This just occured to me recently while trying to remove stubborn 67 year old slot head screws. First try to tighten the screw.This will usually break the rusts hold and "******-up" the screw head. The other sides of the screw slot,which bears the load when loosening,will still be in good shape and will usually work now for the loosening task. This may be something widely done already but I never heard of it and I'm a "geezer"!
An impact driver is invaluable when loosening old screws. You are right about tightening them first to break them loose, and dead on about why, better shoulder on the screw. A good does of penetrating oil and an impact driver useuallu does the trick.
I'm a geezer too--What happens is you really know this trick, you just forgot it. That's why we can watch old star trek's like they are new releases. (tapping with a hammer on the end of the screw driver helps too--like a mini impact wrench)
Nice Tech - sometimes it'sthose "little" things that help us the most! I'm only 40 and I forget **** all the time! Only upside is when I "find" speed parts in the garage I forgot I had. It's like treasure hunting all over again.
If you'll spray em' the day before or an hour or two before you try to turn them works pretty good.Tap with a hammer before trying.Lot of diffirence in penatrateing oil I like Thrust or BreakAway a lot of the stuff they sell is pretty much worthless.
Also you can try some Gibb's Brand. It's amazing stuff and like others it worked best if you can put it on before hand and let it "work". go to Roadsters.com and learn about it and buy it. I've got no interest (financial gain) in this, just a very satisfied customer. Frank
All excellent tips. I used most of these while disasembling my model A. One other thing I did do on at least one screw, The head was so boogered up I could not get a good hold on it. I took an old junk screwdriver and welded it to the screw head just good enough so I could get it moving. It worked great.
Now for the really nasty ones I built a adapter to my el cheapo air hammer that accepts different style screw driver impact tips. I welded an old screw driver to the adapter at 90 degrees to act as a tee handle. Warm up the screw for 5 seconds with the air hammer, turn the tee handle and you got er done. Those 55 year old door hinge screws didn't stand a chance.
You got that right! Known as a screw knocker or "woodpecker" in the "gravy ation"(TM) business. I have one at the house and one at work!
This is what I do for the slotted headed screws, I will spray with Kroil for a day or 2 before I try and loosen it, then I use my Dremel tool with a Cutting wheel and I make the SLOT a little deeper and wider, then I use the biggest Screwdriver I can get into the slot and first tighten and then Loosen it. This works 75% of the time ! Rob
I try to do as above but I use a screwdriver with handle that has straight sides and use a cresent wrench for extra leverage. Works pretty good. Here's another tip I learned as a machinist. If you have a bolt that needs an allen wrench but the allen wrench just wont turn it cause the hole is mis shapen get a flat punch hit it a few times and it now will fit.
i have alot of screws in my old pickup that are stuck, i have sprayed everything on them, heated them, welded on them, they just twist off, even with a driver i can twist them off, there only #6 screws with a large slot head, anyone know if you can buy #8 screws with the same size head, my truck is a 45 gmc but i'm sure all chevy trucks around that year must be the same.
The other day I was at a yard sale and bought a Craftsman nut splitter for a buck. It looks brand new and works fine. Using it probably applies more to nut/bolt stuff than slotted screws, but thought I'd throw it in with the rest of "gettin those rusty parts apart" stuff here.
Spraying the fastener, then rapping it with a hammer or mallet seems to help. I was told the vibration this causes can let some of the penetrating fluid work in between the threads and help break it loose.
...heat up the screw with a small welding tip on your torch til it just about gets orange; works for me 99 % of the time.
Also handy when heating up or welding to them is good old candle wax. Melt the wax down into thread when screw head justs stops glowing red. Let cool and presto. Wax acts as lube, cleans away rust, and cleans threads on the way out. Learned this from an old tractor mechanic.
what happens to my screws is they turn out a couple of turns then the really rusty threads cause the screw to bind up, no way to get behind them or i'd cut them off, and i only have like 50 to take out.
Here's a link to the only thing you'll need to do to solve all of your troubles with this: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6015 I was skeptical before I tried it. I tried all of the "normal" above tricks when I dis***embled my tudor sedan. If it wasn't for this thread, I'd still be trying to finish. I got EVERY screw out of the entire body I needed to(about 50)in no time, easily, zero problems. Try it, I know it will work Dan
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