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Which is easier on a stuck bolt, impact wrench or manual ratchet? Or are they about the same?

I had four tiny corner welds on a nut fail removing the below bolt, irritating but not really a problem, just put the nut back with a lockwasher, but it would have been nice to prevent it. I could have hit it with PB Blaster and let it soak, but the failure torque seemed to be very slight.

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Spehro 'speff' Pefhany
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2 Answers2

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While you run the risk of breaking the bolt in either case, I've had good results using an impact driver when removing such fasteners.

jwh20
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Impact is better. It vibrates and reverse hammers in between each hammer (weakly). This helps break up corrosion that may freeze a nut in place.

John Lord
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