Thread locker question

Hi guys,
I need to loosen the nuts on the UCA bolts on my Taco to grease the bushings and red thread locker was used on them. The manufacturer says to use 550f to loosen them but I don't see how to do that without risking damaging things like the bushings. Any suggestions?
Thanks.

 

Two thoughts - 1) go ahead and try to break them loose manually; and then 2) use heat, applied as close as possible to the site of the loctite with wet rags over the bushings.

Don't use red again...

 

I thought about something like wet rags but even then I don't see how I would avoid heat transfer to the bushings. Here is a pic that shows the situation:


As you can see a metal washer is all that sits between the bushing and the bolt. Heat would transfer through.

Surely someone else has been in this situation given all of the folks running after market UCAs?

 

Don't use a torch, use a heat gun. You really don't need to get it that hot to soften the locker.

 

Is it possible to break red thread locker with just elbow grease? Anyone have any recommendations on a heat gun for the job?

 

Don't use red, it generally is more trouble than it's worth.

 

I am pretty sure that is what was applied. So the question is what to do now.

 

Yes, it is possible to break the bond with elbow grease.

Sometimes you get lucky and the bolt/nut threads weren't perfectly clean and the red stuff didn't work quite as well as it should have.

 

Got access to a 1/2" cordless impact? When I swapped front coilovers I remember the 2 bolts you remove to allow the LCA to swing down from the hub had red thread locker on them. I think I got 1 or 2 loose with a breaker bar and the rest with the impact.

I've also heard that any heat helps, even if you only get the bolt to 200°F it will still reduce the holding power of the loctite. If you go torch I'd use map gas.

 

I'm sure I'm missing something but why can't you use the zerk to grease them? I have an adjustable Wagner heatg that works well. Can get em at the Depot too.

 

The trouble with the cordless impact is that there is no room to maneuver it. But you are giving me some hope that elbow grease might do the trick.

 

I am going to use the zerk but you have to loosen the LCA bolts so that grease can express out. Otherwise it could mess up the bushings.

 

Got it. Figured something like that was the case.

 

I should add, part of the reason I am asking ahead of just using elbow grease is that I don't want to damage the bolt head or nut like strip it out. I recall that many trips around the sun ago a friend did that on his jeep. It was a NIGHTMARE. We ended up having to cut out the bolt and damaged and had to replace another component doing it. There was just no way to avoid it.

 

Yeah good point no way you're fitting an impact in there lol.

 

Give it a try with an impact then just cut the bolt. No harm in cutting and replacing. There are also devices that will try to cut or crack the nut...not sure if that would work or if you have the room.

 

How do I cut the nut without damaging the upper control arm bolt? Then I end up having simply to reinstall the UCA (because I have to put a new bolt in), which I'd like to avoid.

 

If you are seriously worried about damage to the bolt (a real consideration), then maybe think about using a nut splitter. It will let you remove the nut, leave the bolt untouched, and the cost of new nut is a mere pittance compared to your anguish.

 

https://www.craftsman.com/products/universal-nut-cracker

 

So, I just watched a video of one of these. Holy crap that is a lot of force that needs to be applied. Not clear to me why the pressure doesn't damage the bolt threads too. But I need to research this more.