Spent 5 hours fighting a stuck thruster bolt that should have taken 15 minutes

I was doing a routine inspection on a sewer outfall pipe off Port Angeles and one of my thruster guard bolts was seized solid. Took me 3 cans of PB Blaster, a cheater bar, and finally an impact gun on full blast to get it loose. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a whole day thing?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_jones215d ago

Read somewhere that marine bolts are just hateful.

west.alice14d ago

Grabbed my impact wrench after the first two cans of PB Blaster didn't do squat, then I let it sit overnight with the nut wrapped in a rag soaked in Kroil. Next morning I tapped the bolt head with a hammer a few times to break the corrosion seal, then hit it with the impact on the highest setting while pushing down hard on the wrench. Came right off after that. Also learned to keep a small propane torch handy for next time, just in case.