Rear Drive shaft question

[rb142]

12mm 12 point socket should fit. If you can't get them loose with the PB, try adding some heat. Breaking them off would not be fun.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Been a while since I've seen one of them break off, but if you never removed them the rears have red locktite, the front has yellow. Heat can help however my experience has been it works best to put a long breaker bar with 12-point impact socket and tap the bar with a heavy hammer. Once the thread lock cracks the bolts turn right out.

 

[jremington59]

Been a while since I've seen one of them break off, but if you never removed them the rears have red locktite, the front has yellow. Heat can help however my experience has been it works best to put a long breaker bar with 12-point impact socket and tap the bar with a heavy hammer. Once the thread lock cracks the bolts turn right out.

I pushed them as far as I dared earlier. They wouldn't budge. I spent a couple hours after that with a small wire brush and tranny fluid scrubbing the fronts and backs of the bolt holes and I'll let the tranny fluid soak in overnight and try them again. I don't believe this shaft has ever been off. If I can get the front off I may separate the shaft and wait until spring to do the back. It's five degrees here and it's snowed another foot in the last couple hours. This has been a winter from hell, lol.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Do you have an impact wrench? I believe 350 ft pounds is needed for the thread locker. That's why suggested the breaker bar and hammer. The vibration and shock is what cracks the locker rather than straight torque. Otherwise heat up to at least 400 should turn it to liquid, but have to turn it quick as it will re-glue when it cools.

 

[jremington59]

Do you have an impact wrench? I believe 350 ft pounds is needed for the thread locker. That's why suggested the breaker bar and hammer. The vibration and shock is what cracks the locker rather than straight torque. Otherwise heat up to at least 400 should turn it to liquid, but have to turn it quick as it will re-glue when it cools.

I don't have an impact wrench. But I did buy this stupid 1500 watt heat gun to reflow a laptop mother board, lol. I wonder if that would heat it hot enough? It turns solder to water in about ten seconds.

It probably doesn't help that it's 7 below zero here this morning. The thought of laying down on a garage floor isn't very appealing. If you put the salamander about two feet away from you at least you can feel it, lmao.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Harbor freight can be your friend. If you don't already have a long breaker bar, pick up one of these:

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-drive-25-breaker-bar-67933.html

And one of these hammers as well:

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-lb-engineers-hammer-with-hickory-handle-69240.html

Make sure you have a good fitting 1/2" drive socket. Few hits in the middle of the handle while your holding torque against the bolts will absolutely free them, heat or no heat.

If you need the socket these arent bad:

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piece-high-visibility-12-in-drive-metric-socket-set-67916.html

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Yeah the cold and snow is getting old. Replaced the lower thermostat housing in my wife's explorer two weeks ago. Even with an electric heater running on high next to me my hands kept going numb. Being in a garage out of the wind is great compared to a driveway or parking lot, but given that the snow and ice dont melt on the concrete floor it isnt all that much better.

 

[jremington59]

I see your in Ill so I'd assume your winter has been colder with more snow then usual. There's ben days I've snow blowed more in one day then I did in a month.

 

[RomeovilleIL]

Wouldnt call it a whole more colder and snowy than usual for nothern Illinois, just a bad winter. Its pretty much exactly what I remember through the 70's, 80's, 90's. Just been off and on mild the past ten years or so and everyone seems to have forgotten, or just wasn't around for the normal crappy winters of the midwest. So many people have 4WD, AWD, or front wheel vehicles or live in cities with good snow removal service that they just don't think about it anymore. Not to mention that most car batteries are decent quality now and all engines are fuel injected so hard starts in cold weather is really a thing of the past. Even the diesels start in sub zero temps now. Used to always have starter fluid and tire chains in the trunk for winter. All the country roads were lined with snow fencing but would still drift closed regularly before people stopped winter tilling the fields. Heck, I aint that old either.

 

[jremington59]

I tried your hammer trick and it broke one free. It's so cold I tightened it back up and said "to heck with it", until it gets a little warmer.

I think we're up to 200 and some odd inches of snow and they're calling for another 2 foot storm tonight. I'd like to hibernate until April 1st, but I'd probably wake up and it would still be snowing, lmao..

 

[Explorer0204]

I tried your hammer trick and it broke one free. It's so cold I tightened it back up and said "to heck with it", until it gets a little warmer.

I think we're up to 200 and some odd inches of snow and they're calling for another 2 foot storm tonight. I'd like to hibernate until April 1st, but I'd probably wake up and it would still be snowing, lmao..

Amen to that!
Hope it warms up for ya man

 

[jremington59]

These back bolts won't budge so I'm going to go and buy a Mapp gas torch. Is there any that are better than others?