Tips on Loosening a Stuck Bolt

So your car repair was going as planned until you hit that one bolt. No matter how hard you pull on the wrench you just can not get it so loosen. Well do not panic because here are some tips to get the project back on track.

The first thing you can do to get the bolt unstuck is get your self some kind of rust eating spray such as WD-40. That will both lubricate the bolt and eat away at the rust that is stopping the bolt from turning normally. It may take a few minutes to work so let it sit for a little bit before you try to turn it again. Be careful because the lubricant could have made the bolt slippery, which could make your wrench slide off as you are trying to turn it.

The next thing you might want to do if the first trick failed is find yourself a long pipe that will fit over the end of your wrench. This will increase the amount of power you can put on the end of the bolt. If pulling on it does not work you can carefully try standing on the pipe in order to put all of your weight on the end of the pipe in order to make it turn.

Another trick you can try, that will be a lot safer and can be done in a more confined space then the pipe involves a hammer. You can tap the end of the wrench in order to put as much impact force on the bolt as you feel safe. The impact of the hammer will not only put force on the bolt, but also the vibrations can help loosen the rust that is holding the bolt in place.

Once you get the bolt out of your vehicle you will probably want to replace it with an entirely new bolt. That way you will probably not have to go through this entire process again the very next time you want to remove this bolt. The best thing you can do to prevent this kind of thing from happening in the future, is to put some oil on your bolts before you put them back into your car, this will keep them from rust welding into place. Also if you have a rusty bolt, you can replace it with a new one, though that will probably get expensive if you try to replace every single one.