How Do I Unscrew Nylock Nuts?

How to unscrew a nylock nut

If "nylock" is this , then this should be the answer. Is there another tool you are thinking of, or a reason a wrench will not work?

Yes, for an exercise machine there should be no problem using them again (he says while waiting for the other information shoe to drop, negating this answer).

I have that tool, but when I reverse the direction to unscrew, the entire bolt turns. Do I need to get someone to hold the end of the bolt with pliers or something to keep it stationary so I can turn the nut in the reverse direction?

Most carriage bolts have a square or hexagonal key that prevent them from turning. But since you've installed the bolt wrong you likely do not have the mating hole pattern for the bolt to catch. So you will have to grasp the bolt in some fashion. Ideally you can slip another wrench between the carriage bolt head and the rest of the machine to grab this key but grabbing just the head with some pliers will sometimes be necessary. I suspect that you'll find that the nylon did not deform significantly once it is off. So you will be able to use this in the correct location upon reassembly.

Thank you! I appreciate this information

Just put a good closed-end wrench on the nut, hold the other end with another wrench or screwdriver, if it's a free bolt, and turn it counter-clockwise, looking at the nut from the end.

It will take a surprising amount of force to reverse these nuts, until they are almost all of the way off.

No, you can't use them again. They might stay on, but they won't have any strength. If a load is put on one and it breaks you could hurt yourself, falling off the machine, or worse, into it.

You can pick up new nylock nuts at your local hardware store or home center.

For this application, you can re-use the nuts. In a high vibration or safety area, its not a good idea.

Check them after a few weeks, if they are not loose, everything is OK.

Do not overtighten any nuts, nylock or not.

If you have worries, take one with you for size and thread type and one of the bolts to be sure and visit a DIY store and buy some new ones, they are not expensive....

The carriage bolts have a square section under the head to prevent rotation. If you have installed these the wrong way round I'll bet that the part of the machine that is now under the nylock nut has a square hole to fit the carriage bolt so you'll have to improvise to stop the bolt rotating as suggested in previous posts.

I had a similar machine but it died of neglect.

If the surface that the nut rests on is flat I would remove it and flip it over.

If the nylock nut is sitting in a concave or indention I would just leave it upside down as mating contract area is probably greater this way. And it might work better as the nut's crown fits into the mating hole it will not allow the bolt to slide side to side in the hole. Same principle as a lug nut against a stamped steel wheel.

Reuse: For aerospace, one use. For around the house, I'll use a nut two or three times. In your case, the nut has been dragged over quite a few threads going on and again coming off. Just test the nut, if nylon is providing some drag. It is probably OK

"just test the nut, if nylon is providing some drag, it is probably OK".

Most Nyloks will work indefinite, I bet the drag would exist after twenty applications. Will it be the same as new? Not likely, but serviceable for this application.

Remember, lefty loosy, righty tighty!

This will be harder to do with nylock nuts if they have been screwed on tightly already, but you could try pressing on the head of the carriage bolt as hard as you can while unscrewing the nut. With any luck you'll create enough friction at the bolt head that it will stay still and the nut will unscrew.