halo bolt stuck!

[gwoods]

With 4 out of my 5 cars in good mechanical condition the Jeep has made its way into the wrenching space in the garage.

Second item is all the welding and cutting to make my Honda Prelude manual bucket seats fit.

But first I need to get the axles finished. I have a prized Dana 30 wide track from a 1986 cj-7 that is almost the same size as the horrible 1965 Dana 27a and has the pumpkin offset correctly for my spicer 18 transfer case.

One of the recessed castle bolts that holds the spindle is impossibly stuck.

I have tried soaking it in pb blaster.
I have destroyed two $30 napa sockets
I bought an oxy/acetalyn torch and heated it until it burned the rubber and glowed

Any suggestions would be wonderful I have also tried a bunch of big hammers.

[AZhitman]

Is it staked?

I think I'd try an air impact wrench or a mega-long breaker bar... or take it to a 4x4 shop and get that thing busted off.

[gwoods]

I had a cotter pin but that came right out. The other side was easy too. I tried my air and electric impact no luck. I guess just cut the spindle?

[frapjap]

Have you tried heating and big a** breaker bar followed by hammer, more heat, swearing, and the breaker bar, followed by two beers, more swearing, more heat and breaker bar with a pipe on it again?

[veery]

You could drill into in in at least 2, but even better 3, spots. drilling all the way through it, and then turn it out. You may bugger the threads on the spindle, but you should be able to chase them and have it still be usable. Cobalt bit.

[gwoods]

The drilling sounds like advice I can follow.

The problem with a breaker bar is that the socket also needs down force since it doesn't actually slip over the bolt. I had a buddy come over for a party and we ended up in the garage beating on the axle with the axle wedged against the garage wall and me holding the socket on the bolt and him jumping on a breaker bar (260lb guy). We still got nowhere with it.

I have named this bolt Excalibur !

[szh]

I have named this bolt Excalibur !

Z

[veery]

The drilling sounds like advice I can follow.

The problem with a breaker bar is that the socket also needs down force since it doesn't actually slip over the bolt. I had a buddy come over for a party and we ended up in the garage beating on the axle with the axle wedged against the garage wall and me holding the socket on the bolt and him jumping on a breaker bar (260lb guy). We still got nowhere with it.

I have named this bolt Excalibur !

If you drill, be very deliberate about turning it out, as you don't want twist things which will make them tighter. Drill, blow out the holes. load them with PB Blaster, and let sit for a few hours before you start the twisting. An impact on LOW torque may help get it moving. If it gets stuck, drill it in more places!

[gwoods]

Your avatar seems appropriate

[Dattebayo]

You haven't tried acetone mixed with ATF or power steering fluid yet, have you?

Also, how about the heat and then rapid cool method? (use water and make sure area is clean of any oils)

[gwoods]

I was thinking about grinding up some aluminum cans in my coffee grinder and mixing that with a Brillo pad soaked in vinegar for 24,hours then igniting the mixture with a propane torch

[AZhitman]

I have named this bolt Excalibur !

I lol'ed.

You haven't tried acetone mixed with ATF or power steering fluid yet, have you?

THIS.

I was thinking about grinding up some aluminum cans in my coffee grinder and mixing that with a Brillo pad soaked in vinegar for 24,hours then igniting the mixture with a propane torch

Uh, no.

[gwoods]

No thermite? It would totally melt through that stubborn bolt!

ATF and acetone makes what? Should I put it on a old sock and go around asking people "smell this and let me know if it smells like chloroform to you"

I'm Leary of mixing chemicals after hearing about that guy that used brake parts cleaner and then welded a truck frame and almost died from the fumes. Greg you posted the story years back.

[AZhitman]

You're not Leary, you're Woods.

ATF + acetone = a much better PB Blaster. In fact, it outperforms PB Blaster.

You're a lot less likely to die mixing the two than you are jumping up and down on a breaker bar trying to remove a bolt. BTW, it's a simple 1:1 mix, put it in a spray bottle and you'll thank us later.

[gwoods]

What does it taste like?

[Kompresshun]

It tastes like freedom.

[veery]

OK, let's get serious here, or I'll thread up my avatar. C4 would do it too,after all!

[Dattebayo]

Seriously, the ATF mix works amazing if you let it sit on there for a few hours. I got the bleeders on my old-a** front brakes to come loose after only a 3-hour soak, and we wailed on em with everything before that... (except heat, of course.. didn't want to eff up the seals)

[gwoods]

I bought the cobalt bits yesterday and am soaking them in ATF /acetone I will give it a try tomorrow

[Dattebayo]

Update?

[gwoods]

I did not get a chance to do anything on it Tuesday is looking good. My wife and I are the directors of a church youth club with 70 kids enrolled so I took them all camping Friday - Sunday. I imagined that I would work on it Friday morning but ended up making three trips out to the campsite instead! Good news was only two trips back today we ate a Seqouia load of food.

[float_6969]

That's a lot of friggin kids.

[gwoods]

And they are all 2-9 years old we require a guardian to "participate"

[veery]

I bought the cobalt bits yesterday and am soaking them in ATF /acetone I will give it a try tomorrow

Marinated drill bits!!!!

I know, I know....