A thread like this may be beneficial to the less experienced (like me).....even a keeper to print out for reference. Rusted nuts and bolts are an everyday occurence with us...anyone with a technique or idea not commonly known could share with the rest of us. A mechanic I know always tightens before loosening rusted bolts....stuff like this is what I'm referring to. Feel free to chime in with your own personal tricks.....also preferences as to any commercially available devices (Bolt-out) that have worked for you in the past. Many of us would really appreciate it. Thanks.

JR

There are not a lot of different things.  Slightly tightening and loosening a bolt will sometimes help.  A liberial douse of penatrating fluid and plenty of soak time is also good.  Tap on the component once in a while while soaking, and it helps work in a bit faster.

Then there is the everlasting cure all.  Heat.  Even a propane torch will help.  A regular torch is better.  But not everyone has this.

Rapid cooling after heating will sometimes help as well.

Once it's broken, there are the options of repeating the above, if you can get a grip on it with something.   Touching a welding rod and welding onto a broken bolt will help pull it out, between having a grip, and the resulting heat, it will often come out.

Other than that it's the drill and tap.  You may be able to drill and use and easy out, but a rusted bolt will usually not come out with an easy out.

IF the drilling goes poorly, you can drill to a larger size, tap to the larger size, and install a helicoil thread insert, creating the original size thread.  A solid thread insert also works well, and perhaps better.  But it takes a larger hole and bigger tap.

All of Ken's suggestions are good. There are some fasteners that you are just NOT gonna get out without breaking them, no matter what you do.
Tapping with a hammer is a good way to break loose a bolt.

Always pre-soak rusted fasteners for a while before trying to remove/loosen them. Twisting a rusty fastener back & forth sometimes also twists them in half, due to the rust. Judgment calls come into play with those.

Air hammers are good for giving a good jolt to stubborn bolts, if you have one, and have room to use it.

Ease-outs are great for removing bolts that have broken off in something. Problem is, if you break the ease-out off in the hole, a paddle won't get you up the creek. Care must be taken when using an ease-out on a really tight/cross-theaded bolt.

The heat-wrench is you friend!!!

WD40 is OK, but I've been using Zep-45 for years now, and I think it's the best there is.

I've lived in Texas all my life, and rust is not really a big issue on our cars here. I do get a lot of cars at the shop that come from up north, and it's easy to identify them, just by looking underneath. I've seen new cars with less than 10,000 miles on them that the driveshafts are nothing more than two u-joints, with nothing in between! How do youse guys do it?

I took my Cad. Fleetwood to W. Virginia one year, to visit Mama's family. Nice, clean car, in great shape. Was up there 3 days, and the chrome on the bumpers and door handles already had rust forming! YIKES!! Adams' Apple38631.8128819444

Thank you Ken and Joel......that's gotta cover just about everything there is to know about stubborn fasteners. I'm printing this thread.

JR

No thanx, Ron........I'm on a salt-free diet!

I wouldn't even think of using an easyout on a grade 8 bolt.When I had my body bushings replaced on my 71 Z/28 I blasted them with Aerokroil about everyother day for about a month.All the bolts came out with no problem.For you Camaro guys you know what I mean.There are a couple of bolts that are captured and if you break the nut you pretty much have to cut a hole in the floor to get to it.Any kind of penatrating oil is your best friend. I will say that my Z did not live it's life in the land of salt so I'm sure that helped.zgator38636.6194560185