Its a Miracle

[jetmech]

Well, maybe not a true miracle.. Heres the story. Im in the middle of rebuilding a VC Intrepid 2 circa 1988 and am replaceing all gaskets and sealing cracks. During the removal of the panel that covers the cat on the inside of the stoveone of the 1/4 inch bolt heads snapped off. I sprayed it with Kroil and let it sit for a week. Today i get all my tools drills easyouts & even was going to weld a nut on the end to try to remove the rest of the stud, much to my suprise after spraying again with Kroil i started to drill the end of the stud and noticed the Kroil bubbling ????. I stopped drilling and grabbed the stud and it spun out by hand. I ran through the house screaming yes, yes.... I foresaw a lot of work ahead and now i m a happy camper.....

 

[DriftWood]

I had that happen once with a small engine screw. The worst ones are broken Stainless Steel screws frozen in aluminum. It can be done but its a matter of plain dumb luck.

 

[crazy_dan]

kroil is good stuff that is why it is $8 a can around here

 

[JimWalshin845]

Not that you look foward to rebuilding it at some later date, but are you going to Never-Seize the threads while reassembling the beast?

 

[Highbeam]

I've had all sorts of dumb luck with broken bolts. Often times tapping it out with a punch. Twisting the bolt head off can sometimes relief the pressure on the threads so then the stud can be knocked loose. I have been very thrilled with dabbing a small puddle of weld into a nut centered over the broken stud. The heat is more effective than anything but feeling the welded nut turn that stud is fantastic.

 

[jetmech]

Yes, will definatly anti seize the new bolts going in... This has been a fu n project and would have been a lot harder without the help of this forum.... just being able to talk to someone whos done it before is huge.... Will keep you updated untill first light off..

 

[DriftWood]

One thing I learned in the salt mine is Stainless Steel is the best replacement for any plain iron screw or nut that is going to rust in place, that will need removing at a later date.

 

[elmoleaf]

Rebuilding is a bit of work and learning, but it's also very satisfying learn how every part of the stove works and know that it's now all airtight, has good gaskets, etc.