How to Loosen Nuts and Bolts

Begin with an oscillating tool to cut a groove across the top of the rounded bolt head. Place a flat, screwdriver tip on the impact wrench. Push down on the impact wrench, and pull the trigger to back out the bolt.

Here are seven of the most common ways to remove a stripped bolt (or rounded, rusted, or seized).

1. Impact Force.
2. Heat.
3. Relief Cuts.
4. Shake the Bolt.
5. Drill It Out.
6. Bolt or Screw Extractor.
7. Reinstall New Bolts or Nuts.

Two coins. Who would think that money can be used as a makeshift tool? Take two large coins (2 pence coins work perfectly for this) and place them on either side of the nut. Grip the coins between the knuckles of your index and middle fingers for extra grip and twist in the direction needed to loosen the nut.

Simple Ways to Unscrew a Stripped Bolt A chisel, a hammer drill and heat, as well as lubricant oil will work most of the time. Heat expands and contracts the bolt, breaking the corrosive seal. Using the hammer drill adds impact as well as torque to remove the bolt.

1. Spray the nut with penetrating oil and let the oil sit for 10 to 15 minutes to penetrate the threads of the bolt.
2. Hold a hammer against one side of the nut, and hit the other side with a second hammer.
3. If the nut is badly rusted, pour hydrogen peroxide on it to dissolve the rust.

Step 1: Use Some Muscle. Try a 6-point wrench or socket on your seized nut/bolt. Start by rocking the bolt by tightening then loosing, this may be all you need to break through the rust. Try and avoid 12-point wrenches and sockets as they likely to slip and strip the bolt head.

Easy outs are not easy to drill. The metal is so hard that a regular or even a cobalt drill bit cannot touch it. An EZ Out and other tools like taps and drill bits we already mentioned have very hard metal compounds. This makes them very brittle and susceptible to breaking easily when too much force is applied.

screw extractors

1. STEP 1: Hammer the center punch in the middle of your broken bolt.
2. STEP 2: Slowly, use a left-handed drill bit to create a pilot hole.
3. STEP 3: Switch to an extraction bit.
4. STEP 4: Reverse-drill slowly to remove a broken bolt.
5. STEP 5: Remove any metal shavings left behind by the broken bolt using a magnet.

Any bolt is hard to extract but a hardened steel bolt can’t be drilled through. In order to drill it you have to change the temperature to a more mild steel. If you take a torch heated up cherry red and let it cool down naturally then you’ll be able to drill it.

Replace nuts with:

• Seeds – a nut-free source of roasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or sunflower seeds makes a great replacement for nuts in granola bars, breads, and “butters”.
• Beans – specifically roasted soy beans, peas or chickpeas (garbanzo beans).
• Pretzels – Yes, pretzels.

Although pliers can be used to tighten and loosen nuts, this is a task better suited to the wrench. Pliers tend to damage the surfaces of fasteners and are usually more difficult to use than a properly-sized wrench.

If you need pliers to grip onto something large, you can try a pair of stainless-steel kitchen tongs, although you may struggle with torque. If you think you can manage it with your hands but need a better grip, try using a silicone kitchen mitt or one of those jar-opening pads.

Removing a Phillips head screw

• Flathead screwdriver. If the only screwdriver you own is flat-headed, you can use this to remove Phillips head screws.
• Coin.
• Butter knife.
• Hacksaw.
• Toothbrush.
• Old CD.
• Pliers.
• Thumbnail.

How to use a rock safely

1. Flat rock – Rocks with a completely flat edge are more suited to hammering nails into wood, putting furniture together, and driving a chisel.
2. Long flat rock – This type of rock is perfect if you can’t quite reach the thing you need to hammer.

When removing an oil filter, what you need more than anything is the appropriate wrench. There are many sizes, and perhaps the most common answer is the cap wrench, which fits on the end of the filter.

1. Editor’s Pick: TEKTON Oil Filter Pliers.
2. Neiko Two-Way Adjustable Oil Filter Wrench.
3. Craftsman 2-Piece Rubber Strap Wrench Set.
4. Innovant Adjustable 3-Jaw Oil Filter Wrench.
5. Motivx Tools Adjustable Oil Filter Wrench.
6. GEARWRENCH Heavy Duty Oil Filter Wrench.
7. Channellock 9″ Oil Filter & PVC Pliers.

Yes, you can absolutely change your oil filter without emptying the oil. If any oil comes out, it is only what is trapped beyond your anti-drainback gasket inside the filter. When changing the filter, you may end up losing anywhere from half a quart to a whole quart depending on your car.

Can I Change My Engine Oil Without Changing The Filter? Yes, you can change your oil without changing your oil filter just know that old oil filter won’t be able to effectively remove contaminants from your engine oil.

The general rule for changing out an oil filter is after you hand tighten it, take the oil wrench and give it a quarter turn to tighten it. This way, you can ensure it’s not over tightened. If the O-ring is broken, this can cause the filter not to have a proper seal; and cause oil to eventually leak.

You’ll need to spray penetrating oil on the oil plug and leave it to sit for several hours. Then you can take a small hammer and tap counterclockwise to ensure that you are loosening the plug.

It should be snug, NOT SUPER TIGHT! Occasionally I used to go to an oil change place (a chain) and would ask them to not over tighten the drain plug. The greeter said, OK. I don’t always go to the same one but I would make this request anywhere I went.

Just pull the drain plug. It should spin freely after a rug on a wrench, hold the thing so you can spin it out while still keeping the hole plugged. Just don’t do it while the engine is warm.

Place the oil pan underneath the oil plug. Using the 3/8-inch drive socket wrench, loosen the oil plug until oil begins to trickle out. Keep loosening it however much you feel you need to to drain your excess oil. However, be careful not to loosen it too much, as this can cause a rush of oil to pour out.