spindle loaner broke my spindle pin,,help!!

[Guest mescalinedreamz]

well i recieved the spindle loaner removal tool, and was crankin down onto it, and my spindle broke with 3 threads left on it. The other threads are inside the spindle puller and i dont have an easy out and no way to really get it out. What did i do wrong? it didnt look to me like the spindle was moving anyways, like maybe the tiniest bit, not enough to reallt see at all. What should i do?

[JMortensen]

It works better if you screw the tool ALL the way down on the spindle. Don't ask how I know...

 

I was able to cut the end off the tool (I stripped about 6 threads out of it, and there was still enough meat in there that I was able to cut that portion off and still have enough to screw it all the way down the threads of the other pins I pulled afterwards. I was able remove the other 3 pins I needed to pull with no hassle.

 

If you didn't get the one that I cut then you might be able to do the same. My cut was really not straight (It was too small for my chop saw vise, sorry whoever got it after me), so it should be obvious if the one you have is the one I had...

 

Jon

[EvilRufusKay]

The spindle has to be cherry red with heat before you should even attempt to remove the pin. Did you take out the spindle pin retaining bolt / pin from the center of the spindle? Looks like a tapered pin with treads and a nut on the end.

[Drax240z]

Find someone with a hydraulic press, and ask them to press it out. Get a firm quote BEFORE you give it to them.

 

Even with the puller I needed lots of heat, penetrating oil, and a big hammer. After a few days of that I payed someone to use their press and get it out for me. Cost me $35. I think I'd pay everytime and save myself the frustration... though you california guys might have it a lot easier than us up in the rust belt when it comes to removing these.

[Guest mescalinedreamz]

i got the end out of the puller though, took a while witha dremel and a diamond tip.

 

now im stuck though,, i have no washers or bolts to put on the end of the puller to use a socket on, so i stacked up closed ended wrenches on it.

 

 

I then used an impact wrench and my spindle is up about an inch past its threads,, and that is as far as she goes. the impact isnt strong enough. and neither am i. so i guess i will have to goto a machine shop and have them press them out.

[JMortensen]

I double wrenched mine out. Impacts don't work really well for this because the bushings just compress and take all of the impact. Put the box end of a 3/4" wrench on the nut, then the box end of the 19 on the end of the 3/4, and be sure not to hit yourself when it comes flying off, as it is bound to do at some point while your working on it. Or just get a big pipe and attach to the end of your wrench.

 

Jon

[Guest JAMIE T]

You guys are giving me the creeps about removing the pins on my currant project. I've pulled the pins from two cars with no problems using the same type tool as the loaner you guys are using. In the past I've just soaked the area with PB blaster or GM brand penetrating fluid and waited a few days and pulled them. A suggestion would be to tap on the strut casting with a big hammer while pulling the pin and lube the threads on the puller with white lithium grease. Friction is your biggest enemy here. Once I actually got started pulling the pins, I was done in less than an hour. No horror stories, just pulled the pins.

[JMortensen]

Mine wasn't that hard, just had to put a lot of torque on the nuts, and I was an idiot and tried to pull one pin that I had already slightly damaged prior to receiving the tool.

 

Sorry if it came off like the toughest job I've ever done, because it wasn't at all.

[VRJoe]

PB-Blaster, Some heat and the puller tool worked for me. A friend of mine swears by PB-Blaster, after trying it I swear by it also (which is much easier then swearing at the part).

 

- Joe

[Jeff G 78]

After giving up on the big hammer, I cut the pins on each side of the knuckle and took the knuckles to work. Even with the LCA's removed, the pins laughed at our 25 ton hydraulic press. After a lot of heat and much penetrating oil, the pins started to move. Every time they would move some, they let out a hell of a bang. People from other parts of the shop came running over thinking a big piece of machinery fell over or broke. It was louder than a shotgun! It did this over and over as the pins slid out. I couldn't just keep going because the shock was so violent that the pressing pin would move out of position. We were holding scatter shields (thick rubber mats) up in front of us during the process since we weren't sure what would happen next. I finally got them out, but I had to laugh at myself for trying to get them out first with a big hammer. The spindle pin tool wasn't available yet at the time, but I seriously doubt it would have done anything more than strip the threads off the pins.

 

I thought for sure that my rust-free Z from Atlanta would be easier than most to get the pins out. WRONG! The pins didn't look too corroded, mushroomed, or bent. I guess they just didn't want to come out.

[dosquattro]

I got my front Illumina's installed and now I'm fearing the back. I'm in WI and this car has it's fair share of rust. I thought the fronts were bad. It still had the stock struts leaking oil like crazy. Not to mention I'm installing my ES bushing kit and the has it was getting the control arm bushing out. Took me almost an hour getting one out.

[DavyZ]

PB-Blaster' date=' Some heat and the puller tool worked for me. A friend of mine swears by PB-Blaster, after trying it I swear by it also (which is much easier then swearing at the part).

 

- Joe[/quote']

 

PB Blaster is great! But I hate the smell. Wear gloves to keep it off your hands or they'll stink for days. I personally prefer the light, almost etherial fragrance of WD-40 or Liquid Wrench. Wait, what were we talking about?

 

Davy