how to use a propane torch?

[coolguy147]

well i'm going to be taking off some bolts on my exhaust manifold but i surely do not want to break any bolts....

i have a blue propane torch in the garage. soo just turn gas on a little then light? adjust flame?

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

If these bolts are rusty you will need much more heat .If you have never used an acetylene torch Im afraid this is not something you should not try.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

i don't believe it's rust that i'll be facing but corrosion. the white salty stuff right?

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Hmmm,

At my age(over 50), I was always under the belief that rust WAS corrosion...now I am confused....


My dad works in a machine shop, it seems to me, rust is red on steel and the derivatives and rust is white on aluminum and their derivatives...



Rust, by any color is the wearing away of metal because of a chemical reaction of oxygen no matter what metal you are dealing with..the base metal determines what color the oxidation is!

I didn't serve in the Navy, but in my 26 year military career, I spent a heck of a lot of time on ships..and they all has "Rust" and it always varied based on the metal involved, copper=green, steel=red, aluminum=white...

 

[rbh]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

The thing with exhaust bolts is they are a pain in the butt anyway you look at it.
From me to you, get a good 6 point socket, 1/2 inch drive, and a breaker bar and apply a constant heavy preasure on them, don't jerk.
They will break free.
(heat will not go were it should in tight areas, you will end up melting something you didn't want to)


Good Luck

PS, if they break, you jerked


rob

 

[sturdavj]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

If it is possible you may want to consider warming up your motor, followed by spraying a penetrate oil on the bolts, let the motor cool down, come back in a couple of hours warm the motor up again and attempt to remove bolts.

Propane/ butane torch does not generate enough BTUs (heat) to do the job properly. If you are not familiar with an OXY/acetylene torch, a gasoline engine with rubber gaskets & electrical wiring is not the place for a crash course.

Good luck

 

[drewmitch44]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

i agree dont even try it!

 

[korygrandy]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Get the biggest breaking bar you can with a nice socket. Just took mine off a couple days ago and yes a slow and steady motion without jerking back and forth will get them loose. Might wanna jack up the truck as high as possible so you can get a nice turn with the breaking bar.

 

[coolguy147]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

ill break the bolt solid if i put to much force


lol i shouldve said what motor i was doing this on.... an 1961 mercury OUTBOARD

all wires will be away.

yeah you're right on the corrosion....sorry

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

First of all,

I would wire brush the bolts that you want to remove, then you can really see what kind of damage has been done over the years, I suspect, it probably is not quite as bad as you might think, then do as others have said, a slow steady motion with a six point socket and a breaker bar, this should get you on the road to getting these bolts out, but don't horse it, don't jerk it, just patience and slow and steady is the way to go.

Now of course if you do break a bolt, don't panic, you can still drill it out and try an easy out bit, I have had to do this a few times over the years, when I was building car engines, then chase the thread with a tap, worse comes to worse, you can also use a drill to drill it out, then insert new thread with a heli-coil kit.

I can tell you, heat from a propane torch will be very little help at all on this one.

 

[Scrawny]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Use some lube first and let it settle in good. It will make it so much easyer if you spray some on and let it sit over night. Maybe even two days if you keep applying it.

 

[rbh]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Use some lube first and let it settle in good. It will make it so much easyer if you spray some on and let it sit over night. Maybe even two days if you keep applying it.

The problem with an exhaust bolt is that it is heated and cooled every time you fire up the vehicle/motor.
You would be better off to run the motor up to temp, then try and remove the bolt, as then everything has expanded.

 

[jeeperman]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

The problem with an exhaust bolt is that it is heated and cooled every time you fire up the vehicle/motor.
You would be better off to run the motor up to temp, then try and remove the bolt, as then everything has expanded.

I use the belief that the threaded hole in the block will get smaller as the material expands. And the bolt or stud will get larger as it expands. Making everything tighter.
Maybe wrong, but thats is what I go by.

The only thing the propane torch is good for here is to heat up the bolt prior to soaking it with PB Blaster as soon as it cools enough not to evaporate it off.

As said, use a six point quailty socket. Not a cheap thin wall flea market socket.

 

[sturdavj]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Jeepers,

Heating metal correctly is an art, I have wroked (about.. 35 yrs ago) with some old shipfitters that could do AMAZING things with a tourch

The reason heat works (sometimes?) in this case is because you have dissimilar metals which equates to different expansion / cooling rates = possible loosen bolts.

The reason heat works (sometimes?) with similar metals is because they have different mass which equates to different expansion / cooling rates = possible loosen bolts.

The heat method is contingent on the amount of corrosion you attempting to overcome..

 

[coolguy147]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

welll it was made in 1961

 

[sturdavj]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Uh Huh, you break off a stud in your head and your going to wish it was never made...

It's a tuff problem, but it can be overcome

Good luck,

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Uh Huh, you break off a stud in your head and your going to wish it was never made...

It's a tuff problem, but it can be overcome

Good luck,

Actually,

It is not that bad of a problem, that is if you know what you are doing, it does take some skill and some thought to fix it, but as I said, when I was building engines, we used to have it happen quite often and we never had a failure on any of them..

 

[coolguy147]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Uh Huh, you break off a stud in your head and your going to wish it was never made...

It's a tuff problem, but it can be overcome

Good luck,

i broke 5 bolts and striped one screw while replacing the motor mounts due to corrosion....trust me i was soooo bored drilling and getting no where.

i just have a problem drilling on center.....

 

[dolluper]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

Center punch helps....and a good eye or glasses

 

[Brewman61]

Re: how to use a propane torch?

well i'm going to be taking off some bolts on my exhaust manifold but i surely do not want to break any bolts....

i have a blue propane torch in the garage. soo just turn gas on a little then light? adjust flame?

Since you asked, yes for a simple propane torch you open the valve till you hear the gas hissing out, then snap your striker or lighter, etc... Then adjust the flame up or down by simply opening or closing the valve.

Not that you're going to use this on your bolts, right?