Is there some other way to get this lower engine to trans nut off without taking an hour chiseling it? Drivers side 02 H6 auto.

 

I'll try welding another nut on top but I'm doubtful.

 

I'm throwing the transmission away so I'm free to hack and shatter the bellhousing. There's just very limited room/access.

 

I pried between the engine and trans with a 6 foot digging bar separating the top a lot, hoping the bellhousing would shatter (done it once before but it was one of the higher bolts not the lower nut. Didn't work.

 

Maybe I can try prying from the bottom and get closer to the nut.

 

there's too many other items for a torch, or at least for my torch in that tight space.

 

How small is your flame when you're torching a nut - I think j need to tweak my torch as the flame always seems large.

Edited September 15, 20178 yr by idosubaru

nvermind - stripped, not 'stuck'.

 

 

aren't there nut splitters? got room for that?

 

 

Edited September 15, 20178 yr by 1 Lucky Texan

Not enough room.

 

I think I'll hit it with the air grinder, I forgot about that. That should be quick.

 

Do air hammers with a chisel work on bolts/nuts?

 

I've got a nut splitter and they have their place but don't know that it's ever been helpful in rusty Subaru world. Seems to need perfectly contrived easy situations that can be attacked with other methods. Needs a lot of room, unforgiving set up, and wants to walk off fasteners.

You work on an east-coast car with no acetylene torch?

 

You're braver than I...

You work on an east-coast car with no acetylene torch?

 

You're braver than I...

Hahaha!

 

I do but the flame seems huge and scary under the car. I know nothing about torches so it's probably not adjusted right and I'm timid.

Hahaha!

 

I do but the flame seems huge and scary under the car. I know nothing about torches so it's probably not adjusted right and I'm timid.

 

Better to be safe then having to call the customer and tell them their car is torched and even lose your shop to fire!

Pound on a 12 point 13mm socket?

Air grinder is usually too big, but a dremel with a 1" cutoff wheel is usually small enough to get to tight places to cut a rusted or stripped nut off. Cut into it in several places and use a chisel in the cuts and that will usually split the rest and break it off.

 

Acetylene is not a gas to be played with. If you don't know how to use it GET EDUCATED! It will burn your place down and could kill you or others in the process if you do something wrong.

Wrong settings on a regulator can cause an explosion. Acetylene is so unstable it will self combust if it's exposed to oxygen in the right proportions.

Edited September 15, 20178 yr by Fairtax4me

I use dremel with the high speed cut-off attachment. About $5 for a 5-pack of the discs. Depending on the bolt and the location of the bolt, along with it's size, dictates how it gets tackled. Large bolts are better off getting heat and not cut, as it'll be harder to grab the threaded stud left behind. 

 

I bought a $50 MAPP/Propane torch tip year back. Large bolts, the mapp gas is better as puts out more heat, and will get it warm faster. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Bernzomatic-TS4000KC-Trigger-Start-Torch-Kit-TS4000KC/203368730  I was even able to get a very stuck turbo exhaust housing off a CHRA with the mapp. Stuff has been a life saver at times. No extra tanks needed (no oxygen, etc.) and the tip (in the link) can use propane as well. I bought mine at Lowes, and it might be a slightly different model than the link.

 

Be sure you have something ready to grab the bolt with and turn while it's hot. Try 30 sec of heat, then turn. If still stuck, try a minute, then turn. Careful, as mapp gas will heat everything. Have a garden hose nearby for safety.

Edited September 15, 20178 yr by Bushwick

Pound on a 12 point 13mm socket?

 

Acetylene is not a gas to be played with. If you don't know how to use it GET EDUCATED.

oh right. My bad that sounded terrible. I'm well aware of acetylene volatility, I actually run a propane and oxygen set up precisely for that reason.

 

I'll see what a 13mm does before I crack out the dremel.

Edited September 15, 20178 yr by idosubaru

Better to be safe then having to call the customer and tell them their car is torched and even lose your shop to fire!

agreed. Though I've never worked in a shop and was paid to work on a car once like 12 years ago.

 

Thanks guys. I just quit for the day as soon as it stripped so I'll now be fresh and ready to go next time.

so, the nut is stripped? it's stripped because it's rusted/frozen up?

 

ever tried wd-40 specialist penetrating fluid? my neighbor just recently turned me on to it. works really well. and fast

 

also, have you tried an irwin (or other brand) bolt-grip? i have an irwin set. those work fantastic. if there's not enough room for a socket driver, then you can use a wrench instead to turn it. you know....put the box end on and double up on the spanner end with another wrench for leverage....provided there's room and all

maybe I'm still confused - stripped the points or the threads? (nut is spinning in place) ?

 

I'd try heating it up and then spraying it with penetrant - as it cools, it may pull penetrant into the threads.

 

the idea about using a slightly smaller socket is good - and try nudging it in the tighten direction and then loosening.

 

I think even one of those butane crack pipe lighters would work on small/medium sized nuts so - maybe shiels sensitive stuff in the area with HD aluminum foil and heat that sucker for 20-30 seconds, spray with PB blaster or 50:50 mix of acetone/ATF. Uh, be careful about fumes/flames OK?

i would think the nut is stripped...not the threads...since he's considered splitting the nut

Correct - sides are all rounded now. The lower nut is prone to rust unlike the bolts.

 

I've never seen a bolt extractor work consistently on anything but what id call easy stuff (others probably consider them harder than I) so I have scrapped them all. Maybe I should try some newer ones.

Yes I've got a metal gallon can of PB Blaster and cans of Yield for penetrant.

Correct - sides are all rounded now. The lower nut is prone to rust unlike the bolts.

 

I've never seen a bolt extractor work consistently on anything but what id call easy stuff (others probably consider them harder than I) so I have scrapped them all. Maybe I should try some newer ones.

 

 

what are you calling a bolt extractor? i've never not had one of these bolt grips work for me. the harder you twist, the deeper it cuts into the nut. but, then, i really don't know the H6 terrain you're working with. i mean, i know what an H6 is...just never worked on one. much less seen one in person

Edited September 16, 20178 yr by thook44

ive used various kinds of bolt extractors. I'll buy another and try again - send me links to what you guys use?

 

"grip tighter" on a really beastly bolt to me means walking backwards as you tighten until it slips off.

https://www.amazon.com/IRWIN-BOLT-GRIP-Extractor-Expansion-394002/dp/B000QW6K8I

 

that's what i use. get them at lowes

 

if you've tried them before and had no success.....well, maybe you were holdin' yer mouth wrong er sumpin, i dunno

Thanks. Thats cheap enough to try and maybe they'll help later for easy stuff.

 

past experience suggests for really seized stuff the outer layer of metal will rip smooth or walk backwards before loosening. It stripped with 2-3 feet of leverage and bolt extractor efficacy with multiple feet of leverage has seemed limited in the past. The same thing happens that happened the first time, just rounds off further.

 

With enough iterations the nut should theoretically wear down to nothing. Haha

right...i see. well, maybe freeze off would work.

 

good luck, man

...

 

Acetylene is not a gas to be played with. If you don't know how to use it GET EDUCATED! It will burn your place down and could kill you or others in the process if you do something wrong.

Wrong settings on a regulator can cause an explosion. Acetylene is so unstable it will self combust if it's exposed to oxygen in the right proportions.

 

More than 15psi, straight acetylene, and it can explode.

 

I've been using acetylene/oxygen torches for about 35 years, there are some VERY important rules to follow, following them well makes it safe to have / use.

 

About the only thing you can't predict is the worst thing- when a tank decides to 'cook off', it just sits there getting hotter and hotter... doesn't happen without some kind of damage or ill treatment though.

It was soaked in PB blaster No room to swing a hammer, couldn't pound a socket on

 

Welded a nut tto stud and welds broke. Welded another nut onto the existing nut, didn't work.

 

Quite a few chisel blows got the thing to move. Maybe the multilingual heat saols via welding helped.

Edited September 20, 20178 yr by idosubaru

i'm sure it was the multilingual persuasion that did it. i'm surprised no one suggested more of that to begin with

("Momma makes us kids come inside when Daddy works on the car.")

 

 

did you shed any blood?

 

that seems to be the sacrifice I have to make when wrenching.

 

did you shed any blood?

 

Not this time.  One welding ember down slipped past gloves and down a shirt sleeve.  It wasn't bad, but I have such limited time and dislike spending 15 minutes on one nut like I did 10 years ago.