HELP!!

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Sat Jan 13, 2007 7:42 pm

Anyone have any 3/4" Drive tools? Or even 1" Drive?
I would like to borrow a BIG Breaker Bar and a 1-1/8" (or 29mm) Socket.
Rear Axle nuts on the Miata will not break loose. Wore out the impact wrench and breaker bar. Sprayed plenty of PB Blaster. No movement! What a PITA

Suggestions welcome...

RobLupella · **Posted:** Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:02 pm

Biggest I have is the 1/2" or a open end. I had the same problem, I finally had Happy Japs do it and they said they had to work.

Let me know how you finally get it, I still have to do the other one.

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Sat Jan 13, 2007 8:30 pm

RobLupella wrote:

Biggest I have is the 1/2" or a open end. I had the same problem, I finally had Happy Japs do it and they said they had to work.

Let me know how you finally get it, I still have to do the other one.

I think the solution is simply bigger tools

Just remembered I have a 1-1/8" Combination wrench in my roll-around. I'll be beating on it tomorrow

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Sat Jan 13, 2007 10:56 pm

Brad Mackey wrote:

RobLupella wrote:

Biggest I have is the 1/2" or a open end. I had the same problem, I finally had Happy Japs do it and they said they had to work.

Let me know how you finally get it, I still have to do the other one.

I think the solution is simply bigger tools

Just remembered I have a 1-1/8" Combination wrench in my roll-around. I'll be beating on it tomorrow

FIRE is the solution. That is the only way I got mine off. You have to get it hot enough to where the CV boot on the other side starts to melt :shock:

Beat on it with the impact, heat some more, rinse and repeat until it comes off. It should take about 45 mins per side.

You haven't even begun to have fun, those axles are just as stuck in the hub, as the nut is on the end. A 5lb sledgehammer was the only way I got mine out.

Ashraf Farrag · **Posted:** Sat Jan 13, 2007 11:57 pm

What kind of impact wrench did you guys use that didn't yank that sucker off?

The standard one that comes with most air compressors is inadequate, IMHO.

I have Sears #00919905000 and I have only found one fastener (e-shaft bolt on the front of a 13B motor) it couldn't remove. Neither could a 4' cheater pipe on a breaker bar. If in doubt, crank up the air to 120 psi on the Sears, it will take it every once in a while.

The guts of that puppy are Ingersoll-Rand, FWIW. It is cheaper in price, though.

I'm thinking I'll run to Sears and buy #00918593000 the next time I run into a stuck fastener my 1/2" gun can't handle.

You could always take the car to someone, have them loosen it with their big impact wrench and then torque to reasonable specs (if not trailer it).

Regards,
--Ashraf

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Brad Mackey wrote:

Anyone have any 3/4" Drive tools? Or even 1" Drive?
I would like to borrow a BIG Breaker Bar and a 1-1/8" (or 29mm) Socket.
Rear Axle nuts on the Miata will not break loose. Wore out the impact wrench and breaker bar. Sprayed plenty of PB Blaster. No movement! What a PITA

Suggestions welcome...

Brad, another option is to drive it to a shop (if it's driveable) and have them spin the nuts off and lightly torque them back down. I had to do that once on a Civic crank pulley.

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:45 am

MikeWhitney wrote:

Brad, another option is to drive it to a shop (if it's driveable) and have them spin the nuts off and lightly torque them back down. I had to do that once on a Civic crank pulley.

Thanks for all the input

Ryan----I did use the MAPP torch on it, but not to the extent you described :shock:

. Holy S___T. Melting the CV Boot? I'll try more heat this morning, though. Gotta go get another can of PB Blaster.

Ash---I have the Sears el-cheapo Chinese impact. I used 90psi, and thought the damn thing was tearing itself up. But hell, they are cheap, so I'll crank it up to 110 and let 'er rip!

Mike---Your suggestion is probably the most practical, but the car's not drivable right now, since I already have the new Torsen bolted in. Hell, I'm too stubborn to quit on this anyway.

Last resort which I KNOW will work: I can cut (uhhhh...disassemble) the nut by carefully drilling a series of 3/32" holes through the nut in a longitudinal line parallel to the axis of the axle, then another series 180-degrees apart. Then just split the nut with a chisel!

Just gotta be careful I don't hit the threads too much on the axle. I can set a stop to help with that. A little touch on the threads won't hurt anything anyway. The axles will go in the attic, and probably will be forgotten.

Will leave an update later today!

Jeff Eng · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 8:48 am

Brad,

I've got the tools you need, but I'm in Wilmington and heading out of town today, so that probably doesn't help you.

I got my 1" drive breaker bar from Carquest. It's a t-style and I used a couple of pipes as an extension to get some added leverage. Works great at removing axle nuts.

Maybe autozone has some tools you can borrow or if you got a harbor freight near you, I remember seeing a 3/4" drive impact drill w/400 ft lbs of torque for $70.

Good luck,

Jeff

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Brad Mackey wrote:

MikeWhitney wrote:

Brad, another option is to drive it to a shop (if it's driveable) and have them spin the nuts off and lightly torque them back down. I had to do that once on a Civic crank pulley.

Thanks for all the input

Ryan----I did use the MAPP torch on it, but not to the extent you described :shock:

. Holy S___T. Melting the CV Boot? I'll try more heat this morning, though. Gotta go get another can of PB Blaster.

Ash---I have the Sears el-cheapo Chinese impact. I used 90psi, and thought the damn thing was tearing itself up. But hell, they are cheap, so I'll crank it up to 110 and let 'er rip!

Mike---Your suggestion is probably the most practical, but the car's not drivable right now, since I already have the new Torsen bolted in. Hell, I'm too stubborn to quit on this anyway.

Last resort which I KNOW will work: I can cut (uhhhh...disassemble) the nut by carefully drilling a series of 3/32" holes through the nut in a longitudinal line parallel to the axis of the axle, then another series 180-degrees apart. Then just split the nut with a chisel!

Just gotta be careful I don't hit the threads too much on the axle. I can set a stop to help with that. A little touch on the threads won't hurt anything anyway. The axles will go in the attic, and probably will be forgotten.

Will leave an update later today!

Brad - I also have a very beefy 1/2" drive "Earthquake" impact which is at least 2x as powerful as the other 3 impacts I have used. You're welcome to come by and borrow it if you just want to give a stronger 1/2" gun a try.

But this does sound like an excuse to buy new tools

OK, I gotta go remove an engine now.

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 1:49 pm

DONE!
What'd it take?
Another round of PB Blaster (I swear the stuff is PFM).
1-1/8" Combo Wrench.
BFH
RH Side---About 100 blows---"It MOVED!!!

Another 15 Blows, OFF!

LH Side--- About 25 Blows tops.

Now the struggle with the splines on the axles begins.

We'll see....

Brad Mackey · **Posted:** Sun Jan 14, 2007 2:08 pm

Axles popped right out. Actually, after just a light half-turn on the puller, I could have pushed them out with my thumb!

Persitance conquers all

Thanks for all the advice (including you, Rob. Although your open end wrench offer was never an option

)

ColinOConnell · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:02 am

cool, I gave up on mine... I stopped early I didn't want to get so far that I had to finish. I may take another swing at it later.

RobLupella · **Posted:** Mon Jan 15, 2007 12:04 am

I had my moment today with something much more stupidly simple. Rotating tires on the truck. Front Wheel would not come off. PB Blaster, hammer, PB Blaster, hammer, repeat, repeat, eat dinner, PB Blaster hammer.

Heat gun, hammer, nope.

Finally, torch hammer prybar. Heat wheel until thin metal gets red-whack with hammer. heat/whack repeat WOW movement. Wheel comes off, scrape off rust. put wheel back on. :roll:

MikeWhitney · **Joined:** Wed Aug 20, 2003 9:15 pm **Posts:** 4724

Here's my "oh crap" moment of the day. Is one of these head bolts shorter than the other?

Happened on BOTH heads, in the same location. 220k miles + PA salt + opening in that bolt sleeve in the head to another threaded fastener = snappy. My back hurts (as does my forehead from when it snapped and I smacked myself).

Good thing I'm replacing the block and I don't need to extract it! :cheer:

DanDurusky · **Joined:** Sun Apr 10, 2005 7:31 pm **Posts:** 686

I've put 6ft pipes on the end of 1/2" Craftsman breaker bars a few times, havent broken yet...

You can lift the world.. yadda yadda yadda

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