TheWeatherWarrior Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 OK...been putting it of, and putting it off, and now I think I screwed it up. I was getting ready to pull the drive shaft (left front...driverside) off. Read direction about how to do so I pushed the little tap up (on the brass colored nut) and I must have did something to the threads underneath, because I'm still on able to get the nut loose. I've used a good sized socket ratchet for levered strength, but not being a big guy, didn't have a ton of strength...although I've never had an issue before. I am hoping I can get some advice or assistance getting it off so that I can continue with the work. Advice I'm sure will come first, but ultimately, I may need someone with an impact wrench to get that bugger off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegacyGTBiggie Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Call Pirouz and ask him for advice. Someone who has done this before professionally.! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted September 28, 2010 Author Share Posted September 28, 2010 Call Pirouz and ask him for advice. Someone who has done this before professionally.! Who is that...is it a screen name here? Otherwise I don't know how to contact them to follow up. Taking the car out today for the first time in a few weeks...forgot how bad it got. I sooo want this done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 You need a good 1/2" breaker bar/socket and a metal pipe for good leverage. A ratchet and socket is not going to do it. I have done it on other cars, and only once did I have to chisel out the nut. I got a 3 foot plumbing metal pipe from home depot. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LegacyGTBiggie Posted September 28, 2010 Share Posted September 28, 2010 Who is that...is it a screen name here? Otherwise I don't know how to contact them to follow up. Taking the car out today for the first time in a few weeks...forgot how bad it got. I sooo want this done. head guy at DPS and a great guy to know when you get stuck like this! http://www.dpstuning.com/ he and Brian are helpful and great guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted September 29, 2010 Author Share Posted September 29, 2010 You need a good 1/2" breaker bar/socket and a metal pipe for good leverage. A ratchet and socket is not going to do it. I have done it on other cars, and only once did I have to chisel out the nut. I got a 3 foot plumbing metal pipe from home depot. X Yeah...that's what I had/used...it's not the issue. It's not a leverage issue. It's to the point I'm almost about to shear off the 1/2" (torque style) socket. I've done it before, not cheap to replace either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted September 29, 2010 Author Share Posted September 29, 2010 head guy at DPS and a great guy to know when you get stuck like this! http://www.dpstuning.com/ he and Brian are helpful and great guys! Ah, OK...didn't put 2 & 2 together. I just hope they don't use the whole "just bring it in". That's what I don't want to do...is pay (well a nominal fee to a forum member is one thing, but not a full cost repair...not doing it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
laz Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 Yeah...that's what I had/used...it's not the issue. It's not a leverage issue. It's to the point I'm almost about to shear off the 1/2" (torque style) socket. I've done it before, not cheap to replace either. 1/2" torque style socket? I had a similar issue and I just had to chisel out the nut. Not in the legacy, but in the hooptie. Same difference though. It almost seemed like the nut had fused to the axle. I wish I had taken pics. X --- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted September 30, 2010 I Donated Share Posted September 30, 2010 When I was doing my axle on my 90 Legacy (my first repair I ever did on a car), I ended up breaking two 1/2" breaker bars at the point where the socket attaches. I ended up getting an electric impact wrench from Harbor Freight (best $80 I ever spent!) and just letting it wail away at the nut until it came loose. My experience is you can use a 3/4" drive socket and a GOOD quality, long breaker bar, or an impact (electric or pneumatic). 1/2" breaker bar often is not gonna cut it. The real problem on that car was not the axle nut, but the rollpin that held the axle into the transmission. I hate rollpins. Even worse was the rollpin-within-a-rollpin that held the shift linkage adapter onto the transmission on my brother's 92 Legacy. His linkage fell apart and we were swapping to a WRX linkage, but the WRX uses a different mounting system, so we had to take off the adaptor and put a different one on. I ended up borrowing a pneumatic impact hammer and compressor from a friend and just went to town on the rollpin (and the surrounding adapter). It finally came off, but it took us like 2 weeks of trying on and off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 4, 2010 Author Share Posted October 4, 2010 ^ the impact wrench is what I'm thinking will work. I didn't want to spend the money...being that I don't currently have a compressor and associated equipment. Have a very limited size home and currently still haven't found a spot for the welder I bought from HF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted October 4, 2010 I Donated Share Posted October 4, 2010 An electric impact does not require a compressor -- just an outlet near where you work on the car. I generally just plug it into the outlet on the task light. I've had mine since 2006 and have used it on an engine swap, plentiful stuck bolts on a series of early-90s cars, and more axle nuts than I can count. It's still a champ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 4, 2010 Author Share Posted October 4, 2010 Never even considered an electric one. Might have to check it out. I can probably make space for an electric one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jton Posted October 4, 2010 Share Posted October 4, 2010 craigslist my friend. plethora of tools for cheap on there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 5, 2010 Author Share Posted October 5, 2010 craigslist my friend. plethora of tools for cheap on there. No I meant I never considered an electric version of an impact wrench. I'm just a he-man hardware kind of guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryN Posted October 8, 2010 Share Posted October 8, 2010 Why not bring it to the DIY garage? I mean they have the tools you are looking for, plus on site help should we need one. It's the best alternative for doing it yourself instead of taking it to an awesome shop like DPS and getting it done in minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted October 8, 2010 I Donated Share Posted October 8, 2010 Why not bring it to the DIY garage? I didn't know about those guys, but I Googled them and they are EXPENSIVE! If you have a major project and no garage, it's almost better to rent a storage unit for a month so you can do it on your own time. If you're doing a minor project, hell, I'd find a parking lot. (Luckily I have use of a garage at my parents' house, although they are threatening to start charging rent -- I've been taking up half of it with various broken cars for over 3 months at this point!) I did my last engine swap at Aberdeen PG, because I sold the old engine to one of the guys who runs the Auto Craft Shop there for a good price. That is a nice shop and a good deal if you can get access. I think basically all major military bases have something similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 9, 2010 Author Share Posted October 9, 2010 Why not bring it to the DIY garage? I mean they have the tools you are looking for, plus on site help should we need one. It's the best alternative for doing it yourself instead of taking it to an awesome shop like DPS and getting it done in minutes. Done in minutes, and $300 lighter in the wallet....no thanks. Guys seem cool and all...but if you don't have money...they don't seem to want to waste the time. Not looking for a freebee, but honestly...it's robbery what mechanics what on an hourly basis around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 9, 2010 Author Share Posted October 9, 2010 I didn't know about those guys, but I Googled them and they are EXPENSIVE! If you have a major project and no garage, it's almost better to rent a storage unit for a month so you can do it on your own time. If you're doing a minor project, hell, I'd find a parking lot. (Luckily I have use of a garage at my parents' house, although they are threatening to start charging rent -- I've been taking up half of it with various broken cars for over 3 months at this point!) I did my last engine swap at Aberdeen PG, because I sold the old engine to one of the guys who runs the Auto Craft Shop there for a good price. That is a nice shop and a good deal if you can get access. I think basically all major military bases have something similar. $22/hr isn't expensive for something that should only take .5 hrs to do. BTW...NO STORAGE company will allow you to do automotive repairs at their facility. It is against zoning and they can get huge fines for allowing it. I can easily do the job at home, it's not the place/space that's the issue in this case, it's fuking poor design by the japs. I keep hearing about the military garages but there is a big problem there....I AM NOT IN THE MILITARY. Anytime I've been on a base (media work or other stuff), you have to be pre-approved by personnel and can't just be someones 'friend' from what I understand. This is one of the hang-up on my attempt to get to do the FBI/SS driving course at Quantico (my next level in driving lessons). Bottomline: I just want to get the damn nut off so I can do the rest of the shaft work. Like I said, it is seems super easy to do once I'm off and running. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryN Posted October 9, 2010 Share Posted October 9, 2010 Well, the only thing I can say is bring it to the DIY garage if you want to save money and get the job done in half an hour - 1 hour. I will be frequenting that place for my oil changes, brake pads, brake rotors, wheels, tires, basically odds and ends installations. Anything major I will be taking it to DPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted October 9, 2010 I Donated Share Posted October 9, 2010 I still think an electric impact would be more cost-effective in the long run. I have gotten waaaay more than 4 hours worth of use out if it -- heck, in the 4 years I've had it, I've done about 9 or 10 axle jobs (although a couple of those were combined with engine swaps, transmission swaps, or clutch jobs, which have also been much easier with an electric impact). So just in terms of axle swaps, my $80 electric impact has paid for itself 2.5 times over if each of those swaps took an hour, and frankly, when I was first learning how to do this stuff and had to fight with those rollpins, some of them took a lot more than an hour. If you don't have the space, that's one thing. If you have the space but not the tools, $80 is cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 10, 2010 Author Share Posted October 10, 2010 I still think an electric impact would be more cost-effective in the long run. I have gotten waaaay more than 4 hours worth of use out if it -- heck, in the 4 years I've had it, I've done about 9 or 10 axle jobs (although a couple of those were combined with engine swaps, transmission swaps, or clutch jobs, which have also been much easier with an electric impact). So just in terms of axle swaps, my $80 electric impact has paid for itself 2.5 times over if each of those swaps took an hour, and frankly, when I was first learning how to do this stuff and had to fight with those rollpins, some of them took a lot more than an hour. If you don't have the space, that's one thing. If you have the space but not the tools, $80 is cheap. I'll probably get one, not sure when. Space issue was only with an air compressor, I've got space for what I would assume is not much bigger than a typical 25v cordless drill. I'll be at DIY for sure, if anything, just to be social and learn stuff watching others, or teaching the little bit I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 18, 2010 Author Share Posted October 18, 2010 SUCCESS! I finally got the damn nut off. The suggestion of going to Harbor Freight and getting the electric impact wrench did the job. I actually even got it on sale so even if I decide to sell it, I can sell it for more than I paid. Nut came right off with the impact wrench. I put it back on so I can still drive it till next weekend when I return to the DIY shop where I can complete the job with ease and minimal expense and effort. Thanks guys for all the advice and help. Next on the list is to find the proper removal clamp so I can replace the steering boot that got ripped on one of my off-road endeavors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryN Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Oh wow, I wanna see how that is done as well. I never replaced a steering boot before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWeatherWarrior Posted October 19, 2010 Author Share Posted October 19, 2010 Oh wow, I wanna see how that is done as well. I never replaced a steering boot before. OK.....yes I over simplified the name. You know exactly what I'm talking about though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I Donated thefultonhow Posted October 19, 2010 I Donated Share Posted October 19, 2010 The suggestion of going to Harbor Freight and getting the electric impact wrench did the job. I actually even got it on sale so even if I decide to sell it, I can sell it for more than I paid. I would never even CONSIDER selling my HF electric impact. Actually, I was Simple Greening a bunch of tools yesterday because they got kind of greasy in a wheel bearing job I did on my Infiniti, and decided to spritz the electric impact. It's now a totally different shade of orange than it was before! Gives you some idea of how much I use it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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