My thruster bracket bolt took 4 hours to remove...

Went to swap out a faulty thruster on a job down in Port Fourchon last month. Figured it'd be a quick 30 minute swap but the bolt on the bracket was totally seized from salt creep. Ended up having to use a porta-power and a torch to get it loose, which is not fun when you're already wet and cold. Anyone ever had a simple repair turn into a half day ordeal like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

coleman.jade1mo ago

Porta-power is the WRONG tool for that kind of seized marine fastener. You want an impact wrench with a serious hammer mechanism and some penetrating oil like Kroil, not heat from a torch that can mess up the bracket. A torch makes the metal expand, which just locks the bolt in tighter until it cools down. Four hours is brutal though, I feel your pain. Nothing like planning a quick job and ending up soaked and cussing at a bracket.

charlesj461mo ago

Ain't that the truth? Had a fuel line fitting turn a 30 minute job into a full afternoon once.