john mcdonald

My procedure on a 77 280 (perhaps I was just lucky): Wire brush fat side of pin lock and squirt some PB Blaster on it; break the nut loose and add another nut to bottom threads and tap it loose and remove nuts and tap out all the way; close off the hole at the bottom and fill with Blaster. Wire brush/blaster/remove spindle nuts. Make 1-2 washers to fit at end of the rear bushing area to get a flat base - I just had to grind a flat on 2 large washers for a 3/4" bolt so it would slip up against the irregular metal piece by the bushing. Then I used blaster on both ends of the spindle, stacked washers up and used a nut to pull the spindle out about a 1/4" at a time. It made a cracking sound every pull on the ratchet (Craftsman 11" long 3/8" drive). My first side took me 3 - 4 hours (including a trip to hardware store for more washers and a bronze spacer.) Next day I went to the Depot and got more washers and a couple 3/4" nuts.) I did try to hammer it a little, but just managed to put a little bend in the threaded area. My second side took about an hour or so and the last 4 inches just slid right out. I think the use of blaster was the answer for me. Since it works by capillary action, you only need a little squirt on the spindle and I did that every time I restacked the washers/spacers. I also used a vernier caliper with a depth gauge to measure progress between restackings to make sure I was actually doing something. I also would squirt a little Blaster in any opening where it might be able to work its way to the spindle. I am only putting in strut cartridges at this time and I also would use Blaster and let it work overnight rather than trying to get it done quickly. I used about 1/2 can of Blaster. I live in the rust belt and always have a couple cans on hand.