Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Am doing a 2" body lift and have had the front driver's side bolt shear off. It is completely rusted into the nut welded to the body. I can't get in there with a grinder, don't have an oxy, and would find it difficult to get there with a drill. I've put a spanner and budge bar on the welded nut but no luck. Also tried vicegrips on the top side of the bolt but don't have enough meat left to get a decent grip. Vicegrips wont fit in to grab lower half of bolt.

What's the best way of getting this bugga out??

Use an oxy to heat it, you want to heat the nut bit more than the bolt bit
Often I focus the heat on just one half of the nut being careful not to melt it.
Once hot grab it with some vice grips and twist

If that don't work get out the drills. Start with a small size and work you way up is small increments
If you do it centrally you will end up with a 'coil' left the hole which you unscrew with something pointy like a scriber
If you off center the hole will 'brake through' on one side. You need to make sure you do not drill into the nuts thread. Once it breaks through you end up with a bolt thats like a 3/4 moon. The bit thats missing makes whats left easier to get out as it allows the diameter to decrease
Does that make any sense?

DO NOT use Ezi-outs or the like or you will have to start another thread on How to remove broken Ezi-outs (which is a big pain in the arse)

Other than that bolts of that size normally have a thread depth of 1 to 1.5 mm so it may be possible to go up one size if the thread in the nut gets screwed
That said it's probably easier to grind the whole nut off and weld a new one on

Or just drill it out and put another nut on the bottom. I have had to do this before.

This is common with these mounts. They have a nasty habit of crossthreading too, even if you do get the old one out.

Steve.

Here is a different idea. Try drilling through the bottom half horizontally if you can. Drill a big enough hole to get a phillips screw driver or similar through it to turn the thread. Once it's started it should be easy enough to use the vice grips on the top. Oh and use plenty of CRC/bolt off too.

My bolt was seized too but it busted the welds that hold the nut. The other side wouldn't line up properly either and cross threaded.
Try a sharp cold chisel to break the welds and get the nut right off, just be careful not to deform the mount. Then just replace with new nut and hardened washer.

^^ thats what i was going to suggest.

another option is to use an angle grinder on the top bit of bolt so you can use a screwdriver on the top of it (flat head) - but if its rusted shut youll need all the leverage you can get!

That's the reason I supply the extra nuts with the kit. See if you can grind off the top the drill out.

I would get a grinder and grind the top down so it's level, then get a "long series" drill bit and go from on top of the tray through the hole and have someone watch as you start the new hole.

But didn't he say he didn't have an oxy & couldn't get a drill or grinder in there?

Have you tried a product called Mouse Milk. Should be able to buy it from tool shops. It will get in & penetrate gaps that you thought were completely rusted up. You generally have to let it soak overnight for it to have time to work though. Using an Oxy along with the Mose Milk would get the best result.

Give it a shot, if it doesn't budge, then borrow an oxy off a mate. Or try some of the above methods...

well spotted chops_drover, i don't have an oxy and room is very tight But it was late last night that i was working on it ... hopefully have more luck tonight when i have daylight to see in.

will be fitting the new nuts just cruizin'... just gotta get that bugga of a bolt off first. i'll have a crack at it tonight with a cold chisel instead of a chunky screwdriver like i did last night and see if i can break the welds; otherwise its off to Bunnings for a long drill bit.

by the way, i highly recommend just cruzin's kit. it fits up perfectly and his instructions are great. apart from the rusted/sheared bolt, i got the first side done in an hour and a half in dodgy lighting (i have serious shed envy for some of you blokes who post photos taken in sheds bigger than my house ) and shouldn't take any longer than that to finish it off. that's working alone.

You could alway just grind the bolt down flush, then drill a new hole beside that one in the tray and chassis bracket with enough room for the washer and trimmed nut beside it.

Got it Easiest access was from the side of the captive nut (coming in from photo above) so I drilled 3 pilot holes in the side of the captive nut, all the way thru, then just enlarged them with bigger bits until the nut was 75% holes. Nut was sizzlin' hot by then so sprayed it with some Loctite Spray'n'Freeze (-40 degrees C) for a bit of thermal stress and laid into it with a cold chisel and BFH. Luvely

Screw a nut onto the threads at the bottom as far as you can, then weld inside the nut with a MIG to weld the nut to the bolt.

Then unscrew with spanner.



Ben

P.S. Plan B: Beat sh*t out of captive nut with cold chisel until it comes off, then use new nut.