Stuck bolt on brush cutter blade

[Homebrew]

This weekend I attempted to pull off the brush cutter blades and try out the kit that converts the brush cutter to a finish mower. One of the bolts holding on one of the brush cutter blades came off extremely easy. The other, I can't budge. With all the experienced folks on this site, I figured someone could give me some tips on breaking loose stuck bolts. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[MMagis]

Not sure anyone can answer without a brand/model. But, I do know that there have been some lengthy discussions on breaking loose bolts free. A quick search should turn up some good suggestions.

 

[wasabi]

after you spray it with penetrating solvent let it sit a while. Then slip a length of steel pipe over the wrench handle...the leverage should help bust it free if you don't break it.

 

[woodlandfarms]

I have a problem with these bolts coming loose, so I ALMOST put loctite red on the threads. You might want to get a torch and heat the bolt up to make sure (if there was a previous owner) that they did not use red.

Then follow Wasabi, or the other long list of ways to get bolts off method...

 

[rekees4300]

Here's a link to a thread I started at the Lawn Mower Forum about a stuck bolt on a lawn mower blade. Your bolt is probably larger but I think the same suggestions would apply.

http://www.lawnmowerforum.com/threads/133-How-to-remove-rusty-blade-bolt

 

[Thomas]

Lube well,than try impact wrench..couple short pull on trigger.

 

[BobRip]

I like PB Blaster spray. I spray it on, wait 30 minutes (or so) and do this 3 or 4 times. Then use the impact wrench. For these bolts it is really needed.

 

[Homebrew]

Thanks for all the tips. I bought a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar and 3 ft of iron pipe. I'll put more PB blaster on there and try this. If this doesn't work, I'll look into getting and impact wrench. I'll report back after I've had a chance to try again.

 

[MossRoad]

Thanks for all the tips. I bought a 1/2 inch drive breaker bar and 3 ft of iron pipe. I'll put more PB blaster on there and try this. If this doesn't work, I'll look into getting and impact wrench. I'll report back after I've had a chance to try again.

An air compressor, impact wrench and impact sockets are "must have" tools for working on a PT. :thumbsup:

 

[BobRip]

An air compressor, impact wrench and impact sockets are "must have" tools for working on a PT. :thumbsup:

When I bought my air compressor about 20 years ago, I figured it was a luxury. But there are many things that you cannot do reasonably without it. Impact wrenches are so cheap once you get the compressor that it's easy to get the impact wrench and other air tools.

 

[MossRoad]

When I bought my air compressor about 20 years ago, I figured it was a luxury. But there are many things that you cannot do reasonably without it. Impact wrenches are so cheap once you get the compressor that it's easy to get the impact wrench and other air tools.

One of my few Harbor Freight tools that does not suck is my impact wrench I bought from them back around 1980. That, and my air chisel from them. :thumbsup:

 

[coolconnection]

Just don't buy the cheap 240 pound torque ones. I feel they have no use in my tool box. They can't even loosen a wheel lug nut very well. Get at least a 400 pound torque one and you should never have any problems loosening a stuck bolt.

 

[toy]

If you haven't gotten the bolt loose yet the suggestions of using a penetrating oil is a good suggestion and let it soak, I have let bolts soak for a day or two squirting the penetrating oil on it periodically. The idea of trying to tighten it, that sometimes will break the rust loose to aid in breaking it loose. Some people use a hammer and hit down on the bolt, that has worked for me in the past. Also with a hammer you can take a flat ended blunt object that will fit flat against one of the flats on the head of the bolt and hit that object with a hammer with it against the side of the bolt, sometimes hitting a bolt that way will help. If you have a 6 point box end open end wrench that fits the head of the bolt you can use that and hit the open end of the wrench with a hammer and that sometimes works, make sure that the wrench stays flat on the bolt. You can also use another boxed end wrench and hook it to the open end of the wrench that is on the bolt and give you some extra leverage, if you choose to try to break it loose by hand. If you use a socket and a rachet wrench you can get a piece of pipe that will slide over the rachet handle to give you a cheater bar. If you use a cheater bar make sure the socket[6point] stays flat on the bolt, pull on the cheater pipe to put just a little tension on the bolt head and then suddenly give a quick jerk on the cheater bar, and most of the time that works. If you do use an impact wrench keep squirting penetrating oil on it occasionally and use the impact wrench, sometimes just because an impact wrench don't immediately loosen the bolt doesn't mean that it won't loosen it sometimes you have to let it hammer at it a while.

 

[Homebrew]

Well, I finally had a chance to try again. A breaker bar with a short length of iron pipe for extra leverage did the trick. I think I'll take the advice given by several of you to invest in a good compressor and an impact wrench in the near future.

Now, for the next round of dumb questions. . I started this because I wanted to try out the brush-cutter-to-finish-mower conversion kit which consists of a large disc with six short blades. It appears that the disc bolts onto the same metal drum (stump jumper ??) that the brush cutter blades attach to. Is this the case, or do I need to remove that piece as well? Also, when taking off the blades the entire assembly rotated freely. I didn't think of it until now, but is this because I had the hydraulic lines connected together (to keep them clean). That is, if I disconnect, will the drum still rotate? Or is there a trick to freeze that assembly for taking out these bolts?

Thanks.

 

[ponytug]

Congratulations!

The hub will rotate freely. That said, I found it easy to quickly break the bolts free by inertia with a quick snap of the socket wrench.

If you get a compressor, bear in mind that a large impact wrench can easily use 8CFM. You can get a smaller HP compressor if your tank is large enough. After burning up a small craftsman hot dog compressor, twice, I took the hint and bought an 80gal 230V Ingersoll Rand. It has been very good to us. If you use IR's synthetic oil, it doubles the original warranty. (i.e. change to synthetic oil ASAP.)

Of course, for PTs the real air consumer is blowing out the oil coolers and the engine. If you don't use compressed air for this, then you can get by with a smaller compressor and a large tank.

All the best,

Peter

Well, I finally had a chance to try again. A breaker bar with a short length of iron pipe for extra leverage did the trick. I think I'll take the advice given by several of you to invest in a good compressor and an impact wrench in the near future.

Now, for the next round of dumb questions. . I started this because I wanted to try out the brush-cutter-to-finish-mower conversion kit which consists of a large disc with six short blades. It appears that the disc bolts onto the same metal drum (stump jumper ??) that the brush cutter blades attach to. Is this the case, or do I need to remove that piece as well? Also, when taking off the blades the entire assembly rotated freely. I didn't think of it until now, but is this because I had the hydraulic lines connected together (to keep them clean). That is, if I disconnect, will the drum still rotate? Or is there a trick to freeze that assembly for taking out these bolts?

Thanks.