Guest V8Z Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Hi, I DID A SEARCH. I was looking back in some old post on removing the spindle pins from the rear a arms and it sounds like it will be hell to get them out. My main question is about the nut and threaded pin that goes threw the middle out the spindle pin. Does it have to come out to remove the spindle pin and how do you get it out? Last of all, without the aid of a press or a pin puller is it in my best interest to take the a arms to a machine shop and have these pressed out? If anyone is from around Atlanta, do you know if Zcar of Atlanta out on Buford Hwy. does this? Price? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COZY Z COLE Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Happy Holidays. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/suspension/rearend/index.html LARRY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synlubes Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Nice write-ups / documentation Larry. Both front and rear. What’s everyone’s thoughts / opinions on making these links a sticky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Larry did a great job on his documentation and pics, but I used a spindle pin puller fabbed by one guy on this site and it takes about 5 minutes to pull a frozen spindle... Larry's way looks like it would take several years of ones life and a few expletives as well (no offense, but I'm too lazy for all that). If you don't have a puller then this is the best way. Shucks, who was it that was loaning the pullers out for free? Keep searching. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Yeah, I used the puller from one of our members as well, and took out 6 pins in the JY in about 30 minutes. But those that are not fortunate to have one at least has a good idea of what a PITA these pins can be to remove thanks to his write-up. Good work Larry! When I think about what is the popular method of removing these pins (banging on the ends with a hammer or such) I can understand why a puller works so easily. It appears that any compressive impact on the ends of the pin would swell the end of the pin (even if the threaded portion is necked down in size) ever so slightly, to the point where you increase the wall friction. If I had no puller to use, my next attempt at removing these pins would be to place a nut on the end of the pin and then use a ball-joint fork (or any ramped steel device) wedged between the pin and the bushing inner wall, and use this method to remove the pin using tension instead of the common compression method. As the pin is worked out, you'd be required to increase the thickness of a spacer (using washers perhaps?) to be able to continue using the fork as a means of removal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Just FYI, even the pullers fail if you are dealing with cars in very wet areas. I broke a puller (3 times, after replacing parts with upgraded ones) getting 1 pin out. Best method I've found so far: Pay someone else $25 to deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 When I think about what is the popular method of removing these pins (banging on the ends with a hammer or such) I can understand why a puller works so easily. It appears that any compressive impact on the ends of the pin would swell the end of the pin (even if the threaded portion is necked down in size) ever so slightly, to the point where you increase the wall friction. If I had no puller to use, my next attempt at removing these pins would be to place a nut on the end of the pin and then use a ball-joint fork (or any ramped steel device) wedged between the pin and the bushing inner wall, and use this method to remove the pin using tension instead of the common compression method. As the pin is worked out, you'd be required to increase the thickness of a spacer (using washers perhaps?) to be able to continue using the fork as a means of removal. I tried a pickle fork and I screwed up one pin out of the four I had to pull. I got the puller and pulled 3 in 1 hour, then went to try that 4th one and totally ruined it. The puller is the only way I would do this job again, IME a pickle fork is a good way to waste a pin. Of course Terry would probably build his own special fork that fit just right, but for those of us mere mortals, leave it alone and wait for the puller... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Save yourself some pain and just bring the entire strut assembly to a shop with a hydraulic press. It will take less than 30 seconds to press each spindle pin out. You will not damage the spindle pins using this method, saving you at least $30 (list price is $36 each for spindle pins, Courtessy sells them for $17 each). Do not use a hammer, you will just damage the spindle pins. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Can someone post a picture or some drawings of a puller so those of us that don't have them can build our own? I've already replaced mine and used the "pound with a hammer" method which worked, but I didn't like doing it that way. My pins weren't rusted at all, they had some salt air corrosion but no rust. It would have been nice to reuse them but because of the method I used to removed them they were unusable. Wheelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 The pullers were for sale by Dan Bethea on the site. I'm not sure he is around anymore, nor do I remember his user name. I don't have a pic, but maybe someone else does. In one of these forums is (was?) a sticky about a loaner program for these tools. Davy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Well, it's not a photo of the puller, but it is a quick drawing of what it basically looks like. The all-thread that was used was not your garden variety in that it looked like a good quality steel, and I cannot remember if it was NF or NC, but either way should work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsunlover Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 IIRC, the FSM actually shows a simple drawing of a tube (with diameters given) to use to pound out those things. It's listed in the 'special tools' section at the end of the chapter, and even has a datsun part number. I bent on of mine a bit trying to remove it, and then said "ahh, to hell with this!!" I live in northern Canada, and Im sure my car has as well.. longer than me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
280Zone Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Check with "Forrest" on this site, I believe he was the last person coordinating the "loaner" program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 I started the loaner program with about 6 of the pullers but never kept track of where they went to after I first sent them out. Forrest tracked some of them down and got the program going again for a while. I have some info on the pullers at http://www.linfoot.net and at http://63.229.133.5:8884/SpindlePinPuller/ The first pullers I made were from 1" square tubing. I then changed to the 1" black pipe that centered better on the transverse link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forrest Posted December 29, 2004 Share Posted December 29, 2004 Nice drawing Terry! I kept up with the program for a year - trying to return the favor Dave did us by letting us borrow them for free. I just don't have much time now, and no PM space.I posted the last people who had them in the main puller thread. It was kinda hard to communicate with everyone near the end there, so you guys will have to try and contact them yourselves. Thanks again Dave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted December 30, 2004 Share Posted December 30, 2004 From personal experience, even the spindle-pin puller can fail. I tried removing the spindle pin from one of my strut assemblies using a 75-ton hydraulic press. It also failed! Lest this result be attributed to my own incompetence, I should mention that I had a machinist and another technician help me. Next I tried drilling the spindle pin out. The drill bit wandered, and even with a 1/2"-diamter hole drilled down the spindle pin, it still would come out. Finally I took the strut to a local machinist. He used a boring-bar on a mill to cut out what remained of the spindle pin. Conventional drilling wouldn’t work, since the drill bit would just follow the off-center hole that I already drilled. The boring-bar worked just fine, except that it cost me $170! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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