Had to pick between a 3/4 inch impact and a 5 foot cheater bar on a frozen kingpin nut in a Minnesota winter.

I went with the cheater bar, which worked until the nut finally broke free and I fell face-first into a snowbank, so what's your go-to method for seized hardware when the air tools just laugh at you?

3 comments

3 Comments

shane_bell9d ago

Been there, that snowbank faceplant is a rite of passage lol.

fiona_kim979d ago

Heating it cherry red sounds like a good way to start a fire in your garage. In my experience, a good penetrating oil and some patience works just as well without the safety hazards.

jake_patel9d ago

Heat the nut with a torch until it's cherry red, let it cool for a minute, then hit it with the impact. The thermal shock usually breaks the rust's grip without wrecking the threads. Saved my butt on a plow truck last year.