Rusted Diving Board Bolts...How screwed am I?

[newtonfb]

We recently moved into the house and looking at replacing the diving board since its rusted. Well I took off the bolt covers and looks worse than I thought. I hit them with penetrating oil but still haven't tried anything else since I thought you guys would have some advice. Here are my 3 bolts. If I can just get the nuts off, I can hopefully just put a new board right on top of the bolts after I clean them up and protect them.

 

[ajw22]

Put a pipe on the wrench for leverage and pull.

You are either going to loosen the nut or snap the bolt off. Often the bolt snaps.

Have you determined you can get a diving board with the same bolt configuration? If you can't there is no point in trying to save those bolts.

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If you've used a diving board or high diving board, chances are good it was built by us. See our selection of diving boards and diving board stands for your swimming pool.

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[blazer58]

You can use a sawzal to cut the nut right next to the stud
Put the blade in backwards so you can straight down and not have the handle in the way.
Sometimes the nut will come lose by the time your halfway thur.
Once you have cut thru it then a pipe wrench should lessen the nut enough where you can then use channel locks to remove it

 

[JoyfulNoise]

I would be surprised if those bolts would even work after cleaning the rust off. The threads are going to be thinned down a lot and the holding force will be diminished. You consider just getting rid of the diving board all together … your insurance company will thank you with lower rates (hopefully).

 

[newtonfb]

Put a pipe on the wrench for leverage and pull.

You are either going to loosen the nut or snap the bolt off. Often the bolt snaps.

Have you determined you can get a diving board with the same bolt configuration? If you can't there is no point in trying to save those bolts.

Diving Boards | Diving Board Stands

If you've used a diving board or high diving board, chances are good it was built by us. See our selection of diving boards and diving board stands for your swimming pool.

www.srsmith.com

Yes the exact same stand and board are still available. I believe the board is about 10 years old.

 

[newtonfb]

I would be surprised if those bolts would even work after cleaning the rust off. The threads are going to be thinned down a lot and the holding force will be diminished. You consider just getting rid of the diving board all together … your insurance company will thank you with lower rates (hopefully).

Ya I have to try since I don't want to go through the process of putting new bolts in.

 

[dfwnoob]

Treat it like a rusty car. Heat, penetrant, more heat, more penetrant. Slowly back it off, then back forward, then back off, then back forward. Repeat until it comes off. Since you probably don't want a torch out there, a good heat gun would be fine.

When I lived in PA, Seafoam Deep Creep and heat were my best friends for stubborn bolts.

 

[wgipe]

Search Amazon for nut splitters. They are made for this exact situation.

 

[generessler]

It's hard to tell for sure from photos, but the bolts actually don't look completely terrible. The nuts are wasted. Another trick that car mechanics use - after the penetrant and heat are applied - is to drive a slightly undersized socket onto the nut and use a breaker bar for extra leverage. Often if the nut was an inch size before it shrank, the next smallest metric socket is the one that works and vice-versa. Don't go crazy with torque. Bolts _can_ be twisted off even if they're not corroded. If they won't break with reasonable force, it's time to cut: a nut cracking tool, a sawzall, and a cold chisel can all be used. Go slow and careful to avoid notching the threads.

 

[newtonfb]

Search Amazon for nut splitters. They are made for this exact situation.

I didnt know those existed before asking. Thanks for the heads up

 

[PoolGate]

I would use an impact wrench after the penetrating oil.

 

[wgipe]

I didnt know those existed before asking. Thanks for the heads up

Sure thing. I personally would not take the risk of straining that setup without splitting the bolt. My fear is that an impact or breaker bar would snap off one of the studs. If you split the bolt from one side, you could get penetrating oil in there - I have found Kroil to work miracles on stuff like this. Split from one side, hit it with Kroil, let it sit overnight and soak in, hit it again in the morning and let it sit a few hours, and then gently rock it back and forth to break it free. Should come off without issue if you are careful. If the volt is rusted to the point where it will not reliably hold a nut tight, that's definitely a safety issue and you should consider an export kit to set new bolts. You could perhaps stack two nuts and it would be okay, but that's up to you to decide if the risk of it letting loose is one you're willing to take.