Stuck Nut

[HeswallTR3]

Hi,

 

I cant seem to release the propshaft nut and despite jamming the engine and clouting it with a lump hammer still it wont budge, so the strip down has come to a halt, any help would be welcome, also I would post a photo to explain but I can only post 61 kb, can anyone tell how to get my capacity increased

 

Cheers in advance

 

Keith

[jean]

Keith, go to my controls - manage attachments - delete old pictures.....

Don't exactly know which nut you are talking about

[HeswallTR3]

Thanks for the help with the attachments heres a few pics of the offending nut

[jean]

Keith, for this nut you will have to apply short heavy blows, mostly the only solution is a good impact wrench

[Don Elliott]

Normally it will come off with the correct socket and a long bar (not a short ratchet). You could add a lenght of pipe to make that bar even longer. Or you may try an air-driven impact gun like those used in a shop where they change wheels.

[Eyetee]

Sure there's not a split pin still attached?

 

From experience and several bloody nuckles, dictates that heat is the best way to free up stubborn nuts and bolts. heat till red hot cool with wet rag, spanner off, if not heat again walk away, cool slow, spanner off.

 

Have seen a nut splitter (never tried), does exactly that, but that is rather a large nut.

 

Could try grinding a slot for purchase and using a cold chisel and club to get started then monkey rench.

 

For photos I use photobucket.com to upload pictures and then linked using the insert image icon

 

Good luck

[stuart]

Point is chaps thats not a nut but a long bolt that goes right through the fan extension and screws into the front of the crank. As Don says a socket of the correct size and a good length breaker bar is the best way to remove it.

Stuart.

[jean]

You are very right Stuart, it's a bolt. My concern was that with the engine out of the car and stripped it will be very hard to immobilize the engine in a way that permits to unlock the bolt with a bar, in my favourite TR garage we always do it with an impact wrench and an appropriate strong socket. Up to now not one bolt has resisted to the treatment, but it's mostly done BEFORE the engine is removed, and there are good reasons for, I think

Edited September 3, 2007 by jean

[stuart]

Im sure that with the crank wedged with a suitably shaped bit of wood it would be possible to get it undone even stripped as far as it is.

Stuart.

[david ferry]

Keith,

 

Clearly, a number of us were reading this thread and about to post that it isn't a nut but is in fact a bolt. There never was a split pin in it.

 

Nut splitters, heat, monkey wrenches, cold chisels and club hammers will be of no use here!

 

My concern is that after examining the close up photo a number of times, it looks as though the head of the bolt has been welded to the fan extension. This isn't going to make the removal process any easier.

 

I know the Americans do some odd things to their cars but if it has been welded together, it's a first for me!

 

If it has been welded up, the welds need to be ground off before you do anything further. Then, it's back to trying to remove it. Not now easy with the engine on a stand but the only way will be to stop the crank turning and to then use a socket and long bar as has been suggested by others.

 

A search on the forum may bring up a fairly recent post where another person was trying to remove a fan extension from a TR6 whilst the engine was in the car (the easiest way). Finding this post may be of help.

 

Good luck, you may need it.

 

Regards

 

David

Edited September 3, 2007 by david ferry

[bob-menhennett]

Keith

My only" sixpenneth" would be "boiling water" application over the end of the nut...prior to the socket and a long lever.Tipping the back of the engine would allow waer to drip on the floor rather than back into the engine.It worked on my nut, several applications might be needed though but perserveer

 

Bob

[julian c]

There ia a rock ape method to immobilise the engine . . . works for me !

 

With head off, cut a couple of chunks of wood to approximate size, drop into cylinders, refit head temporarily - crank is now locked by the wood chunks between piston and head. Unwind nut with long bar, and if it needs more torque a length of scaffold pole over the bar will do the job nicely.

 

Cheers,

 

Alec

Alec, this method will almost certainly bend the con rods.It all depends how badly you want the bolt off. One method is applying loads of heat to it, but unsure about how the crank would take it.

Keith, what I did was to lock up the ring gear with a flywheel locking tool and then used a 3/4 inch ratchet. I dont remember it being that hard to undo. If you`re in the South East, I could do it for you if you pop it round to me one evening.

It shouldn`t take long to do. (famous last words)

Julian

[littlejim]

Tiger,

 

I'll add another one to the list, from Dave Connit's TR4A blog.

He heats the nut and shaft up then melts a common garden candle on to the thread, it seems to penetrate into the nut/bolt junction in the thread.

Then add spanner with long handle.

It worked for me on one of the seized body nuts, after wd40 had failed.

[Andy Moltu]

You are unlikely to bend the con rods by wedging the crank webs against the cylinder block with a block of wood.

 

Another option may be to put the assembly in your car and go to a friend or local garage who has an air powered impact wrench.

[vivdownunder]

Hi Keith,

 

I have found this front fan housing bolt loose on two of my TR's over the years soon after purchase, so perhaps a previous owner has gone for safety and used the highest grade of locktite on the thread.

 

The advice already given to use a good quality socket with a long extension pipe is the most practical means of working at the front of the engine. Heating the nut will only see some temperature increase down the bolt at the thread, as the cast iron fan extension will act as a heat sink. However some heat would be beneficial.

 

I can suggest a method I have just used on another car to lock up your engine.

 

I cut four small lengths of light duty angle iron, and bolted them around the back of the engine as ring gear locks. The legs of the angle iron were positioned to mesh into the ring gear, with four locks to spread the load. You could actually use an angle iron lock in every tapping around the back of the engine block for even more spread of the load. Then you are unlikely to have trouble with stressed or broken teeth on the ring gear.

 

Before drilling the pieces of angle iron it is best to fit the leg into the ring gear so it sits against the back of the tooth, then mark where to drill. You might need to file a chamfer on the bottom edge of the leg so it sits snug down in the teeth, depending on the thickness of the angle iron. I used this method on a V8 with larger teeth than a TR, thus the suggestion of finessing the locks to suit the TR ring gear. It helps to drill the attaching hole slightly oversize so you can adjust each lock into place as you fit it, using a flat washer.

 

Best wishes for a result.

 

Viv.

[scotty]

I have certainly removed a couple of these with the engine stripped . As has been said good fitting socket , quality ratchet and your son/daughters pogo stick for leverage . (pull off the rubber end and the pole is a good tight fit over the socket )

[woodward]

I did this recently on my TR4 with the engine out of the car. I took a long piece of angle iron, in this case about 10ft because that's all I had handy. I used a couple of the clutch cover bolts to bolt this to the flywheel. Whilst someone stood on the end of the angle iron I used a socket and a jack handle extension to undo the bolt on the fan extension. As your engine is on a jack stand I guess the flywheel is removed but if you're prepared/able to replace the flywheel this would work. Good luck.

 

Myles

[HeswallTR3]

Thanks to everyone for the advice, I am going with the impact socket option combined with a long bar and a lump hammer, the socket should arrive over the weekend in the post as I could not get one locally on the wirral, the nearest sizes were 27mm and 30mm, wish me luck

 

Keith

[ianhoward]

When I rebuilt my old TR4 engine 15 years ago, I didn not have any problem removing the said bolt for the fan extension... If I recall correctly, it was just a case of a large Shifter and a decent 'shove'...