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Good afternoon. I'm trying to replace the thermostat and upper hose on my 1957 Olds 88. I have soaked the upper reachable side of the bolts marked WB 1C with Break Away and Free All. I've also take a block of hardwood and used it with a hammer to shock the bolt and threads. Can anyone tell me how many ft. lb. of torque these bolts can withstand. I am trying not to twist the heads off them. I also thought about applying some heat to the manifold just below the housing where I suspect the threads may be frozen with rust. I've included a photo should help. Thanks, David Bolt heads are marked WB 1C
How long did you let the penetrating fluid sit for?
I try to let it sit for at least 1/2 hour, longer is better but I’m impatient so half hour is usually max for me. But when I come across this problem I’ll soak it a bit more the leave it overnight.
another option, is to hit the top of the bolt with a pinch that sits within the bolt and give a good whack or two.
I like to use heat as a last resort but is certainly an option.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I stared the penetrating fluid yesterday, so it's been more than 24 hours, but I'm not sure if penetrating fluid can get down to the threads. Could the housing bolts have been in there since 1957, or at least many of the original 74,000 miles? I have not tried to hit the top of the bolts with a punch as I'd like to re-use them if I can. I have taken the same concept with a length of hardwood and used it like a punch.
Update: I decided to try my torque wrench set at 45 ft. lb. - for one bolt I had success and the other I thought was coming but the head twisted off. So, I'm 50:50 on that exercise. I'm soaking the shaft of the broken bolt and will let you know how that works out. Not that I want to reef on the thermostat housing bolts, I will replace both bolts with grade 8 ones, if only because they are already gold in color. I am happy to take any suggestions, David
Soak the bolt. If you can get something to grip on the broken bolt, soak it, apply torque in the CW direction first and whilst under torque have someone else moderately and repeatedly strike the fastener or the gripping tool. Repeat the previous step under torque in the CCW direction and soak bolt...rinse and repeat...rinse and repeat until you feel the slightest movement then you've won the battle.
It is very important to keep all of the torque straight onto the fastener, don't let any of the torque twist off to the side.
Last edited by Sugar Bear; May 5, 2025 at 07:19 PM.
There's a lot of techniques to remove a stuck bolt. Easier now that you exposed the threads. Penetrating oil, heat, heat+ beeswax, left handed drill bits, and if all fails, drill and tap. I've almost never had luck with using an EZ out. But if you drill the bolt almost to it's right size, an EZ out might do it.
As Jesse stated, don't use a torque wrench to loosen fasteners - use a breaker bar - preferably a nice long 1/2" drive breaker bar w/ 6-sided socket. BTW, after using a torque wrench, turn the torque wrench down to zero for storage. Luckily that bolt has decent access. Shouldn't be difficult to drill & use an Easy-Out Screw Extractor.
Agreed, I was looking to apply a 'measured force' so as to not break the housing bolts. I should have used a lower setting than the 45 ft.lb. one I used. Live and learn....
Use a very small drill bit to create a pilot hole in the bolt head. Next, increase size of drill bit to accommodate an appropriately sized Easy-Out Extractor - Place Easy-Out into drilled-out hole. Tap top of Easy-Out Extractor with hammer to embed Easy-Out into drilled-out hole...tapping top of extractor while turning extractor CCW. If you 1st don't succeed drill a larger hole to accommodate next larger extractor...again, tapping top of extractor while turning CCW. Should have it out in no time.
Soak the bolt. If you can get something to grip on the broken bolt, soak it, apply torque in the CW direction first and whilst under torque have someone else moderately and repeatedly strike the fastener or the gripping tool. Repeat the previous step under torque in the CCW direction and soak bolt...rinse and repeat...rinse and repeat until you feel the slightest movement then you've won the battle.
It is very important to keep all of the torque straight onto the fastener, don't let any of the torque twist off to the side.
^^^^^^ This is your best chance of success. If you twisted the head of the bolt off, there's a reason, its locked up not a weak bolt. I have found you break E Z Outs or end up with a tapered hole if you try E Z Outs..
I prefer using Hoppe's #9 Gun Solvent, Kroil or a few other penetrating fluids. Be sure to run a bottoming tap in the threads when done.
All, I am happy to report that I had success extracting the one bolt where the head had snapped off, leaving close to an inch of bolt to work with. Fortunately I was able to remove the thermostat housing and that left some room to work. I used a combination of the suggestions made - penetrating fluid, tapping, tap and turn and finally heat which got things to move a small amount. Once that happened, i knew I had to take my time, work things back and forth with more penetrant until the last of the broken bolt threads came free. Thanks much for all your helpful suggestions, David
Agreed, I was looking to apply a 'measured force' so as to not break the housing bolts. I should have used a lower setting than the 45 ft.lb. one I used. Live and learn....
The main point about the torque wrench is that most are not designed to be used to loosen fasteners and can be damaged by doing so.
The main point about the torque wrench is that most are not designed to be used to loosen fasteners and can be damaged by doing so.
I disagree.
Left handed threads exist so the torque wrench manufacturers would take that into account when in the design stage.
The reason you don’t want to use it as a breaker bar is that it is not a breaker bar but a torque wrench and should only be used as such. It’s a delicate instrument that should only be used for what it was designed for.
I disagree.
Left handed threads exist so the torque wrench manufacturers would take that into account when in the design stage.
The reason you don’t want to use it as a breaker bar is that it is not a breaker bar but a torque wrench and should only be used as such. It’s a delicate instrument that should only be used for what it was designed for.
I think the discussion about a torque wrench has been misconstrued from why I had shared it's use. Since I was dealing with some unknowns, I used my torque wrench setting to apply a not to exceed amount of force to loosen my thermostat housing bolts. I never hit that setting with either bolt and one came free, the other snapped. I was not using the torque wrench as a breaker bar.
