I used to fight with rusted exhaust bolts for hours, now I just torch them first thing

For years I'd go straight at rusty exhaust manifold bolts with a breaker bar and some PB Blaster. I'd be there for an hour maybe two cussing and breaking sockets on a lifted F-250 up in Vermont. Finally after snapping three bolts on a single job last February a old timer at the shop walks over and says why dont you heat them up first. I grabbed a cheap propane torch from Home Depot for 15 bucks and now I just hit each bolt for 30 seconds before touching it. Half the time they spin right out like they were just put in yesterday. Has anyone else made the switch from fighting with rust to just using heat as step one?

2 comments

2 Comments

ryan95217d ago

Grab a MAPP gas torch instead of the regular propane one honestly, it burns way hotter and cuts your heating time down to like 10 seconds per bolt. I made the switch after watching a buddy zip through a rusty F-150 manifold in twenty minutes with the yellow bottle. The extra 10 bucks is nothing compared to the time and busted knuckles you'll save.

sethb4517d ago

I snapped three bolts on a rusty Ford Ranger in two hours last spring and finally just went and bought a torch the next day. Now I feel like an idiot for all that wasted time cussing at frozen hardware.