Spindle nut will not budge
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
From: Folsom California
Spindle nut will not budge
I'm replacing a rear wheel bearing and cannot get the big (34mm) nut busted loose. I'm using a 24" breaker (1/2" drive) with about a four-foot cheater and am getting to where it looks like the bar is going to snap(busting knuckles and whatever else, of course). Any ideas? By any chanceis that a backwards thread? Or, absent that, any ideas about getting it loose? I have saturated the thing with penetrating oil, WD40, you name it. Thanks to all the DIY bloggers out there, in advance.
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 50,808
Likes: 10
From: Buy USA products! Check the label! Employ Americans
e brake off cotter pin out? I guess. PB Rust Buster is way better than WD-40. How rusted are the threads looking? Have access to a torch to heat it? Hot nut expands and rust is crushed so it comes off easy when it cools or even hot.
Last edited by John Shiels; Jan 1, 2007 at 07:33 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 23,682
Likes: 9
From: Flagstaff Az.
Take a dull chisel and a hammer and hit the nut in the middle of the flat surface on all six faces. Smack it really hard and it should break loose. Hold a tension on the bar and have someone hit the bar with a good sized hammer to get it started off. Had to do this on mine after I broke a 2 foot bar with a 3 foot cheater. 
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
I'm replacing a rear wheel bearing and cannot get the big (34mm) nut busted loose. I'm using a 24" breaker (1/2" drive) with about a four-foot cheater and am getting to where it looks like the bar is going to snap(busting knuckles and whatever else, of course). Any ideas? By any chanceis that a backwards thread? Or, absent that, any ideas about getting it loose? I have saturated the thing with penetrating oil, WD40, you name it. Thanks to all the DIY bloggers out there, in advance.I bought a 24" 3/4" Drive from Harbor Freight.. I used a 3/4" to 1/2" adapter for the 34mm socket..
Soaked it with PB for 10 minutes and then stood on the bar... I weigh 175lbs... It was still not moving.. I grabbed under the rear fender and pulled.. I guess I added another 50 or 60lbs of pull.. and it popped!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 893
Likes: 38
From: ATX
I've yet to take them loose on a 'vette, but I use penetrating oil + a 3/4" craftsman socket wrench on other cars. Breaks them loose rather easily.
My set is like this, except with a plastic case and I think I paid <$200 for it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-Pi...QQcmdZViewItem
My set is like this, except with a plastic case and I think I paid <$200 for it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-Pi...QQcmdZViewItem
Last edited by nitrojunky; Jan 2, 2007 at 12:07 AM.
Team Owner
Joined: Mar 1999
Posts: 22,025
Likes: 192
From: At the beach in little Rhody
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Expensive Corvettes Ever Sold on Bring A Trailer
Brett Foote
10 Things Every Corvette Owner Needs (2026 Edition)
Michael S. Palmer
8 Most "Only Corvette Owners Understand" Quirks and Problems
Pouria Savadkouei
10 Reasons the C6 Z06 is Still A Performance Benchmark After 20 Years
Joe Kucinski
How Much Horsepower Every Corvette Engine "LOST" in 1972
Joe Kucinski
Top 10 DOs and DON'Ts for Protecting Your Convertible Top!
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
Either that or set a friend to stand on it with me..
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 17,602
Likes: 20
From: Palm City Florida
I've yet to take them loose on a 'vette, but I use penetrating oil + a 3/4" craftsman socket wrench on other cars. Breaks them loose rather easily.
My set is like this, except with a plastic case and I think I paid <$200 for it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-Pi...QQcmdZViewItem
My set is like this, except with a plastic case and I think I paid <$200 for it.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/18-Pi...QQcmdZViewItem
Thread Starter
Intermediate
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 26
Likes: 0
From: Folsom California
I'm going for the 3/4 inch breaker next. If I can find one that is about 6 feet long I'll be in business. Was is Archimedes who said "Give me a lever long enough and I can move the earth"? or someone else from that gang?Seriously, will heating the nut with my Bernzomatic really work? I'd hate to see all the PB Blaster I've been spraying go up in flames!
Who created all these little characters?
.....anyway?
Burning Brakes
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 893
Likes: 38
From: ATX
I'm going for the 3/4 inch breaker next. If I can find one that is about 6 feet long I'll be in business. Was is Archimedes who said "Give me a lever long enough and I can move the earth"? or someone else from that gang?Seriously, will heating the nut with my Bernzomatic really work? I'd hate to see all the PB Blaster I've been spraying go up in flames!
Who created all these little characters?
.....anyway?
If heating the nut causes it to expand at a faster rate than the shaft, then it could do some good, but I'd rather not heat the end of my shafts if I can help it.
FWIW, I broke a 1/2 breaker while using an 8ft Al pipe to increase my torque. That's when I went out and bought the 3/4" set (and returned/got a new craftsman breaker). I then broke the nut loose on the first try with the 3/4", with NO breaker bar, and it's probably only 20" long; apparently, its stiffness made a very big difference. I do also have to say that I'm a little stronger than the average bear, tho.
The only bad thing is axle nuts are the only thing that expensive set comes out for.
Good luck with it.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 36,836
Likes: 244
From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16