Editing Removing stuck fasteners

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==General Advice==
*No matter what technique is used, when removing stuck fasteners, you need to pay attention to what is turning and what is not.
*There is no general consensus as to whether steady or intermittent pressure is best for removing stuck fasteners.
*Keep in mind that fastening hardware stuck together by corrosion is stuck because the corrosion has expanded and tightly bound the fastener. This means a really stuck bolt will not allow penetrating oils in to do any good.  
*There are two effective means to break the friction that corrosion has caused.  One is through mechanical movement, a proper good whack with a hammer. The other is through differential heating. Making one part expand more than the other.  
*With heating, bear in mind axles and other important structures may lose their strength if they are heated much above 300 degrees. If you have the oil and grease starting to smoke, then you are in the 300-degree range.
*When taking off cylinder head studs, look at the base. If you see erosion into the stud at the block surface, odds are pretty good you will break the stud.
* Whatever system you use, once you have a hold of the bolt,stud, or whatever, try rocking it forward and reverse a little at a time. If you can get it to move, it is more likely to come out. An older mechanic said always try to tighten a little before you loosen. Remember, if it moves, you are half way home. Also, brake fluid works great as a penetration oil.

==Smack it with a hammer==
Though this may not be practical for all situations, a stuck bolt can often be broken loose simply by hitting it on the head with a hammer. In such a case, a brass drift may be helpful. Drifts of varying lengths can be made from brass bar, and used to access hidden bolts. Brass is used because it's softer, and thus less likely to damage the head of a fastener(However the problem with brass is it will absorb some of the shock of the blow from the hammer, so one may need to use a melt drift for maximum shock to the bolt).  Brass hammers are also available and one about 3 or 4 lbs. in weight is good for this.

If I could have only one chemical tool, it would be "Liquid Wrench".  Note that when trying to loosen rusty parts, it's important to first remove as much of the rust as possible with a wire brush.  Once it's as clean as a wire brush will get it, apply Liquid Wrench, then give the piece repeated light taps with a hammer for ten or fifteen seconds; this helps work the Liquid Wrench into the crevices.  Wait two minutes, then repeat the Liquid Wrench/tapping procedure.  After repeating the procedure 3 or 4 times, THEN try to loosen it with one swift blow.  Sometimes it won't work, but the majority of the time, your patience will allow you to not only remove the rusted nuts and bolts, but to possibly even reuse them.

Many people recommend "PB Blaster", which led to me trying it - it did an excellent job for me. An overnight soak-in is an important step.

==Smack it with a hammer #2==
This method is useful when dealing with a bolt that is rusted very tightly. A lot of people will get a wrench or ratchet and push against it with a steady force. Doing this will more than likely break off the bolt head of a rusty bolt. 

The best thing to do is to get a wrench or ratchet on it, and either hit it with your hand or a hammer several times.  The sudden force will break the bolt loose with less of a chance of twisting off the head.

If you can get to the nut, try hitting each flat of the nut with a drift punch and ball pein hammer.

Some times a home made impact wrench will work, get a cheap wrench that fits tight and hit it with a hammer watching carefully that it isn't coming off the fastener. It's important when loosening this way to use a tight fitting wrench as a loose fitting one will round the bolt head.

==Tap it for a few minutes==
Lightly tap on rusted fasteners for several minutes, apply a little penetrating oil, lightly tap a little more, and remove the rusted fastener.

==Metric Method==

Hammer a close-fitting metric socket tightly on a SAE nut, or vice-versa. Then use breaker bar socket wrench (or longest you can fit in a cramped space) to turn it.

I've seen a product that works basically the same way, but the inside of the sockets are lined with sharpened flutes that are also angled to dig further into the rusted nut or bolt as you turn the wrench.  These are called metric sockets, and bite extremely well into round and rusty bolts and nuts, as the flutes are sharp and point counter clockwise.  Think of what you would get if you made a mold of an extractor drill bit.

==Hot and Cold==
This method uses alternating heating and cooling. The resulting expansion and contraction is thought to break a fastener loose from the grip of rust.

#With a welding torch, a hand-held propane torch, or a combination MAPP gas/oxygen torch kit, heat up a bolt head until it turns red.
#While it's still red-hot, squirt it with water.
#Repeat the heating and cooling process again with the torch and water.


When using the "Hot and Cold Method" be sure to follow proper safety procedures. Specifically:
*Wear proper safety attire including welder's gloves and safety goggles.
*As with any time you use any flammable ignition sources, have a fire extinguisher within arm's reach.

When using the 'Hot and Cold Method', care should be taken to ensure that only the bolt is heated. If the nut is heated and cooled, the nut will likely become seized tighter.
When using this method use this Hot and Cold method FIRST... If you use any type of penetrating oils, they tend not to let the water do it's thing when the hot and cold method is used. Please remember heat,