[Roadsters] Help, I'm snapping off bolt heads!

[Keith0alan at aol.com]

Rust is generally nasty stuff. Not only has the parent metal been eroded,  
rust is very abrasive, and it takes up more room than the parent metal. So you  
end up with the threads wedged tightly with grinding powder. Most always  
fasteners requiring "heroic measures" will fit looser than original and  sometimes 
will be beyond reusing. Fortunately, most times this looser fit isn't  a 
problem. When it is several methods, like your suggestion, are available. The  
first step in doing the repair is to get the silly thing apart in the first  
place with a minimum of damage.
 
keith
 
 
In a message dated 7/27/2008 6:16:28 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
aultgc at att.net writes:

I mean  no criticism of Keith's advice.  But, please remember that iron 
oxide  -- rust -- is much harder than steel.  So, rust flakes mixed among the 
 
threads tend to "screw" things up mightily by cutting new threads in a  form 
one does not want.  If one is lucky, one gets the bolt or screw  out without 
breaking it off, and has enough base material left in the  captive threads to 
re-tap and use the next larger  fastener.







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