaker bar, and they popped right off.

[wangless]

we used a t wrench at first bc we couldnt find anything that would that seemed like it would break loose the bolt. we rented it from autozone anyway. later on we found the 6 foot pole.

[flyfishz]

my kinda project... torch it...that should get it. use an impact socket... the black ones they are hardened won't break.

beat it on with a big hammer too...

BTW... I would get some new replacment bolts before you go much further... get your tourque wrench calibrated too cause you jacked it up cranking on that bolt

[89240sxdude]

torch it. i was at a junk yard trying to remove front struts once and i had a little dinky soket wrench and i slipped and cut open my hand on the under lip of the fender (ouch) i still got the scar from it too lol

[offtheline]

When I was doing my fronts I ran into the exact same problem as you guys did. I used about 1/2 a can of PB blaster on the two bolts. I sprayed them about every 10 minutes for about an hour and then used a piece of pipe slipped over a breaker bar and it worked like a charm. Dont give up on them. PB blaster is the best stuff in the world.

[BaliLover]

I like sledge hammers. Put the 1/2" impact socket over the bolt head, put your 1/2" breaker bar on it, and BEAT on that bar like Ike on Tina. Usually the force of the impact will transfer to the bolt and break it free, sometimes using just normal smooth pushing/pulling motions doesn't work.

[wangless]

yeah flyfishz, we're getting new bolts for those. and torque wrench wasnt ours, rented from autozone, oh wells . we also used a grip of pb blaster. with the 3/8" ratchet, we had extensions far enough that we even stood on it. first my friend who weighed like 170... then me, about the same. after we got our balance we started bouncing up and down... it didnt budge. oh wells.... maybe we'll get a torch

[Dattebayo]

If you just twhack the bolt head a little, you could break the rust thats holding it too. Or you can use a circular die cutter and cut the nut end off.

[Stress]

Yeah, I'm the guy with the S14. We broke regular sockets with the ratchet. We used regular sockets on the air wrench, but it didn't break the socket or anything, just wouldn't work. We tried PB blaster every 5 minutes for about 20 minutes...that didn't work either. I'm gonna borrow a small torch tomorrow...somebody somewhere else suggested I use that and pour brake fluid on it to penatrate (brake fluid because it won't disappate in that kind of heat). Has anyone else done this before? We tried using a real breaker bar today, 5' long...bent the bar. It seems like that's out of the picture. I only have a few more options...try the torch + wrench, torch + brake fluid + wrench, pb blast for 1+ hour(s) or just get a grinder and cut the nut off. I was thinking of sectioning out the nut and just sliding the bolt off. No matter what, the bolts/nuts need to be replaced now anyways.

And yes, we've been trying to work on the nut rather than the bolt, but the position of it makes it somewhat difficult at times with our tools. We've managed to accomplish both by removing the caliper, but still...wouldn't move.

Anyways, thanks for all the suggestions guys. If you've got anything else that may work, let me know; I WILL give it a shot (At this point I'd try almost anything).

[C-Kwik]

Are you sure you aren't turning it the wrong way? Not trying to be a smart *** here, but I've seen this happen. Just throwing out ideas. I've never been able to bend a breaker bar. With that much force, I've sheered the head off the bolts before bending any pipes.

[Dattebayo]

Im serious. Get a cutter and lop that SOB off and pull the bolt though, it'll take you 5 minutes. I just had to do that with my friend's seat belt bolt and it took me less time. Thats precisely what a shop would do to get it off...

[420_240sx]

I wouldnt want to be torching near gas charged struts, but maybe thats just me being overcautious. Either way, I hope you can get that SOB off

[kyle1911]

i had the exact same problem, i ended up cuttin gthe nut off on eandit came loose, the second one was in there so tight i had to drill it out.

now i have to wait 3-4 days for the dealer to get me some new bolts.

[kblast523]

If all else fails, a saws-all will kill it for sure....Lob it off at the nut, the bolt will surely follow.

[Stress]

Of course we were turning it the correct way...we're not morons. Afterall, we got the top bolts off didn't we? Anyways, this car is my daily driver as well (since not all of us are rich enough for afford two cars - or insurance for two cars for that matter) so I can't be torching/cutting off bolts unless I have the ones to get them replaced. I went to get them today...not on hand...so special order - 2 days. I patiently await my new bolts/nuts. If you guys have any better ideas than lobbing it off or torching it, once again, let me know. Thanks for all your help/suggestions guys.

[DAEDALUS]

I've never used a sawzall on steel bolts...how do the blades hold up?Stress where are you in SoCal?

[Stress]

SGV sir.