Hello again, I have been trying to do some work on my 1992 F150 4 w/d that I am able to do and trying to leave the major stuff for my local mechanic. I would love to be able to do it all but just don't have all the specialty tools or the knowledge. Any way I decided to change my own alternator. I 've done them before with success so figured this shouldn't be too hard.
The long bolt was the only problem with the whole job. I couldn't break it loose with heat, industrial lube, breaker bar nothing worked. So, before I broke the bolt off ( I already rounded the head a bit) and faced the whole dill and tap -e-z out drama I admitted defeat and brought it up to my mechanic. He's charging me $100.00 for labor which is not bad I guess but at least I tried. i was getting a little apprehensive about turning it into a fiasco. I forgot about asking first on this forum if anybody had ever come across this problem and how they have remedied it. I was leaning towards die grinder (cutting disc) cutting the bolt in between bracket and alt. E-Z out/drill out remaining bolt and replace with longer bolt/washer/nut. Any input greatly appreciated, thanks Bill.

 

I like to let it sit for a few hours with PB bolt lube and then try, I take a large breaker bar and secure the bolt I am trying to remove and rock the breaker bar back and forth from tight to loose. Keeping the bolt wet while rocking it back and forth and after 10-20 minutes or so it begins to start breaking out of the locked threads.

It works for me, sometimes a little heat applied in cycles while rocking the bolt back and forth works well, heat > rock > heat > rock.

 

yeah i definitely would have soaked it in PB for a while and tried it again before taking it to a shop.

 

Take your time when undoing 20 year old bolts. Soak it with penetrant oil -- wd40..pb blaster... whatever light oil you have laying around, then use a 6 point socket..not a 12 point..




Take a looooong pipe at the end of your breaker bar (dont use a ratchet to break loose a fastener) keep one hand on the end of the pipe and the other on the socket ensuring it stays seated on the bolt head/nut and crack it loose.


When I did my brakes last week I had to put a tire cross on the lig nut... then a 3" pipe that was about 3 feet long and stand on the end of it and hind of hop up and down until it broke loose...

the idea is to be careful and make positive movements. Someone posted about tightening a little then loosening.. this works too.

When I first started mechanics if up bolts all the time... stripping them when getting them off and stripping them putting them back on overtightened.. typical n00b stuff... after a while you get a feel for how stuff comes on and off and when you're overdoing it or approaching things from the wrong angle.


If you round off the head of your bolt/nut ... just grind it flat ..like a square so you can get locking pliers on there.. then stick a pipe on those.

If you have a welder you can weld on a new bolt head on top of the stripped one and use that to loosen....

And to avoid all of this in the future use antiseze on threads and a torque wrench... if you dont have one just make sure not to over tighten...id rather under tighten than overtighten

 

I usually just snap that sumbitch off then swear for a while.

 

thankyou all for the replies. i have seen PB blaster in the auto parts store but I didnt know that it was good. I should have let the stuff soak it for a while that might have helped. Live and learn , I'm gonna get a can of that PB and start blasting bolts that have to come off in the near future-shocks-brakes-springs.
I got the 92 flareside for $1000 so I'm not that upset about having to bring it in for repairs that I can't do. Mechanically the 5.0 is fine and the drivetrain is ok, the body is in excellent condition. i got it so cheap because of undercarriage rust issues that caused rear shackle perched to fall apart, tires are worn and needs exhaust (truck was driven upstate NY) A lot of salt -sand -snow, then just sat for a few months. I'll try to post some pics. I had been looking for an older Ford step/flareside for a while and then this one popped up on Craig's List and the guy originally wanted $2500 then reposted for $1700. I guess after a couple or few people got scared off by the rust issues (etc) he finally took my offer of a grand.
Despite the repairs that it needs I knew this truck had potential and I had to have it, Oh yeah,it's a super cab too! i originally was just looking for a 4WD beater to tow my boat. After seeing and getting this truck I'd rather fix it up and make it nice. I'll try to post pics, thanks you for all the help and encouragement!

 

Isn't that the way our fathers taught us?

 

PB Blaster is excellent at loosening old, rusty nuts and bolts. I have pre-sprayed as much as a day before I was going to do the work. Nice looking truck, btw.