heavy85 Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Ok I know this has discussed to death but I still need help ..... So it all started on a not so cold day in November. Winter projects stated - section struts, swap 3.7 for 3.9 gears in LSD, install electric fan, install wideband, few other misc things ... a lot of cleaning (sidebar I think I need to find a better way to clean parts as I spend more time scrubbing and cleaning than anything else it seems), many choice words, some cutting, some welding and two months later and I am just about to get excited. The struts are sectioned, new spring perches welded on, painted, new Konis, new ball joints installed, LCA relocated & crossmember painted, tie rods rebuild, etc. So I decided two things - 1) the front crossmember is the backbone of the whole car and there's not much to it and 2) time to finally get around to the dreaded spindle pin. I've tried a homemade puller similar to the one on the board, gear puller, beating, heat & beat all with not luck. So today I took it to a shop to have them pressed out. Started with a 10 ton press with no luck so next added some heat and press. Still no luck. Got the F'er cherry with press and STILL NOTHING MOVED. They suggested I drill out a good chunk of the center of the pin then try the heat and press again. So any suggestions? PS - odd thing is this is a California car with very little rust or corrosion. Thanks Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 i just let liquid wrench sit in there overnight and i beat it out with a sledgehammer. the impact makes it come out better. this worked on both sides and my car was rusty as S***. and i mean, really rusty. i probobly shouldnt have even bothered with it. just prop it up on some wood and beat the crap out of it. it will come out. i think. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darrel Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Unless you stiull have the center lock bolt in you will have to cut the pins. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 Unless you stiull have the center lock bolt in you will have to cut the pins. yeah, I think at this point you have no other alternative but to cut the pin. Use a hack saw slid down into the crack between the LCA and the strut. Cut through each side then an air hammer will knock out what's left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam280Z Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I had the same thing. Even after cutting the pins they would not budge. Tried air hammer, BFH, and welded up a frame to hold a 2 ton bottle-jack. Used massive angle iron (~3X3X.25) and square tubing http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=5768&cat=500. That seemed like it should have worked, but the frame would break at the welds after I put a 6ft cheater on the jack. Finally got them out with a harbor freight press, diligent soaking in kroil, and oxyacetylene torch. Even then they would just ease out one tick at a time. One thing that really helped was turning down an old spindle pin on the lathe to just under the ID of the hole in the housing. Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj paul Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 well im glad mine werent that bad! i just had to whack em as hard as i could with a sledgehammer! then right after i decided on going for the s13 subframe. lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube80z Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 PS - odd thing is this is a California car with very little rust or corrosion./QUOTE] This isn't going to help but I'm wondering if this is caused by over tightenning the wedge bolt that holds the spindle pin. A few that have been buggers for me are generally fairly bent. I know when I tried to press them out they looked like they tried to weld themselves to the strut housing. Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom'sZ Posted February 7, 2006 Share Posted February 7, 2006 I know when I tried to press them out they looked like they tried to weld themselves to the strut housing. Cary One side on mine was completely seized. This caused the suspension to not properly move through it's travel. The result was the back end of the car 'steering' around when you went over bumps, a very freaky feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy85 Posted February 8, 2006 Author Share Posted February 8, 2006 Ends are already cut off, air hammer is a joke, and the locking pin came out just fine with a couple decent whacks. Despite the fact that I've tried them all with exception of penetrant and the fact that a 10 ton press while heating up to a nice glowing cherry red didnt work I dont see a way short of somehow drilling them out? Any other ideas? Thanks Cameron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zfan Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 I cut minebetween the LCA and strut assembly. Then drilled the pin out somewhat. Next I took an air hammer and beat it thru. It was a total motherF----r! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fastzcars Posted February 8, 2006 Share Posted February 8, 2006 Despite the fact that I've tried them all with exception of penetrant and the fact that a 10 ton press while heating up to a nice glowing cherry red didnt work I dont see a way short of somehow drilling them out? Any other ideas? Try a 20 ton press. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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