Stripped CV Bolt, Best approach to remove it? Options

[r_towle]

if the wheel spins and it wont stay still.
Put it back on stands.
Remove wheel.
Make a 3 foot bar with two lug bolt holes in it, near one end.
I use 2 inch angle iron.
Bolt that to the hub and it will rest against the floor at an angle.
It wont move anymore..

Rich

[rwilner]

if the wheel spins and it wont stay still.
Put it back on stands.
Remove wheel.
Make a 3 foot bar with two lug bolt holes in it, near one end.
I use 2 inch angle iron.
Bolt that to the hub and it will rest against the floor at an angle.
It wont move anymore..

Rich

It's already up on stands (4 of them). Maybe i'll just do this first and skip taking it off the stands.

[r_towle]

and for a good fight...make a little stand for the end of the socket that rests on the floor so the socket wont twist whil you are jumping on the bar....
I use a small jack I have that happens to have a half round cradle..
Just need to jack it up under the socket (no wheel in place...bar attached)

That holds the socket square and you can really get some power on the breaker bar.

Rich

[Richard Casto]

You are getting good advice here. It may not be that difficult to get the nut off. I have found that a high torque impact gun is a great thing to have. If it doesn't come off easily this would be a great excuse to buy a nice gun. Also as mentioned don't mess up your threads if you have to use a BFH to get the stub out.

Good luck and get that car on the road soon!

Richard

[rwilner]

Good luck and get that car on the road soon!

I could put the wheels on and drive away today, but I just can't stand knowing there is a stripped bolt in that stub axle...just my personality I guess.


Plus...I'm always looking for excuses to buy new tools...

[iamchappy]

If the head is all that is stripped I've removed them fairly easily before with a tight vise grip or small pipe wrench.
If it's the threads drill and extract.

[Richard Casto]

Good luck and get that car on the road soon!

I could put the wheels on and drive away today, but I just can't stand knowing there is a stripped bolt in that stub axle...just my personality I guess.


Plus...I'm always looking for excuses to buy new tools...

I am with you 100%. I know I said "beware" early due to the situation you are now in, but I don't always think everyone has the same sickness I do. If it was me, I would be doing the same thing. It will be some work, but once done hopefully you will feel good that it was done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Richard

[yeahmag]

One thing you can try if you *really* don't want to pull the stub axle (which I would, its easy) is to get a long, large drill bit and drill the head off. Then remove the other bolt and retainer plate. You should have just enough room to grab the remaining bit with a pair of needle nose vise grips and turn it out. It *should* come out easy once the pressure is relieved by removing the head.

[mskala]

Only a few comments:
* I agree that the non-blackness of the bolts is suspicious and as long as you are
getting the axle out I would get new correct ones.
* Your list of operations misses one important early thing: Take the wheel off,
remove cotter pin thru the castle nut, then put the wheel back on.
* There is no way I would put hundreds of pounds of torque on the axle nut while the
car is up on stands and a bar is bracing the wheel from turning. Get the nut
broken with the wheels on and car on the ground.

[r_towle]

* There is no way I would put hundreds of pounds of torque on the axle nut while the
car is up on stands and a bar is bracing the wheel from turning. Get the nut
broken with the wheels on and car on the ground.

Chicken (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

[rwilner]

I am with you 100%. I know I said "beware" early due to the situation you are now in, but I don't always think everyone has the same sickness I do. If it was me, I would be doing the same thing. It will be some work, but once done hopefully you will feel good that it was done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Richard

I'm ready to try out my newly refreshed transmission!! (now that I got the shifter adjusted)

[rwilner]

Is it ok to use a 12 pt socket?

[IronHillRestorations]

I've broken a lesser quality 6 point 1/2" socket that I broke trying to get one of those nuts removed, so I'd say NO to the 12 point. I have a hardened 3/4" impact socket that I use with a 6 foot heavy wall pipe for a cheater bar. Sometimes they'll come right off, and sometimes I have to use the big cheater, and then yet sometimes I've got to add the smoke wrench (torch) to heat up the nut.

[rwilner]

I've broken a lesser quality 6 point 1/2" socket that I broke trying to get one of those nuts removed, so I'd say NO to the 12 point. I have a hardened 3/4" impact socket that I use with a 6 foot heavy wall pipe for a cheater bar. Sometimes they'll come right off, and sometimes I have to use the big cheater, and then yet sometimes I've got to add the smoke wrench (torch) to heat up the nut.

Ok i got the nut off. I ended up using a 12 point without incident -- it was a 3/4 drive. Do I have to remove anything else to drive the stub axle out (dust shield, caliper, brake disc)? I have been hitting it with a hammer pretty hard (wood block in between) and it doesn't seem to want to budge.

[rwilner]

I've broken a lesser quality 6 point 1/2" socket that I broke trying to get one of those nuts removed, so I'd say NO to the 12 point. I have a hardened 3/4" impact socket that I use with a 6 foot heavy wall pipe for a cheater bar. Sometimes they'll come right off, and sometimes I have to use the big cheater, and then yet sometimes I've got to add the smoke wrench (torch) to heat up the nut.

Ok i got the nut off. I ended up using a 12 point without incident -- it was a 3/4 drive. Do I have to remove anything else to drive the stub axle out (dust shield, caliper, brake disc)? I have been hitting it with a hammer pretty hard (wood block in between) and it doesn't seem to want to budge.

Nevermind. I got it out. Just had to be a little more "persuasive"

[76-914]

If the head is all that is stripped I've removed them fairly easily before with a tight vise grip or small pipe wrench.
If it's the threads drill and extract.

That's what I thought he said, also. Did we both miss it or everyone else? I whole heartedly agree w/ the 4" pipe wrench.

[rwilner]

I used this 2 foot slide bar with a 3/4" 12 point socket to get the nut off. This was after soaking the nut in PB Blaster 3 times over 36 hours or so. I stood on the slide bar and the nut broke easily. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif)



some persuasion with a hammer and a block of wood got the stub axle out of the hub. This is where I ran into some problems. Here's a picture of my swingarm:



The PO had Racer Chris weld in suspension console reinforcements (check out the thread). I'm not sure if the console reinforcements push the swingarms a bit closer to the center of the car, but I could not get the half shaft / stub axle out of the car.

I was faced with three options:

1) remove the pass heat exchanger
2) unbolt the trans and lower it, possibly having to remove it
3) unbolt the cv from the half shaft

I went for option 3 as it was the least invasive. I couldn't get the half shaft back into the hub, which would have made this easy. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Instead, I used the other end of the CV to prevent the assembly from rotating by wedging the roll pins in some recesses of the transmission. This let me get he 2 stripped bolts out with the vice grips, and the 2 non-stripped ones with a 6mm allen wrench. I then carefully separated the CV from the stub axle by using a screwdriver on the gasket material only.

Here's the half shaft removed and one CV cleaned up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)





I need a new circlip and this thing will be going back together. Next sunday will be my the first drive of the year -- can't wait!!

[iamchappy]

If the head is all that is stripped I've removed them fairly easily before with a tight vise grip or small pipe wrench.
If it's the threads drill and extract.

That's what I thought he said, also. Did we both miss it or everyone else? I whole heartedly agree w/ the 4" pipe wrench.

I didn't realize until after i posted that it was the outer CV bolt that was stripped......

[mgphoto]

I have always been under the impression that the wheel bearing can be ruined when the stub axel is removed. Am I wrong?

Why not try a bolt extractor first? Either an i.d. or o.d. extractor or both. While I have not used one on a CV (and the location is not ideal) I was pleased at how well it worked.

It is ok to remove the stub axle but if you remove the hub the bearing needs to be replace.