Soon I will be putting in new struts in my car. The only thing that worries me about this job is possibly breaking off a bolt.

what would be the best way so that it doesnt happen? It could be a very costly mistake that i want to avoid.

I was thinking about just heating stuff up, but i dont have a torch.
was thinking about spraying down the bolts with penatrent everyday for awhile.

any suggestions will be appreciated!

There are many good pentrating oils available. My favorite is Break Free; buy it anywhere gun supplies are sold.

Apply the Break Free to all the nuts and bolts at least 12 hours before you start the job.

thanks for the reply. I was thinking about just spraying the heck out of them everday for a week or something.

i just dont want something dumb to happen.

thanks for the reply. I was thinking about just spraying the heck out of them everday for a week or something.

i just dont want something dumb to happen. My 77 Vette was a bear to remove a lot of stuff, especially the motor mounts. Penetrating oil can work. But it's not a given. Using a nice heat source is the better way to remove stuff. And a combo shot (penetrating oil and heat) is really good. Go to Home Depot, visit the plumbing section, and buy a torch kit. They are less than $20. But do yourself a favor, and don't use propane (blue bottle). Use MAP gas (yellow bottle). Your single $20 investment will last you nearly a lifetime, even with heavy use. And you'll always be prepared for heavier plumbing jobs, around the house, that require sweating joints.

At any rate, the MAP gas is an acetylene, methane, propane mix (I think). What matters, is it burns much, much hotter than propane itself.

Apply the heat to the joints, make sure you aren't burning anything, and enjoy the job. It's not fool proof, some bolts were made to be broken. That's why we have cutting tools. But you should be fine.

Three words, heat heat heat. As far as I've ever seen, the penetrating oil is useless. MAP gas isn't bad if it's all you can get, but takes quite a while. I usually use an oxy-acetylene torch, but they are pricey. Just make sure to get those bolts RED hot, and then get on em right away. If they don't come, try squirting em with water while they're glowing, enought water to totally cool em down. What you're doing is expanding and contracting the metal, trying to break the rust/oxidation bond.

Peace,
D.

He's right. If you can get acetylene, it's the best.