Removing Battery Box with Stuck Bolts

F4RM@11 · Jul 21, 2012

I'm taking the battery box off my '53 Super M, but the two bolts at the front of the box that secure it to the transmission cover were covered with years of packed-in dirt and other stuff. Digging out the recesses that the bolts sit in took some persuasion; however, the bolts themselves have suffered from rust and likely corrosion.

One head is wholly intact, but the corners slightly rounded and the other malformed from deterioration. Both have been sitting in PB for a week now, but the the bolt with the intact head still won't budge, and i don't want to force too much.

What's the best course of action for removing them at this point? I'll post a photo once I get back to the shop.

mike1972chev · Jul 21, 2012

You might try welding a new nut on top of the old,rounded off bolt head.This will do 2 thins:It will give you a NEW surface to use a 6 point socket on,and the heat generated by the welding will help "shock" the threads loose.Let the bolt cool down after welding.(The bolt will expand with the heat,then contract with cooling.)While still slighty warm,shoot more PB blaster around the thred area.Take it EASY with the socket and breaker bar!!

mkirsch · Jul 21, 2012

BTDT twice.

Get two NEW 1" hex nuts and pound them on over top of the rounded-off bolt heads.

Get out the old stick welder and some 6011 rod. At about 140 Amps, fill the nut with weld.

Let the nut cool off. The bolts should turn right out.

GordoSD · Jul 21, 2012

Room for the 3/4 impact?

sflem849 · Jul 21, 2012

(quoted from post at 17:20:09 07/21/12) Room for the 3/4 impact?

There will be when you Sawsall the old battery box off. :twisted:

mkirsch · Jul 21, 2012

Definitely torch/sawzall the old box off to expose the bolts. Makes welding the nuts MUCH easier.

Tried the impact on the first one I did. Waste. Of. Time.

F4RM@11 · Jul 21, 2012

Well, I was hoping to keep the $100+ for a new box in my pocket, so I'd rather not destroy the old one just yet. The box doesn't need to come off yet, so I may leave it on until I'm ready for paint prep.

Welding a nut to the top of the bolt sounds like the best course, so I'll try that in an attempt to salvage the box.

Thanks for the tips.

mattofvinings · Jul 22, 2012

If you have oxyacetylene I would get the offending parts red hot and back out the bolts with a vise grip. Welding on a nut isn't a bad idea either but you will be limited by the strength of the threaded part of the bolt too.

What I am getting at is, if you did put on a new hex and broke the bolt, you are back to the top except with an ez out which is not as strong as the original bolt...and for such work I strongly prefer the 4-cornered ez out over the ones with the reverse fast-thread.

Just my 2 cents from fighting rusted fasteners for the last 24 years or so

sflem849 · Jul 22, 2012

I figured your battery box was junk and that is why you were taking the bolts out.

Brownie 450 · Jul 22, 2012

If you can't get the welded on nut to hold for lack of stud length, weld on a thick flat washer, then weld the nut to the flat washer. May have to go a couple of times, but the heat will eventually break the rust.

Removing Battery Box with Stuck Bolts

F4RM@11

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mike1972chev

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mkirsch

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GordoSD

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sflem849

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mkirsch

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F4RM@11

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mattofvinings

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sflem849

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Brownie 450

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