Another car question

[daveleau]

Hi everybody!

Well, the Community is 2 for 2 in helping me with car stuff, so I'll go for a third.

When I bought the Jeep, the left part of the rear bumper was bent up a little and it caused the left rear light assembly to be misaligned. I had planned to get this repaired sometime, but the timetable was moved up once I realized that as the bumper is, I can not change the light bulbs in that side- and hence, I can not pass the needed inspection for my state.

So, I went to a junkyard (a U-pull it place) and got another bumper and a few other cool parts to replace on my Jeep. All has gone well, except that I can not get my own bumper off of my truck. The problem is that I have a trailer hitch on the truck and it is in the way of me getting to the 8 bolts that hold the bumper on. I have broken 3 socket wrenches trying to get the bolts off and I have not even loosened one of the 6 bolts holding the DrawTite hitch supports bolted to the bottom of the truck.

What would you do to remove this hitch? The socket wrenches I've used are 3/8" drive 19mm sockets. When I say I broke 3 sockets, I mean that the little square part with the ball was twisted off of the wrench on 3 different tools. Incredible! I got a 24" lead pipe to use for leverage on the wrench. I sprayed some Liquid Wrench on it, but the bolts are upside down on the truck (underneath) and there is nowhere else where I can spray this stuff to help loosen them.

Any ideas would be very much appreciated.

Thanks
Dave

[fritz the cat]

Half inch drive stuff is the way to go for heavy work like that. Go with craftsman (Sears) or NAPA (the car parts people), they have a lifetime garentee against breakage. As far as getting those hitch bolts off, drive to a local garage and get them to break them free with their air impact wrench. Then you can finish removing them when you get home.

[daveleau]

Interesting. I never thought of going to a shop just to get them to loosen them. Thanks.

[Gomer]

Regarding stuck bolts and lack of an impact....

PB B'Laster is a tried and true penetrating oil. Heat bolt, spray, soak repeat. Don't set things on fire.

Can't be beat. Comes in a white and yellow can at most auto parts stores.

[daveleau]

Would that work on a bolt that is hung upside down on a truck? It seems like it would defy physics to travel up. Stranger things have happened though. Is that what the heat does? I didn't see that at the store behind my house, but I'll look for it when I go to another store.

[Chuckiechan]

Sears is cool, I brought a 1/2 drive socket wrench in that I broke the handle off of, and they replaced it! Free! I didn't even have to lie about it!

Moral: Don't get too long of a cheater bar!

[fritz the cat]

Originally posted by Gomer


PB B'Laster is a tried and true penetrating oil. Heat bolt, spray, soak repeat. Don't set things on fire.

Works pretty darn good without the heat, too.


btw, works upside down because of capillary action.

[daveleau]

Interesting! Thanks.

Is 24in too long of a cheater bar?

[fritz the cat]

Originally posted by daveleau


Is 24in too long of a cheater bar?

24 inch is fine. 6 feet is too long, unless your using 3/4 inch drive or 1 inch drive. Personally, I use a 3 foot long piece of pipe as my cheater. Altho I did once use a 5 footer.

[Gomer]

All depends on the quality of what you are attaching to it for the most part. Key thing is that you don't twist the head off the top of the bolt.

Capillary draws it in without heat... I've just found that the combination of heat and a good oil is the way to go. Heat imparts both a subtle chemical change of the metal as well as a physical expansion and contraction effect.