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central_valley

Removing rusty bolts on an old faucet

central_valley
12 years ago

I need to replace a bathroom faucet whose tailpieces and bolts are heavily rusted. I'm looking for advice on removing them.

I've looked at how-to instructions for rusty bolts, and they make some assumptions that don't apply to this case. One is that there's clearance to work from the side. Another: that breaking the "bolt" is the ultimate disaster. (In this case it's probably the easiest solution to the problem, if I can manage it.) Another: that I must clean the rust off the exposed threads before I try to turn the bolt. (Since I have no access from the side, it's not clear how I could even try.)

Does anyone have useful suggestions, particularly if you've been through this?