Loosen Old Screws

[katwillny]

Hey All,

I am trying to help a buddy of mine with an old stove. He wants to remove old burnt out parts but the screws are rusted and with years of burning are pretty tight. Is there something I can spray on the screws tht might help loosen them? Thanks friends.

 

[runandjump]

oooooo! Good luck! They will have a tendency to round off. Is there any way to get a oxy/acet. torch to slowly heat them? Also, PB Blaster works good. Shoot it on and let it set over night. Or Areo Kroil is real good.

 

[f3cbboy]

+1 on the kroil, also can use deep creep from sea foam.

 

[katwillny]

Thanks bud. Will give that a shot. I just don't want to break the head.

 

[blades]

Pb works well as do some others that are similar. Trick is to apply multiple times over a period of days, use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm area slightly this helps the penetration action. A torch will burn off most of what you put on defeating the penetrate. After letting things soak a few days then add the torch heat and try to remove. I had a very old cross cut buzz saw in the shop a few years back that the customer wanted to have rebuilt. Typical looking rig, been standing out in the weather for who knows how long. After about a month of applying PB and some use of the flame wrench I was able to remove the arbor nut and free up the arbor without damaging anything. Prior to that, the nut was unmovable, flame wrench notwithstanding. Kind of a neat rig as the blade was stationary and flat belt pto driven. One section consisted of a trough that swung the logs into the blade to cut to length, and then it could be changed to slice the rounds down into splits or more manageable pieces. If was definitely conceived with the purpose of creating firewood.

 

[DAKSY]

PB Blaster & an Impact Driver - the type you strike with a ball peen hammer -
if there's still something of the heads left to get the driver to bite into.
If you snap the heads, & this happens a LOT with old stoves - just drill out
what's left & retap the threads...

 

[katwillny]

Thanks all for all the help on this. Much appreciated.

 

[rustynut]

KatWill,
Here's what I use: Liq Wrench, then heat it up with the propane (or Mapp),
cool it back down with the Liq Wrench (spray)
do this again total 3 or 4 times
I've used this on brake bleaders for many years now
and have not broken one since
the liq wrench penetrates the joint while
the heating and cooling (expansion & contraction) of the joint
wiggles it loose or at least enough so it can be removed without breakage
rustynut ;-)

 

[firefighterjake]

KatWill,
Here's what I use: Liq Wrench, then heat it up with the propane (or Mapp),
cool it back down with the Liq Wrench (spray)
do this again total 3 or 4 times
I've used this on brake bleaders for many years now
and have not broken one since
the liq wrench penetrates the joint while
the heating and cooling (expansion & contraction) of the joint
wiggles it loose or at least enough so it can be removed without breakage
rustynut ;-)

+1 on this technique . . . I like Liquid Wrench a lot.

Of course, you don't have to trust me . . . but a guy with a name like Rustynut you probably can trust!

 

[peakbagger]

If you do break off the screws, pick up some left handed drill bits from a speciality supplier. When you drill out the studs, the counterclockwise rotation tends to loosed the screw and frequently the remains of the screw will spin out with the drill bit. Might as well order some bottoming taps while you are at it to match the screw threads if they are blind holes