Trick for getting rusted bolts off, to remove a toilet seat???

Question

Screws are stripped and rusty and crossthreaded, toilet seat needs to be replaced. How do I get those dang things off??

Answer 1

Generally they are brass or nylon. If you have metal bolts you will need to cut them. I recently cut some using a sawzall with a metal cutting blade, I ran it slowly. You can cut between the toilet bowl and the seat hinge. The blades are flexible and I didn't scratch the porcelain.

Answer 2

You can put WD-40 on the bolt and nut and try and remove the nut. Let it sit for a bit and let the WD-40 do it's work. If after 30 minutes or so you try it and it is still hard to loosen, that's when you play hardball with it. You could use a hacksaw on it. You can get a hacksaw for a few bucks and it will saw it off, but that can be a bit difficult to cut given how it's hard to get back to where the bolt is. If you have the money to, and feel like spending it, here's what I'd do: Go to Lowe's, Home Depot, or Menard's and buy a Dremmel. Don't buy the two cheaper versions, buy the best model of it. The best model does more and it holds up much better. I think mine cost me about $80. That may seem like a lot, but it can come in pretty handy from time to time. So it's good to have one around. They are small and easy to handle, and make a job such as the bathroom toilet's rusted bolt go quick. Now put some safety glasses on and put the cutting/grind wheel on the Dremmel tool. It will cut through the bolts in no time. I got a Dremmel tool when I was working on my 1995 Camaro. I had to replace the power window motors in the doors. And you have these really hard steel rivets you have to remove. Most people try drilling through them, which takes a lot of time and is very hard. A friend of mine told me he used a handheld grinder on his and it worked better than drilling them, so I figured I'd try a Dremmel tool on mine. It made short work of the rivets, even my friend was amazed. It worked faster and better even than his handheld grinder because it is so small and easy to handle. The other reason I recommend the Dremmel tool is if you try too hard trying to pry the nut off, you may end up cracking the porcelain on the toilet. You don't have to really worry about that when you grind the nut off. If you try using a hacksaw just below the toilet seat on the upper end of the bolt (the taping the toilet lid up technique someone mentioned), you risk scratching the porcelain where you can see the porcelain. The hacksaw teetch could scratch the porcelain making it not look nice and harder to clean.

Answer 3

Toilet Seat Bolts

Answer 4

How To Remove Rusted Bolts

Answer 5

Toilet seat held down by rusted bolts and metal nut on one side and nylon on the other. I removed the seat so the hinges (which were metal) were easier to get to. The hinges were designed to fit into the toilet seat holes, so no chance of cutting them off easily (no room between hinges and toilet anyway). Fortunately, the bolt with the metal nut was on the side that I could get to. Using pliers and a lock wrench, I kept turing the bolt until it snapped off. The other side was more of a problem - I couldn't even get in there to get a wrench on the plastic nut. So I got a drill and drilled down the center of the hinge into the bolt and - voila - the bolt just snapped off when I put some torque onto the hinge.

Answer 6

Rusted ? Usually those bolts are plastic.

If they are plastic get the proper cutting tool from a hardware store. Don't try cutting it off with anything to little. You will hurt yourself.

I guarantee you will not be sorry you bought the tool. You will use it again.

If it really is metal than you have a problem because you can't hit it without risking shattering the porcelain.

Maybe it would be easier to break or cut the toilet seat itself or the hinges if they are plastic.

When I moved into this place the lady had obviously brought her toilet seats with her to the new place and replaced them with the cheapest she could find.

You are going to want a nice toilet seat. Spend the money and you won't be sorry. I finally had to get a good set because the stupid thing kept coming up and you could not stand on it without breaking your neck.

Answer 7

You don't need to cut or unscrew from below if there is no room to access with large tools.
We had a badly rusted on nut and was able to tackle it by removing the wooden toilet seat from the top first.
Then squirted plenty of WD40 (using the tiny red plastic tube it comes with) into top of the fittings.
Wait for maybe 10 minutes to thoroughly penetrate down to the fittings.
Then holding the lower screw with pliers or a clamp, twist the top fittings (Chrome usually) in an anti-clockwise movement.
After a short while the fittings get loose and you can then gradually lever it up & down.
Then they come off. Be careful not to put stain on the ceramic itself.

Answer 8

first start by grabbing the top of the bolt with locking pliers
then get some type of wrench onto the blot to loosen.

if you can get the nut to turn a few times you should be able to spin the toilet a few degrees and it might pop out.

go to the hardware to see what i mean ask for a closet flange
you'll see what i mean.

Answer 9

Purchase a hacksaw blade holder. They allow you to install a hacksaw blade (or even a half of one) and use it like a jab saw. The blade sticks out of the front of the handle. It allows flexability so you can bend the blade a bit if it is a tight fit. You can cut between the nut and the bowl. Cheap and efficient.

Answer 10

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