T-Stat bolt seized... help?

[cjwalkeriii]

Well basically the title says it all. My jeep is overheating badly, and only blowing warm under load. My conc, tstat. So I bought one from mopar, went to put it on and the upper bolt is litterally seized in place. I tried a over-under combination on it but don't want it to snap inside of the head. Anyone have any suggestions? yMaybe try to heat the bolt at the head? Will this damage the housing. Kinda ina tight spot here, any ideas?
tia
jamie

 

[CharlesS]

Have you tried applying a GOOD penetrating oil to the bolt and letting it soak in ? Such as KROIL, PB Blaster or Mouse Milk.....
After applying the penetrating oil place a box wrench on the bolt head and as you apply a little pressure CCW try lightly tapping on the bolt head.... IF that doesnt work.... then take a torch and lightly apply some heat while trying to turn it...
Hope these suggestions help !!!!

Charles

 

[montanaman]

A cheap (hammer operated) impact wrench works wonders without stripping the bolt. Here's a pic of what I'm talking about:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37530

The above link shows the tool with screwdriver bits, but you can put sockets on it too.

Basically, it converts the force of the hammer to a twisting force.

 

[cjwalkeriii]

I aprreciate the input. The one thing I have to make sure of is not to break the head off... Broken head... Big Headache. GOnna go spray it down and tap on it with a hammer.

 

[gjxj]

well if it breaks you hope its just the head so you'll have something to put a vice grip on after you get the housing out of the way. Man thats in a bad spot for any kind of impact wrench. Assuming its drivable I'd give it a few days of penetrating oil soak and working it easy.

 

[XJ_ranger]

try tightening it a little

sometimes that will break whatever is holding the bolt, then loosening is easier...

 

[wilcharl]

i gotta put my warning hat on here


the 1st and last time i let a professional mechanic touch my jeep (1996) they somehow messed that bolt up. The head wall is very thin there they cracked it and it now has had jbweld (knock on wood) since 96 to seal it up.. be very careful... its thin there in that area

 

[warwagon98xj]

throw a LITTLE anti seize on it when putting it back together.

 

[geonicol]

If you apply heat: apply it to the thread portion of the head, heating the bolt head will do no good.

 

[cjwalkeriii]

For some reason I thought the heat would penetrate through the bolt to the head... who knows... I sprayed it down with pb, tapped on it lightly from several angles and tried tightening a bit. I put a scratch on the bolt head and T-housing to see if it budges. Nothing yet so I guess I will get up early and try again. "Luckily" I work at pep boys so I have everything I need there, but she get's up to 250 for a second on start up. Wish me luck.

 

[cjwalkeriii]

Woo Hoo! I got it! All it took was some PB Blaster, scrap away the old gasket to penetrate the back of the bolt, a lot of patience and a air hammer! lol. Hammered the bolt while I worked it.. Fun Times. New thermostat fixed the problem, but I def need a flush. Thanks guys

 

[5-90]

I do not reuse the OEM bolts to the thermostat housing when I take them out - generally, stainless or brass goes in. I will put some never-seez, or some RTV, or some Teflon pipe dope, on the threads of the bolt before I put it in, and that usually handles things.

To keep seepage from forming rust, just put a thin coat of whatever everywhere but on the bolt head - and use stainless, brass, or bronze (stainless can be had pretty much anywhere, brass and bronze at boating shops.)

5-90