12 replies to this topic

[[email protected]]

Hi all,

I'm in the process of dismantling my engine and got held up by a nut i couldn't undo on the cylinder head!
I have undone 8/9 nuts but the last one just won't shift! It's the one on the spark plug side of the cylinder head nearest to the flywheel.
I have tried oiling it, using a spanner and hitting it with a mallet and it still wont shift!

My spanner has started to slip around the nut now and is rounding it off making it even harder to undo............i'm very tempted to take a grinder to it? I'm using this engine as a basis for my new turbo project so will have to get new and stronger cylinder head bolts anyway therefore it doesn't matter if i damage the bolt in the process!

I just wondered if there is something else i could try first that might work? Anyone had a similar problem? I don't have a clue why that one is soooooo tight compared to the others????

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Cheers,

Mike

[WiredbyWilson]

get an impact socket and a crank bar leave the grinder inthe shed

[andyapanel]

Heat it with a (hot)blow torch and plenty of oil and WD40. Dont get vicious with it or you might shear the stud.
Have you got a set of "Metrinch" spanners? They can be very handy in between sizes.
Patience, heat and oil will eventually shift it.

[Pauly]

Spanners wont shift it.

Get a breaker bar on it with the proper socket. Have you undone them in the thightening sequence? If not then probably all the weight is on that one nut from the pressure on the rocker assembly pushing the valves down.

Breaker bar will 99.9% shift it. But dont use a grinder. Get someone to hold the engine while you crank on the bar.

Paul.

Edited by Pauly, 26 March 2009 - 02:03 PM.

[madrob]

I work in a garage and we have special sockets to undo rounded bolts, if you look inside they are like a spiral pattern, you have to hammer them one and the spiral bites into the nut. these sockets have a special name which escapes me at the moment. its my age. never had a nut we cant get off yet. maybe worth asking around see if anyone local has a set

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the replies guys!

Slight problem that i probably should have mentioned! I can't get any sockets to reach on to the nut because the head bolt is sticking out too far!

So i wouldn't be able to get a breaker bar on to it ( i'm going to get one anyway because they look reli useful and also those spanners so thanks for those suggestions-i wasn't aware either of those products even existed)

i don't have a blow torch neither which is a bummer!
i didn't think one nut would cause so much hassle and i don't really want to spend a load of money buying expensive tools like a blow torch just to get one irritating nut off!

what's my best bet now then?
sorry to be so awkward!

thanks again,

Mike

[Saxo-Fiesta-Mini]

u heard of deep hex sockets as i have a set sat in my shed shame ur miles away

[Kam]

If its starting to round off you could file it to get a flat even shape and try again, I had to do this on one (non cylinder head nut) and it worked, took a bit of time to file but paid off.

Make sure the spanner is a tight fit, whack it on gently if necessary and get some extra leverage on the spanner

[Pauly]

Put the socket on the nut first, then put the breaker bar on, it wont click home on the socket but it will go in far enough for you to get some force behind it.

[madrob]

How about a bolt splitter?
like one of these.....http://www.screwfix.com/prods/17610/Van-Car-Accessories/Mechanics-Tools/Nut-Splitters&cm_mmc=Google-_-Hand%20Tools-_-Mechanics%20Tools%20-%20Servicing%20Tools-_-nut%20splitter?P=P&gclid=CNjNv7DZwZkCFd1L5QodnBb_sg&source=aw

[mini7boy]

did you strip the nut with a box end wrench or an open end? Using an open end is an invitation to stripping any nut, whether on an engine or not.

if all else fails, you can have someone (electric)weld a larger nut onto the stud/nut that is there, then use a good quality 6-point socket to get a good, tight grip of the larger nut.

Give that a try, but if it doesn't loosen pretty easily, don't torque too strongly or you may break the stud off.

You may then need to saw off the nuts, pull the head off and work with the stud from there with heat , hammer taps, chemicals or whatever.

The last thing you want to do is break off the stud at the block line.

Usually, the stud won't be that tight in the block unless super-corrosion has locked it up.

[miRon]

if its too long for your socket,
lock 2 or even 3 nuts together and extract the stud,
do you understand how to do this?
you'l need 2 14mm spanners and 2/3 nuts
try it,
or hack saw the stud down and get a socket on it that way,
if you get stuck for a stud ask me nicely and il send you one.

[Disco Dan]

I suggest putting a nut on the opposite side and give it a tweak or two to take the pressure off the nut your struggling with....