Can we talk about how I used to fight with rusted exhaust bolts vs how I handle them now?

Back when I started out in my uncle's shop in Cleveland, I would just soak them in PB Blaster and go at it with a breaker bar. More times than not, I'd snap the stud and spend an hour drilling it out. Then I watched a guy from a diesel shop heat the flange cherry red with a torch and hit it with paraffin wax, and it cracked the rust loose like magic. Now I use that heat and wax method every time. Anyone else have a rust trick that turned their day around?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliver7195d ago

Do you have to re-torque the bolts afterward since the heat changes the metal's properties, or does it settle back okay once it cools? I've been worried about the flange warping from the heat and causing a leak down the road. That paraffin trick sounds solid though, I need to try it on my truck's manifold.

angela435d ago

Oh man, the heat and wax trick is a total lifesaver (wish I'd known it before I spent an afternoon crying over a snapped bolt on my old Civic). I used to just buy a six-pack and plan for the worst, thinking brute force and misery was the only way. Now I just laugh at rusted exhausts because I know I've got that paraffin ace up my sleeve.