Articles >Automotive >How to Get Off a Rounded Nut

How to Get Off a Rounded Nut


homeandauto
by homeandauto
Posted 20 Feb 2010
Revised 13 Apr 2011
7282 views


Rate This Article:
?

Log in for more options.


Article Summary
A rounded nut can add significant time and difficulty to any repair. This article describes how to remove a rounded off nut.

Bookmark and Share




As described in the linked blog post there are several ways to remove a rounded nut. Here is a brief description of what a rounded nut is, how it becomes rounded and how you can remove one.

What is a Rounded Nut

A rounded nut, or the rounded head of a bolt, is a nut or bolt where the corner angles have been smoothed over, or rounded.  The effect of this deformation is that most tools will not be able to grip the fastener and will slip or spin when you try to remove the nut or bolt with the tool.

A rounded nut makes a repair job take much longer, a fifteen minute job can easily take an hour or more to complete.  Depending on how you attempt to remove the rounded nut, the job can also become significantly more difficult.

How a Nut Gets Rounded

A nut or bolt head will generally get rounded when you attempt to use the wrong tool for the job. For example, trying to use pliers when you should be using a wrench or socket; using the wrong size sockets; using 12 point sockets when the force required would indicate 6 point sockets would be the better choice. Using damaged tools also can increase the chance of rounding a nut.  If the nut is of poor quality or slightly rounded, it becomes easier to round further than a good fastner would be.

How to Remove a Rounded Nut

The best way to remove a rounded nut is to use tools designed for the job.  Some of these tools are nut and bolt extractors and nut splitters.  I have not tried them but Irwin tools makes a bolt extractor set and  a bolt extractor expansion set.  Other methods may be successful, but they may require more time and work.  Some other methods involve, heating, cutting, drilling, using pipe wrenches, welding a good nut to the bad one, pounding and knocking the nut in the direction it should go. This linked blog post shows how to remove a rounded nut as well as images of the nut, extractors and a description of some of the other methods used.

I spend too much time on the computer, but luckily it is rewarding.

homeandauto has a website at http://www.earnwrite.com/

Article Tags

rounded nut stripped nut remove rounded nut stripped bolt removed stripped bolt vehicle repair car repair

Related Articles

No related articles were found.

More Articles By homeandauto

articleHow to Grow an Avocado Tree from a Seed
by homeandauto | in Plants and Animals | 1446 Views
If you eat avocados, don't throw out those avocado seeds, you can use it go grow a beautiful tree.

articleUsing Dried Apples for Cooking, Snacks and Storage
by homeandauto | in Food | 2964 Views
Dried apples are great for food storage, cooking, healthy snacks and making applesauce.

articleHow to Use OBD Systems to Diagnose Your Car Problems
by homeandauto | in Automotive | 1913 Views
On Board Diagnostic systems monitor your vehicles performance and condition. You can use the information provided by your OBD system to prevent problems and maintain your car.

articleDutch Oven Cooking Basics
by homeandauto | in Food | 1178 Views
Dutch Oven Cooking Basics provides information on dutch ovens, dutch oven care, and resources.

articleHow to Replace a Broken Honda Accord Door Handle
by homeandauto | in Automotive | 978 Views
This article describes how to replace an interior door handle on a Honda Accord.

All Articles By homeandauto

Add a Comment

Comments (0):

There are no comments for this article yet.

Add a Comment


You must Login to enter comments.

Categories