Tipping over your lawn mower and struggling with a stuck blade bolt is annoying, to say the least.
Over-tightening and rust can cause a lawn mower blade bolt to become so stuck that your usual releasing methods become useless.
So, before you pull a muscle or break something struggling with your stuck bolt, let’s see how you can remove it without running into any more trouble.
How to Loosen a Stuck Lawn Mower Blade Bolt (The Short Answer)
Once a lawn mower blade bolt becomes stuck in the tightened position, you will have to use extra steps and tools to get it removed.
Practice caution when removing a stuck belt bolt so that you avoid overstressing it, which can cause it to weaken and snap.
Follow these four steps in the order listed to loosen the stuck belt bolt.
- Penetrating Oil or Lubrication Spray
- 6 Point Wrench
- Extended Wrench
- Impact Wrench
Before You Get Started (Safety Tips)
Follow the safety precautions below before you start making any repairs or services to your lawn mower blade to ensure your and the lawn mower’s safety.
Remove the Spark Plug
Whenever you work on parts that are controlled by the engine, it’s essential that you remove the ignition cable from the spark plug and tuck it out of the way.
This will prevent the engine from accidentally starting up. So, locate your sparkplug and remove the connector.
Tilting Over the Lawn Mower
Tilting your lawn mower correctly stops oil from spilling into the carburetor and the air filter.
If you accidentally tilt the mower the wrong way, getting the engine started might be difficult, and the air filter may be damaged.
Check out how to correctly tilt your lawn mower.
Plug the Filler Cap
If you have a pretty full gas tank, you might need to block it off. This is because there is a small breather hole in the top where the gas will leak from.
So, if you have the mower on its side for a while, you could lose some gas and cause a fire hazard.
Grab Your Protective Equipment
I always recommend wearing a pair of protective gloves when working with the lawn mower’s blade.
Even though the blade is probably dull, there could be some dings and chips in the blade that could cause an injury.
Becoming another lawn mower accident statistic is something I’m sure you’re keen to avoid. Safety first!
Have a Blade Brace
Blade braces serve two purposes. The first is so that you don’t need to hold on to a potentially sharp blade, and the second is to give you the ability to use additional force to remove the bolt.
Blade braces can be in the form of a purposely manufactured brace, a simple 4×2 timber, or anything that will safely hold the blade in a secure position.
How to Remove a Lawn Mower Blade That Is Stuck (Easiest Way)
Now that you have safety taken care of, let’s look at the different stages of removing a mower blade bolt that’s stuck.
Step 1. Penetrating Oil or Lubrication Spray
If rust is causing a problem, then some penetrating oil or a fast-acting penetrating spray could be the answer.
Because blade bolts are exposed to moist conditions under the deck, it’s very common for them to get rusty.
These types of penetrating oils and sprays work their way into the bolt’s threads and loosen things up just enough to free up the bolt.
So, apply the product as described on the label and try loosening the bolt.
Step 2. 6-Point Wrench
Next on the list is using a six-point wrench or socket. If you’re trying to remove the bolt with an open wrench or a pair of grips, then you only have very limited contact with the bolt.
As a result, the limited contact can lead to rounding off the sides of the bolts, and you’re probably using a lot of effort to keep the tool in place.
So, grab yourself a six-point wrench or socket wrench and get a good, firm grip on the bolt. If the penetrating spray has worked its way into the thread, then a 6-point wrench could be enough to remove the stuck lawn mower blade bolt.
Step 3. Extended Wrench
An extended wrench or a breaker bar increases the torque used to remove the bolt. The longer the bar, the more torque is produced without any additional effort.
So, if you struggle with a 12-inch wrench/breaker, move up to a 24-inch.
The one big thing you have to be careful of is that if the torque is too big and the bolt is stuck beyond its limits, you will snap the bolt. Breaker bars give you superpowers, so be careful.
Another trick to try is to hit the top of the wrench/bolt with a hammer as you try to loosen the bolt. This creates a similar action to an impact wrench.
The added shock sometimes can be enough to free the bolt.
Other Things to Try If You Still Can’t Get Your Mower Blade Off
If steps 1-3 didn’t work, then you really do have a stuck bolt. This means you will have to take out the big tools and get serious.
So, let’s have a look at how to remove a lawn mower blade that is stuck, really stuck.
Step 4. Impact Wrench
Impact wrenches these days are sitting in a lot of people’s garages in battery or compressed air versions. Like a breaker bar, an impact driver has a great deal of strength.
So, if the previous tools didn’t have the power, then an impact wrench might be the answer.
If your impact wrench has different strength settings, then I’d recommend using the lowest setting first and progressing to the strongest.
Don’t forget to use the penetrating oil/spray and all the safety precautions we covered earlier.
How to Prevent Your Blade Bolt from Getting Stuck Again
As mentioned before, it’s probably down to overtightening and rust if you can’t get your mower blade off. So let’s take a look at how you can avoid these causes in the future.
Overtightening Your Lawn Mower Blade Bolt
Usually, people are of the misconception that the blade bolt needs to be tightened extremely tightly. This is not the case.
If you read through your lawn mower’s manual, you’ll find that the torque is actually pretty low. So, to get an accurate tightening torque, use a torque wrench.
They are certainly cheaper than replacing a mower, and they also take out the guesswork.
Additionally, you only need to use a small wrench to tighten the bolt. Keep in mind that using a breaker bar or impact wrench to tighten the bolt can cause overtightening and lead to a stuck bolt.
Rust Prevention of Your Lawn Mower Blade Bolt
Another good way to stop your lawn mower blade bolt from getting stuck is to use a spray lubricant.
Before placing the bolt into the lawn mower, spray the whole area, including the bolt and the threaded hole.
The next time you try to loosen the bolt, corrosion shouldn’t be a problem, and the bolt will loosen without much effort.
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