Anybody come up with some pretty impressive ways of taking apart stuck parts? I've run into quite a bit of problems that I've never had to deal with on any of the newer cars I've worked on. Rust and age are quite the combo.
Currently, I'm trying to remove my driveshaft and it's just stuck. Unbolted all four bolts, and it just kind of sat there. I've already gone mallet time on the flange and blasted the area with pb blaster, but the damn thing won't come out. Any ideas on what I should do, or specific places I should target? Maybe I just forgot something really basic?
Cheers, and feel free to put your own stories of basic jobs that should have taken no time at all that ended up dragging on for ages because of stuck parts.

 

Some things, unfortunately, just end up needing to be cut off and replaced. Suspension components in particular on 30 year old cars. Other than that, typically nothing a crowbar and an air hammer can't fix

 

I've had issues getting my driveshaft off before and it had nothing to do with rust or a forgotten fastener. Rubber mallet got it.

 

Yeah I've already gone at it with the mallet quite a bit, I'm pretty stumped on this one. I looked at it closer thanks to the magic of smarphone cameras, and there's definitely some buildup on there. I'm soaking it with a ridiculous amount of pb blaster and letting it sit the night, hopefully that'll do the trick.

 

Air hammer & chisel bit.

Stuck bolts at my house get the carbon arc treatment. Carbon arc torches are the **** BTW. Cheap, fast, and easy to use HEAT!

Just remember if you aren't gonna reuse the part cut the sob off. This is mostly in reference to rusty brake lines.

 

If the bolts are anything like the FC Diff bolts ,then you can put the nut back on and tap them with a hammer and they will come out the back of the diff flange.

and I did try PB Blaster but wasn't really impressed.
I am however impressed by Deep Creep by Sea Foam.
I also heard of KROIL..supposed to be the cat's *** too.!

Suggestion: if you can get a bar between the U joint flange of the Driveshaft( I like using a screwdriver there to turn the driveshaft and diff when i am under the car) you can use that bar and whack it to move the driveshaft up towards the trans.

 

My rule of thumb is, if your working on almost ANY car, better have some form of torch nearby, heat is your friend in ALOT of situations, and i don't mean propane, i mean MAP gas or OxyCetaline

 

FIXED..(mwuhahhaa!)

 

A good impact wrench and compressor will work wonders on stuck nuts and bolts you can't get with hand tools.

The repeated impacts of the impact wrench work the threads loose a little bit at a time, avoiding excess torque to threads, nuts and bolt heads that causes damage before the threads break loose.

 

I love the smell of Kroil in the morning. (no I don't)

 

If your doing pressed in ball joints with a jack and sledgehammer, you about summed it up lol

 

For a really stuck flange a flat chisel and hammer should do it.

The end of the drive shaft goes into a circular recess in the diff, that's usually the bit that gets stuck. Even one that isn't too rusty might still need the tip of thin screwdriver to pry it off.

 

Finally got it off today, all it took was an unholy amount of pb blaster, 24 hours, and a chisel. Unfortunately I'm going back to uni tomorrow morning so I've got no time to find and buy another diff so she's still sitting there :/. Hopefully I'll get around to getting one so I get her back on the road again, I've been putting this off for wayyyyy too long.

 

Not sure what kind of "mallet" you were using. Rubber / plastic / dead blow type hammers work well at protecting surfaces, but rusted and stuck parts respond better with shock and vibration from a steel ball peen. Experience and having an idea of how much force may be necessary is a big help too. Sometimes you just know its going to be a bitch.

 

Oh wow. That's really basic stuff but I didn't even think of that, I'll keep that in mind for the inevitable next time, thanks!

 

Since you are "new to Rx7's",I'll tell you the steps on "how to afford an Rx7".

Get an Rx7.
Get a Jar..put a slit in the top of the jar.
Start working on Car.
Every time you Curse while working on the car..add a dollar.

This method will buy you car parts..OR a new car!