O.K. out there, I'm trying to loosen the nut of the front spar bolt of a 1960 Cessna 172 and can't seem to break it free. We have tried penetrating fluid, an impact gun with 1/2 inch drive, all to no success. Any suggestions out there?
VERY CAREFULLY ! ! ! use a Dremel tool with a cut off disk, and split the nut. Yes it is a slow process when you do it right.O.K. out there, I'm trying to loosen the nut of the front spar bolt of a 1960 Cessna 172 and can't seem to break it free. We have tried penetrating fluid, an impact gun with 1/2 inch drive, all to no success. Any suggestions out there?
Brad, what kind of airplane is that on your profile? I have a friend in New Hampshire that just got his Kinner Speedwing airworthy and it looks something like your picture.It good that you found an issue with the bolt. Like mentioned above, corrosion could possibly be the culprit. It seems that penetrating oil with time allowed to actually penetrate and an impact gun will either loosen it or twist the head/nut off. If it’s too much for you let an A&P handle it.
Thanks for the replies. It turns out that we were able to loosen it using a force multiplier (a piece of pipe ) on the breaker bar and it came free. I guess that the impact wrench force just wasn't enough to break the friction in the nut..........and there isn't a corrosion issue either.
It's a Ryan STM that was based at Santa Paula Airport in California many years ago. It was in my pile of photographs (remember those?) and I thought it would make a fine avatar. One day a month the antique planes are put on display at Santa Paula and that's when I shot the picture of it. This particular RYAN uses a Menasco engine, while its predecessor, the RYAN PT-22 used a Kinner.Brad, what kind of airplane is that on your profile? I have a friend in New Hampshire that just got his Kinner Speedwing airworthy and it looks something like your picture.