SaintPanzer
Well-known member
I thought I had this one in the bag... And then I got stuck. Seriously stuck. What the hell did I do, and how do I fix it?
The weekend project was to R&R the front radius arm bushings. I thought I did my research, I had parts needed in hand.
With the vehicle on the ground, I removed the left side arm. I left the right side attached to "hold the axle while I worked on the other side.
Stripped the rust. Used the "cut the bushings out method". Used a coat of rust epoxy, then a coat of Rustoleum. I would have preferred powder coat, but in the interests of time, I thought I'd do that next go-round. Pressed in the new poly bushings. Things going well, and I learned enough that I could speed it up on the other side.
Bolted in the rear of the arm. As I pulled it back with the nut, I got the front holes very close. So close it took light pressure with a pry-bar to get the front bolts in. Added anti-seize on the bolts, snugged them up to get my torque wrench.
Realized I forgot the anti-seize on the rear nut... and here's where it all went south.
The nut was about ¾ off... and then it stopped. I mean stopped hard. Me standing on the wrench did nothing. Brand new nut. Clean threads. Maybe a drip of silicone grease from the bushings. But it stopped. I thought maybe some plastic from the lock nut got caught in the threads. Heat didn't help. I was hoping maybe if the plastic was hot, I could back off past the plastic. I tried tightening it again (there's about an eighth to quarter inch of slop to the bushing), hoping to clear the threads. No go. My nut cracker will not fit on a 30mm nut (too small). Cold chisel only barely dented it (no room to swing a hammer). Just... stuck.
Any suggestions on what to do now? There's not a lot of room to bring in a hacksaw, but that's my next plan... I'm really hoping I didn't damage the threads. New radius arms aren't cheap!
The weekend project was to R&R the front radius arm bushings. I thought I did my research, I had parts needed in hand.
With the vehicle on the ground, I removed the left side arm. I left the right side attached to "hold the axle while I worked on the other side.
Stripped the rust. Used the "cut the bushings out method". Used a coat of rust epoxy, then a coat of Rustoleum. I would have preferred powder coat, but in the interests of time, I thought I'd do that next go-round. Pressed in the new poly bushings. Things going well, and I learned enough that I could speed it up on the other side.
Bolted in the rear of the arm. As I pulled it back with the nut, I got the front holes very close. So close it took light pressure with a pry-bar to get the front bolts in. Added anti-seize on the bolts, snugged them up to get my torque wrench.
Realized I forgot the anti-seize on the rear nut... and here's where it all went south.
The nut was about ¾ off... and then it stopped. I mean stopped hard. Me standing on the wrench did nothing. Brand new nut. Clean threads. Maybe a drip of silicone grease from the bushings. But it stopped. I thought maybe some plastic from the lock nut got caught in the threads. Heat didn't help. I was hoping maybe if the plastic was hot, I could back off past the plastic. I tried tightening it again (there's about an eighth to quarter inch of slop to the bushing), hoping to clear the threads. No go. My nut cracker will not fit on a 30mm nut (too small). Cold chisel only barely dented it (no room to swing a hammer). Just... stuck.
Any suggestions on what to do now? There's not a lot of room to bring in a hacksaw, but that's my next plan... I'm really hoping I didn't damage the threads. New radius arms aren't cheap!