Seized bell housing bolt on a 78

[lvacordian]

I’m attempting to lower my transmission as I work to replace a clutch on my 78 and I’m working with what appears to be a seized, upper driver side, bell housing bolt. Suffice to say I got the other three bolts broken free and did these with a 19mm box end wrench and a mallet; yes even the one on the passenger’s side.

Here is what has been done so far on the stuck bolt.

Used all the appropriate sockets, extensions, swivel heads and breaker bars recommenced on this forum.
Attempted freeing the bolt with an air impact wrench.
Soaked the area in plenty of DW-40.
Tapped the bolt head, socket and mating area on the block with a mallet as to shake the threads free.
Heated the area

I’ve already put ridiculous amounts of torque on this one bolt and nothing is freeing it. At this point I’m worried about shearing the bolt head off, and I’m thinking I might need to take the engine out in order to get a box end wrench and mallet on the bolt....what a hassle for one bolt.

Does anyone have any other recommendations, and is it common for these bolts to seize on the the upper driver's side portion of the bell housing? As if the bolt wasn’t already hard enough to get to let alone break free.

[focodave]

This is going to sound like something you would rather not do, especially if you are at your wit's end -- but what if you put the other three bell-housing bolts back in and torque them, then see if you can loosen the upper driver's side bolt?

[djape1977]

+1

and use as much torque as you can. you'd need about a 6ft pipe to break if off so i'd say you're safe, it should let go. maybe someone's put on a locktite there before? if that's the case, it will let go while very hot.

problem is, IMHO, that you can't get to the bolt directly but at an angle using several extensions. final solution would be to drill a hole in the tranny tunnel opposite to bolt and get to it in a straight line. later you can plug that hole with a liece of plastic or rubber.

[lvacordian]

Thanks so much focodave. Putting the other three bell-housing bolts back in and putting torque on them worked. I was able to loosen up the upper driver's side bolt.

[focodave]

You're very welcome.
Glad it worked!

[lvacordian]

Everything was going smoothly after getting the stuck bell housing bolts off. I was able to get the transmission down and out from underneath the car fairly easily and I was able to get the clutch assembly off only after soaking the three dowels in PB-40; the mating area where the flywheel and pressure plate meets looks rusted.

My flywheel bolts are giving me the same issue as the bell housing bolts; all six are frozen in place. I’ve secured the other end of the crankshaft pulley with a 38m socket and ¾ ratchet. I also blocked off one end of the flywheel with a 2X4 so that there is no movement. I’ve soaked the bolts in PB.-40 and have applied lots of torque. Again I’m very worried about shearing the bolt heads off.

I’ve basically done everything except for applying as flame and using an air impact wrench. I'm told that an impact wrench is bad for the engines inner bearing and a flame will be too dangerous considering that the fuel lines are nearby on the transmission tunnel. I’m not finding anything on the forums about this problem. Does anybody have any recommendations?

[BEEK]

an impact wrench is absolutly fine for removing the flywheel bolts, just use a torque wrench when putting them back

[djape1977]

just use more force, it ain't all that flimsy as you think

[focodave]

Ivacordian,

Agreed with Mr. BEEK.
I had the exact same problem with mine. I went to good ole Harbor Freight Tools and bought a $50 electric impact wrench and a 19MM impact socket.
The bolts came right out with little effort using the impact wrench.
Money well spent!

Dave

[TX82FIAT]

great thred. next tool in will be an impact wrench.

[donm]

Not to hijack the thread, but is there anything special about "impact sockets" as opposed to regular sockets?

[seabeelt]

Strength and composition. Regular sockets can shatter with the force of the impact wrench. Big safety issue. Use the properly rated socket.
R/

[BEEK]

also chrome plated sockets will cut you while spinning in an impact wrench, thats also why impact sockets are not plated. the wall are also thicker.

back in the day i also had to use a pipe sometimes on my breaker bar when loosening bellhousing bolts for the first time. been a long time but i do remember that

[lvacordian]

A $50 electric impact wrench from Harbor Freight did the job. Two of the bolts needed repeated soakings in PB-50 but the remaining four came off quickly. Thanks for the information on impact sockets versus regular sockets.