Just wondering if anyone has ever had the rear axle nut give them a problem on their FD, and if so, is there any tricks in removing it? I bought a set of slightly used axles from another forum member and he is having a hell of a time removing one of the nuts, said he has tried taking the hub/axle to a shop and even an industrial impact wouldnt budge it, and he has broken numerous 1/2" breaker bars.

 

Have you tried getting it good and hot?

Worst case, you can cut it off. Use a thin disc cutter to about 3/4 of the way down to the threads, put a chisel in the slot and drive like mad with a metal sledge hammer.

Dave

 

It happened to my FD when replacing all the hub bearings. The left rear axle nut was so tight that the axle was ruined when they removed it. The shop (reputable) said the reason for it was that the nut was cross threaded by MAZDA.

Time to burn/melt it off.

 

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes
I never had mine off, but would this be something to try?

edit: Sorry, just noticed it only goes to 7/8".

 

That's kinda what I had in mind with the cut + chisel.

Using one of those nut splitters on an axle nut though - would be - a substantial task. Picture a bolt cutter going thru 2" of steel in one chop. So I have a feeling that even if you got one in that size, you'd need a HUGE impact wrench to drive it. At least if you got a thin lengthwise cut started in the nut the splitter or chisel would be much more effective.

This makes me think I should go out today and loosen my rear axle nuts and put some anti-seize on them, just in case someday I need to do this

Dave

 

Spray some liquid wrench on it and let it soak. Then hit it with a heavy impact gun. (650-750 ft lbs.) Game over.

 

Kroil/AeroKroil is the best penetrating oil I have ever used. I had hubs that would not seperate from the rotors on my 86 GXL. Took them to a machine shop, they couldn't seperate them with thier 50k lbs press and heat. A friend had some kroil, he sprayed them and let the hubs/rotors sit overnight. The next day we went out and gave them a few whacks with a 20 once ballpeen and they came apart.

 

bg's "in-force" owns you... plus it smells nice

 

Who sells the stuff?

 

Are you kidding? au de pb blastier'. It's what all the straight mechanics are wearing this year.

 

Don't read into this the wrong way, but this is usually the best method to loosen frozen threads or press-fits (after soaking with a good penetrating oil, of course). The shock that results from hitting the metal a few times with a hammer often helps loosen the thread's grip because the vibration travels through the metal and causes the surfaces to shift very slightly. Simply going the gorilla method using breaker bars to gain a mechanical advantage still forces you to work against the thread's grip, and can often result in the threads coming apart if you do loosen them, because the press fit friction can sometimes be stronger than the fatigued metal in the threads. And even impact wrenches don't cause the same resonance through the metal that a good few taps with a hammer can provide.
Obviously, this isn't always possible in many circumstances, and this doesn't mean that you need to whack the frozen pieces as hard as you can with the biggest ballpeen you have until they come apart. Just a few good taps will often help loosen a frozen metal fastener easier than you think. Just my $0.02...

 

They say the women like the looks of the FD, but I think the smell of gear oil and pb blaster is what does it.

Dave

 

I was just giving one example of use. I have used kroil on rusted bolts and nuts, where WD40 and liquid wrench did nothing.

 

Check with a machine shop or gun shop or order it direct http://www.kanolabs.com/

 

i use to work in a fab. shop with 20 ton presses,etc...
we get frozen bolts...we would soak with oil, then try to tighten the bolts before loosening it....worked alot of the time....sounds stupid but the bolt would be atleast free...and moving....