Need help getting rusty grade 5 bolt out of stainless steel.

[sixdogs]

My 1997 Ford F250 side mirror had a bracket held on with a regular steel bolt threaded into the end of a stainless steel rod and it's rusted stuck. I snapped the head off. I'm soaking the stub in PB Blaster right now and will put Kroil on it tomorrow. Any ideas how to get the bolt stub out?

I was thinking about heating the stub bolt in hopes the heat and cooling will pull the oil into the threads then and I could get a pipe wrench on the bolt stub.. Is that a good idea considering it's stainless? I wouldn't heat the stainless but it could get hot.

I could cut the stub off and drill it out but that's a lot of work and I would prefer something quicker. Any ideas how to get the rusty carbon steel bolt out of the stainless rod?




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[oosik]

Standard procedure would say - heat the stainless rod - pipe wrench on the bolt. It shouldn't take much heat on the stainless to break things loose.

 

[sixdogs]

Standard procedure would say - heat the stainless rod - pipe wrench on the bolt. It shouldn't take much heat on the stainless to break things loose.

I'm going to buff the stainless piece before it goes back on but will heat discolor it?

 

[Topzide]

X2 on heating stainless to expand a bit to loosen the bolt. Might get enough heat from heat gun to avoid fire and flame, but don't won't to spoil your fun!

 

[Topzide]

Shouldn't discolor if a good grade of stainless and low heat.

 

[sixdogs]

X2 on heating stainless to expand a bit to loosen the bolt. Might get enough heat from heat gun to avoid fire and flame, but don't won't to spoil your fun!

I plan to use acetylene torch. OK?

 

[oosik]

My experience is with sheet stainless. It WILL discolor if you get it near red hot. I think I would use my commercial heat gun. Also - we were able to buff the discoloration out of the sheet stainless.

Just start easy and increase the heat in reasonable steps.

 

[CalG]

Keep the torch ONLY on the broken bolt, get it red hot!

Stainless steel is such a poor conductor of heat that I bet you could melt that stud out before the "polish" would show blue. (factious)

Stainless can only surface oxidize, any color will buff to a pale yellow at the worse.

But really. Heat the broken part red hot, the heat will drive out the chemically bonded water in the rust and allow that stuck fastener to spin out.

Once ANY movement of the stuck fastener is detected, that's when to apply Kroil.

I use the smoke wrench a lot!

 

[sixdogs]

Should I even try the Harbor Freight heat gun on high setting or go straight to the torch?

 

[CalG]

Should I even try the Harbor Freight heat gun on high setting or go straight to the torch?

If the bolt is rusted in, It takes red heat!

Warming things up, hoping for expansion, is for under the covers with your main squeeze!