so in attempt to retorque my axle nut last week, the passenger side axle nut seemed to be welded stuck to the indent where it was staked to the spindle. It was on there that it snapped the drive socket of my 1/2 socket wrench. Now what would be the easiest way to get this nut off? I have a small torch here...should I just try and heat it up then pry it up?

Any suggestions are welcome, thanks.

 

It's unlikely to be welded, it's more likely some gorilla just punched the seam down tightly.

The metal's thin and pretty soft. I've cut into it before with a hammer and screwdriver. Hopefully you have a replacement. I turned the screwdriver sideways along the side of the U and smacked away on it. A decent chisel might be better.

You might try hammering a really thin screwdriver under the bent down part. It needs to be a good quality one and you may destroy it but, if you can wedge something under the bent part you can probably make a big enough hole to put a better screwdriver in there.


Watch your eyes. Doing this hammer stuff might make small metal chunks fly. Typically when I stake them back down, I don't go hog wild so, the next time it's easier.

 

The thing is, the part where its staked is kinda chipped off and it's hard to get to, and I can kinda see a small party of the nut sleeve where its stuck to the spindle. I ordered 2 replacement axle nuts so what Im going to try is to heat it up and buy something sturdy (my previous screwdriver broke) and just hammer it in there.

 

Why would you even try to turn that nut BEFORE you UNstaked it? It's staked so that it resists being turned. You need to use a metal punch and hammer to unstake it.

 

I did it so I could just try and get it to move so I could fit a screwdriver in the small nook that the stake was in. But Im going to pickup a punch set and try and unstake it again.

 

Honestly, if there's just a little tit of metal, you should just be able to muscle it so, it bends the part out of the way. You might need better sockets. I've actually peeled the the whole lip out of the way when I had one that got hard to do like this.

Keep in mind, the axles steel, the nuts steel and there's alot of mass there. A propane torch might not be up to the task.

 

If you use a screwdriver of the size that will fit into that slot, you'll just end up snapping off the tip of it.

 

I use the screwdriver as a wedge, not a prybar. A screwdriver of the same width as the channel is thick enough to unstake the nut. You don't have to bend it up that much. Just getting it up enough to get a chisel on it's a win too.

 

Use a impact wrench and you don't have to worry about unstaking the nut. There aren't any threads on the outer CV joint to damage. Every line tech I know doesn't bother to unstake axle nuts.

A pnuematic impact wrench on reverse, they come right off with no damage to the CV joint. If the car was in a salt environment heat, liquid wrench, PB blaster etc. etc. helps when removing them.

 

Don't have an air source for an impact...