I'm trying to remove my rocker panels to inspect and clean out the longs but can't get the cheesehead screws loose. I've sprayed them with PB Blaster every day for a week, to no avail. Any other tips?

Pb blaster for 36 hours heat vice grips cursing and a screwdriver.

Yes to Vice grips. Soaking and patience.

FWIW -- Have not had good luck with PB Blaster, but have GREAT luck with silikroil.
(You can read the reviews on Amazon.com)

For a couple very stubborn ones; ended up having to us some map gas which worked. One snapped, but it was easy to drill our and re-tap.

It probably would not have snapped if I practiced my own words of soaking and patience.

Good luck.

Agree with vice grips. Not sure if heating the vice grips will transfer enough heat - never heard of such, but interesting.

Do you have new cheeseheads? 914Rubber sells stainless...

Also, a few beers help

If those fail, this always works for me on stuck screws.

http://www.harborfreight.com/impact-screwd...case-37530.html

The torque it provides really helps. Just be VERY careful not to dent anything!

Yes on the impact screwdriver. No to harbor freight! Cheap bits break the first time you use them.

Pretty sure he meant to put a few commas in there...... pb-blaster for 36 hours, heat, vice grips, cursing and a screwdriver.

You can also try slightly tightening the screw before trying to back it out. if it moves a little both ways, keep treating it with blaster or silikroil

I had one stubborn one and it eventually broke off. Had to drill it out and re tap. Luckily it cleaned out OK.

Good Luck !

Thanks for all the advice! What's the best way to apply heat? Blow torch? Heat gun? I really don't want to strip them.

Map gas would be your least expensive, best option. I just bought a tank/torch set for $50 at HD.

delete - duplicate

That screw looks to be in very good condition.
Because it is still "square" you can get a tight hold on it with a vise grip. Clean the teeth of the vise grip with a wire brush first. Work slowly, plenty of lube.
That'll come right out.
Those washers on the screw are original.

Still think the impact screwdriver is worth a shot. Cheap and I guarantee you'll end up using it again. Much easier to get in there than vice grips and you won't risk burning the paint with flame. But all of the options mentioned have merit

I just ran into the exact issue last week. As everyone says, PB Blaster or similar, and vice grips. And cursing. Don't forget the cursing.

I tried an impact screwdriver, but the angle is such that it's impossible to get a good smack on it unless the car is on a lift. Even then, it's not so easy.

I would not use heat there, too close to the paint for me.

Squeeze the vice grips on as tight as you can go, and I'll bet anything it will come out. Be sure and lube the bolt when you replace it.

Aha, good point Mike. I forgot that you'd have to get that side of the car up pretty durn high to be able to get the impact in there.

Vice grips it is!

Soak in between the inner edge of the rocker. Tap, tap, tap on the screw head. Repeat. Heat, spray tap, heat....not something to lean with a set of vice grips. Have a light hand and be patient. Aero-kroil, PBblaster.

I use a heavy duty soldering iron for screws in bodywork works great unless it is totally fused by rust. I don't see a big difference in wd40 or on pbblaster or liquid wrench

I've always found that Liquid Wrench old formula works best & far better than the PB Blaster ..... another one sold at plumbing stores is "Loose N" as 2nd best.

With all, do several sprayings over a few days with soaking over night, & tap on them in between to knock crud loose & let the penetrating oil get in better.

Make sure to use the large size screwdriver which fits into the cheeseheads' slots with no play & vice grips on the screwdriver handle as above + if needed, maybe a breaker bar or pipe on the vice grip's handle for more leverage, but that will take 2 - 1 to hold the screwdriver firmly in the slot & straight, the other to turn the breaker bar/pipe.

I got mine off that way in 2011 - which hadn't been off since 1980 - 31 years!

Good Luck but go slow & carefully!
Tom
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I use Worth anti seize on everything !

Next time the screws will come out.

couple of years ago, I had the same problem. I got them out by first jacking the car up and putting it on jackstands to give me some clearance. I then got a big ass screw driver with a thick square shank. I put the handle of the screwdriver on my floor jack and jacked it up slowly while positioning the screwdriver blade in the slot of the screw. Once I had it firmly pressed in the slot with the jack, I put a crescent wrench on the screwdriver shank and I was able to back the screws out one at a time. Slow going but very effective. the pressure applied by the jack prevented the screwdriver from slipping out of the slot.

YMMV

Pb blaster is over priced oil water... Kroil is it...little blast every other day for two weeks...should squeak right out.

I used one of those impact screw drivers, I think it is called, that you smack with a hammer, and they jarred loose.

Yep, Ive used impact screwdrivers on stuck screws like this before. They are great tools when you need them.

Zach

I like this approach !!

Were cheese-heads the original type of fasteners used for the rocker panels? Mine are hex-head bolts

Whatever you do, take extreme precautions if you use a flame after spraying any chemical agent. If you inhale the fumes, they can kill you.

I've had cars high enough to use a hand impact (which is a great tool) and the results were mixed.
Sometimes the head of the screw just breaks off .
Sometimes half the head comes off.
The worst thing that has happened is that the welded nut breaks loose inside the long.
Don't pound away.
Don't try to heat anything with the rocker still on.
Grind the head off, center punch, then drill it out.
OR , grind flat, center punch, drill through, then heat the small area around the screw and try an EZ out.

I don't think anyone has said this, but get a hammer and a screw driver that you can hit. Put screw driver in the screw slot and lightly tap on it with the hammer. Not with a twisting motion, but dead on. This helps to break the screw/bolt free.

Dang, but that was clever!

I drilled out mine. Found the rockers we held by sheet metal screws right next to all the broken off screws. I was able to save every one of them though with patient drilling. This is for the possibility. OI hope the other methods work. Unfortunately rust is a product of the original iron and O2, so it is bigger than the original piece and can effectively lock a screw in place beyond yield strength. The trick of an oxyacetylene torch to cherry red rarely failes, but I can see why that might not be an option. I also have had luck squirting my flamable penetrating oil of choice on the threads, heating with a torch until the thing produces a little flame and then as it cools squirting more oil on. The heat seems to help draw the oil in.

Good luck!!

Got it! The combination of heat from a little butane torch, tapping with a hammer and careful use of vice grips did the trick.

And the best part was seeing that there's no serious rust issues in the long and jack stand areas.

Thanks again for all the advice.Click to view attachment

This tool is good for stubborn bolts. I have used one similar to remove frozen door hinge bolts from a rusted out Triumph. Highly recommend it.

Beer also does help

Throw some ospho on there while they are off.

Love a good success story !

I had a similar finding with mine...