Guys help! Extremely stubborn nut

"valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option" (valsidalv) 10/15/2016 at 20:20 • Filed to: None

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I’m attempting to replace my G’s front struts. Hit a snag early on in the process and it’s due to a piece of shit bolt. In the pic above the black tube is the strut. That’s the brake hose attached to it. I need to remove the hose and which is held in place by the nut. It’s been soaking in PB Blaster for some time. Any attempts at loosening using a breaker bar actually contort the metal piece on the strut instead of turning the bolt. Decided to use my impact driver but no go. Makes a lot of noise but the thing won’t budge. I’d hate to have to give this job to a shop over a stubborn nut. Any suggestions?

For reference here’s the new strut. Comes with its own bolt. It doesn’t spin so maybe it’s welded on or something.

bob and john > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:24

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100% sure its the nut and not the bolt that spins?

hit it with a little bit of heat and shock (smack it with a hammer) see if that helps. if not, big ass cheater pipe.

V8Demon - Prefers Autos for drag racing. Fite me! > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:24

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Degrease and clean. Add heat.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:27

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show that nut whos boss

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > bob and john 10/15/2016 at 20:29

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The bolt doesn’t actually spin. So it’s the nut. I kinda thought the impact driver would take care of the shock but I’ll try a hammer. Thx

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/15/2016 at 20:30

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If everything fails then i might pick that up tmrw.

bob and john > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:32

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yea, hit it with a punch and a hammer once or twice from different sides. might help.

Urambo Tauro > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:35

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Since the bracket and stud are part of the strut, there’s no need to be shy about destroying them (careful with the brake hose, though). You could go ahead and twist that bracket right off of the strut tube, then cut off the head of the stud so that you can pull the stud out of the brake hose from the nut-side. Then take the stud over to a bench vise to work on removing the nut (or really, just replace the nut altogether).

Die-Trying > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:37

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put a wrench on the square faces of the hose end. that should hold the metal bracket in place while you get mean with the nut. you might try and “double wrench” it............ but hit the threads first with some oil and a wire brush...............

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > Urambo Tauro 10/15/2016 at 20:41

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The thing is I’m not really equipped with the right tools to pull all that off... I’m hoping I can take care of this with the strut in place.

I do have a Dremel but I’m still not sure how I’ll use it if I break off the bracket. The house goes into that block and I don’t want to damage it either.

Urambo Tauro > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:47

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Hm, that Dremel might work for cutting the head of the bolt off (from the bracket side). That still doesn’t free the nut, but TBH that nut probably isn’t worth saving anyway.

Orange Exige > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/15/2016 at 20:49

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What is that?

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > Urambo Tauro 10/15/2016 at 20:51

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Screw the nut- I’ll replace it. So you think if I get the head off with the Dremel that brake hose block will slide right off? I just hope it didn’t fuse itself to the stud like the nut did.

DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:54

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Could you just replace the hoses too? If their the factory ones and it’s time to change the shocks I’m sure you’ll get a noticeable improvement in the brakes with new hoses all around.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Orange Exige 10/15/2016 at 20:56

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craftsman nutcracker http://www.sears.com/craftsman-nut-cracker/p-00904772000P

Urambo Tauro > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 20:58

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Yeah, from what I can see in the pic, that’s how I think it comes apart. Hopefully it’s not all seized up inside that block.

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > DC3 LS, will be perpetually replacing cars until the end of time 10/15/2016 at 21:00

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This was a job I wanted to accomplish this weekend. Brakes are something I planned on doing in the spring right around the same time she hits the 200k km mark.

DipodomysDeserti > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 21:10

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Hit it with some heat. If PB blaster didn’t help then it probably isn’t getting into the threads. Heating and cooling should help loosen those threads up.

nafsucof > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 21:28

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Torch the nut?

Frank Grimes > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 22:04

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get one o these and heat up the nut and hit it with some pb blaster

Orange Exige > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/15/2016 at 22:07

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Wow somehow I’ve never heard of that tool before.

But it seems like it could be very useful. I’m sure I’ve had many opportunities to use it in the past if I had one. The only thing is that I don’t really have spare nuts or bolts and I hate having to go to Home Depot or Autozone to get a single $0.39 piece so I would try my damndest to not break that nut lol.

cluelessk > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 22:18

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Try heat.

Personally I’d cut the bracket off and cut/ grind the back side away. Would need a new bolt though.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Orange Exige 10/15/2016 at 22:18

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Its only for that “this nut/bolt is rusted to shit so I don’t care anymore” moments. Best thing is that it has zero fire risk compared to a torch. Con is because of assholes returning broken ones, i don’t know if craftsman is doing the no hassle return anymore

Orange Exige > gmporschenut also a fan of hondas 10/15/2016 at 22:34

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Makes perfect sense in a case like this.

Are they prone to braking though? When the nut is a harder steel than the cracker I guess?

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Orange Exige 10/15/2016 at 22:42

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I only used it on rusted crap. It partially chipped after a couple dozen uses, still works.. I don’t think its intended to be used every time, but it is magnificent when you have the stubborn POS that won’ t move.

thebigbossyboss > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/15/2016 at 22:47

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http://thegarage.jalopnik.com/this-guy-went-through-hell-to-remove-one-nut-from-his-h-1783617628?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+jalopnik%2Ffull+%28Jalopnik%29

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/16/2016 at 01:34

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I may know a specialist.

AdverseMartyr > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/16/2016 at 05:43

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Have you tried hitting it with the impact to tighten it? It’s counter-intuitive, but sometimes putting torque to tighten for just a second can help with loosening. Not with intent to tighten, but just to help shock it. 

Maybe it’s because it “stretches” the threads, or maybe it just redistributes the rust.

AdverseMartyr > Frank Grimes 10/16/2016 at 05:44

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Might want to be careful with boiling the brake fluid though.

FunkyHatch > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/16/2016 at 07:11

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Cut the nut with the dremel? Go slow and once you are about halfway through it, it may turn off or break off. Had to do that with ball joints when all else failed. Holding the brake line block with another wrench while you turn it is also a good idea.

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > AdverseMartyr 10/16/2016 at 16:53

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I tried it all. One came off the other remains. The car has won.

Frank Grimes > AdverseMartyr 10/16/2016 at 21:26

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nope....well unless you are dumb and heat it for like ten minutes.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Orange Exige 10/17/2016 at 14:23

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A nutcracker.

You put your nut in and start tightening. The nut gets forced against the wedge and eventually splits once you put enough force on it.

torque > valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option 10/17/2016 at 19:26

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Supposedly* a 50/50 mix of ATF & Acetone is the best penetrating oil.

According to Machinist Workshop Journal testing, it only required 53 lbs of force to remove a stuck nut vs. 214 lbs. for same stuck nut “loosened” with PB Blaster

*b/c I haven’t tried it myself. I use Kroil oil (next best result)

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/penetrating-oil-showdown.350800/

valsidalv, reminding you that infiniti is an option > torque 10/17/2016 at 23:15

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Very interesting read - good to know and thanks for sharing!