A tricky, rusted, stripped nut, please help

Hello, I'm in the process of replacing the exhaust system on my 2.7l 2002 tacoma prerunner, and oh baby, am I getting some trouble.

These are but two of the bolts and as you can see, the one on the right is rounded, but as a novice tacoma maintainer(?) I have no idea how to hit it, its ruste on there and is being a real hassle to even get my breaker bar on it, there are a couple lines in the way, and i can only assume you are supposed to break it loose from beneath the truck. but just wait ther is more, it seems toyota is a company of culture for they have two in the front and one in the back. Please, any pointers help alot

 

What I’ve done on those in the past is get a slightly smaller socket and pound it on with a hammer, then heat the nut as hot as you can with a torch and back it out.

 

If you’re replacing and no intent of reusing you can probably just cut the exhaust out with a sawzall.

 

Hi Gabriel! Welcome to TW!

That bolt (Or nut on a mounting stud) doesn't look horrible so getting it off should definitely be possible. Are you using 12 or 6 point sockets? Sometimes the tiny teeth of 12pt sockets slip and strip whereas a 6pt socket can be less likely to move. Here are pictures of the 2 types... Hope this helps,
Charlie

 

I've had very good luck with

$24 Biitfuu 10Pcs 9-19mm Screw and Nut Remover Socket Wrenches Damaged Bolt Nut Screw Remover Extractor Set Threading Tools Kit

this style of extractor. I would apply some heat to it, soak it with penetrating oil, re-heat and remove using an extractor. I don't like the 'hammer a socket on' method, especially on small fasteners as that can actually compress the nut making it harder to remove. Heat is your best friend here. If you don't have one already, this is the perfect excuse to go out and buy a little oxy-acetylene 'b' bottle set.

 

am i the only 1 seeing the crack................

no less is that what He's attempting to remedy ??

 

+1. My only recommendation is to go easy on the heat. Start with 10 seconds, try to back it off, if it doesn’t move, go 5 more seconds and repeat. Looks like you’ve got some lines near those bolts that are not protected.

First time I did this I listened to someone who said heat the bolt for a minute. 30 seconds in my nearby brake line sleeve was melting. The bolt came off like butter. No reason for that much heat.

 

Thank you for the reply, I was using 12 points but bit the bullet and bought a new set of metric 6 points. I have been treting it with a penetrating oil i found and used a small propane tourch to heat it up, the hardest part for me is finding a way to get a direct shot to the nut.

 

there were a couple problems with the cat and the upstream oxygen sensor, everything was rusted together so i decided to replace the entire exhaust system.

like this

 

thank you for the post man, that looks like a solid purchase for a decent price, I can only assume there will be more bad bolts in the future!

 

your a man after my own heart, I cut out most of the exhaust, save for the up stream cat, would you have any recomendations of how to do it?

 

Hard to say without seeing it in person

 

Don't be afraid to go righty-tighty a small bit to break it free, then lefty-lucy.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/the-impossible-nut.666660/

 

Your best friends will be a torch, griptite socket and a dremel.

 

Each time I have messed with mine it’s from beneath with a 14mm 6 point deep with a 2’ extension. It’s a straight shot from beneath. Sometimes you gotta make an EHHHHHHHH, EHHHHH, EHHHAHHHHH noise too

 

you were so right, I was groaning the entire time, and by god did it bring a hole new meaning to busting a nut.

Now here is the fun part, what are they, and what do I replace them with? I know the O2 sensors are held down by m8x1.25 are these the same?

 

Im looking for what size of nut would bolt the upper cat (not represented in the photo) to the manifold, and what would you guys recomend to attach the different aspects of the exhaust (as seen on the right).