Anyone got a Hot Spanner?

Just been attempting to fit a de-cat pipe.

Sadly, I am unable to get a single bolt out of the front cross member that needs to be removed.

There are 8 bolts, all with 10mm A/F hexagon heads. I can see the ends of the threads poking through the captive nuts and they seem to be the corresponding M6 thread size.

I tried them last week, but my Snap-On hexagon socket was on the point of rounding the first couple I tried, so I decided to soak them in Plus Gas (from both ends) every night for a week, before trying again with one of them new fangled 24V impact drivers.

I have just done all that and ended up with 8 perfectly round bolt heads, not one of them loosened in the slightest.

I don't fancy my chances with getting the angle grinder in there, so Hare-Brained Plan C is as follows:

Get them red hot.

Chissel them off.

Drill out to 6.8mm diameter.

Re-tap threads M8 and enlarge holes in cross member as required.

Use stainless allen head screws with a goodly smear of copper-slip in place of toffee headed originals.

My cunning plan however has one small snag (apart from probably being bollocks) in that I don't have any gas bottles to get the bolt heads red hot.

Is there anyone in the Halifax area willing to come to my aid?

I can pay cash, beer or favours, but Mrs M! has a bit of a "thing" about me paying in sex.

Try a dremel or better a Recip saw. It's what I use to get seized nuts or bolts off.

If you have access to a compressor, an air cut off tool is a good solution.

I'd check the new MOT rules before you decat though

bolts are m8 ,replacing with allen bolts isnt a great idea just ues new and some copaslip,should have hit the bolt heads hard first and as they round to mushroom head and allow you to hammer socket back on ,cheap sockets on tight flange head bolts is never a good idea,captive nut once bolts are sheared chisel off quite easily, replace with m8 flange nuts as they hold themselves once nipped up

Thanks for the comments chaps.

There would be access problems with a recip saw in this instance. A dremal would take a month of sundays.

New decat rules not a problem if you know where to get your MOT done, although once these cross member bolts are properyl sorted, it should be easy enough to put the old cat back on once a year.

Sadly, no access to a compressor either, although if anyone can help here...........

James. Snap-On are not cheap sockets as I'm sure you will appreciate, although I would be interested and grateful for you to explain why allen heads are not a good idea.

Hammering a socket back on again is something I may well try in conjunction with the hot spanner. Not much point in trying it cold as they will just round off again. They have already had a whole tin of Plus Gas over a week, so I don't think anything else will free them off further.

A bit daft if you ask me, that they would put a 10mm head on an M8 fixing - just asking for trouble, but then again, I guess they don't design the car with the owners of 10 year old examples in mind.

Maaarrghk said:

Thanks for the comments chaps.

There would be access problems with a recip saw in this instance. A dremal would take a month of sundays.

New decat rules not a problem if you know where to get your MOT done, although once these cross member bolts are properyl sorted, it should be easy enough to put the old cat back on once a year.

Sadly, no access to a compressor either, although if anyone can help here...........

James. Snap-On are not cheap sockets as I'm sure you will appreciate, although I would be interested and grateful for you to explain why allen heads are not a good idea.

Hammering a socket back on again is something I may well try in conjunction with the hot spanner. Not much point in trying it cold as they will just round off again. They have already had a whole tin of Plus Gas over a week, so I don't think anything else will free them off further.

A bit daft if you ask me, that they would put a 10mm head on an M8 fixing - just asking for trouble, but then again, I guess they don't design the car with the owners of 10 year old examples in mind.

Click to expand...

i remove them all the time ,most shear ,hammer is the only tool i use along with a chisel

As James says, the back nut soon detaches, then you can get a nut behind, fiddly but do-able.

I believe that these and a lot of other fittings use the bolts that cut their own thread.

Peter

Self tapping bolts would further explain why these items are particulaly tight.

I was hoping to avoid the use of a cold chisel as I have only a set of ramps (no access to pit or axle stands) so am limited as to the amount of swing I can get with the hammer. Hence my request for a hot spanner.

Simply forget fitting the de-cat pipe. Job done.

rounded nut removers may be worth shot.

Parking the landy on some wood blocks, bricks, the edge of the kerb etc or jacking it up and dropping it onto axle stands can often allow enough additional room to get underneath.

Wot are rounded nut removers Ratty?

If they can be fitted onto a socket breaker bar they might do the trick.

At present I am not too fussed about shearing the heads off as I am resigned to either re-drilling/tapping the existing captive nuts or braying them out with a punch.

I once had a tool called a gronker, but it fit the offending nut/bolt like a spanner and took around a quarter turn to start gripping, so not any good in this instance.

I've used these befor, it either works or you work your way down the sizes until you have no head left

Irwin Bolt Grip Nut Remover Set 5 Pieces | Servicing Tools | Screwfix.com

Very tempting and Screwfix only just down the road from me. Always nice to get some new tackle, but a bit concerned that even the smallest size might be a bit big due to the bolt head size being only 10mm.

Might give them a go and take straight back if they don't work.

I used to think Screwfix was a dating agency.

Ha! Got one!

Tucked away in a dusty corner at work. Boss sez I can play with it on friday afternoon if I promise not to burn his works down.

Have found an old 3/8" socket, so will whack that on, apply some heat and try to loosen off with the 3/8" snap-on hex socket. If they round off again I will heat them up again and knock the heads off with a lump hammer and chisel.

Scrounged another set of ramps, so I can get both fron and back off the deck - might give a bit more hammer swinging space.

I will try to drill out the remnants and re-tap the captive nuts, rather than fiddle about putting new nuts on. This should make things easier for putting the cat back on at MOT time.

warrior said:

I've used these befor, it either works or you work your way down the sizes until you have no head left

Irwin Bolt Grip Nut Remover Set 5 Pieces | Servicing Tools | Screwfix.com

Click to expand...

Maaarrghk said:

Very tempting and Screwfix only just down the road from me. Always nice to get some new tackle, but a bit concerned that even the smallest size might be a bit big due to the bolt head size being only 10mm.

Might give them a go and take straight back if they don't work.

I used to think Screwfix was a dating agency.

Click to expand...

Use this set for 10mm bolts: Irwin 5 Piece Bolt Grip Set - expansion set - Machine Mart

Even if they don't work, don't return them, they're one of the best tools I've ever bought. If they don't work, you're probably doing it wrong, they're that good!

What are you heating up. I'm confused. Are you 100% that the nuts are captive..

I think the bits that are siezed will be the nut. Captive or not. Are they on the crossmember side or the outer side of the chassis.. Can you cut them off? Or heat them Up whilst having pressure on the other end.

Also don't refit with cap screw because an Allen key will round off just tightening it up first time. Get proper bolts and lots of slip.

And just because. Why why why did you round off all 8. Surly you'd stop after at most the 3rd and make other plans... Heat etc before they were fooked. Just saying

They are definitely captive and upon inspection are as an earlier poster said M8 rather than the M6 than one would normally expect from a 10mm head size.

There is a folded plate welded to each chassis leg and the captive nuts can be seen through the gaps at the corners of the plate, as can the ends of the threads.

As to why I rounded all 8 off - because I can! Well, to be more honest, I was hoping that some of them might shear off.

My requirement for heat was never for slackening them off, but to make them a lot easier to chisel off as there is not a lot of room to swing a hammer and I have no pit or vehicle lift - I do all work on my drive.

If you can borrow one of these. They get the heat exactly where you want it.

Heat Up and Remove Seized Nuts and Bolts: BodyShop Business - The Body Shop Reference

Sorry if that's what you asked for to start with. I haven't heard it called a hot spanner

The Mini-Ductor II Magnetic Induction Heater #MD-700 | eBay

wow

As James Martin and Listerdiesel said,just chisel them off and beat the nuts out.8 new nuts/bolts with copper grease makes future removal easy. You could have just bought a 2 piece decat pipe in the first place,and just cut the old pipe in half to remove.