rear axle nut!!!!!!!

[mbarjbar]

The rear axle nut on my 1970 is kicking my arse! Is dynamite a workable solution to get this damn thing off?

Mike

[Zs-ondabrain]

Leave the wheel on, leave the Ebrake cable on, Apply the ebrake with the wheel on the ground. Use a BFBbar (Big Fricken Breaker Bar) go at it.

If the Strut assembly is off the car, bolt a wheel to the studs, have 2 people stand on the wheel on a rough surface (driveway) and try the BFB again.

Also, make sure that the Bent tab of the nut is not bent into the flat spot of the stud. This will hamper your abilities to break it loose.

Dave

[kinfish]

Did you carefully grind the staked portion of the nut with a dremel?

That is the locking feature for early Z-cars.

Nuts for later models have self-locking feature in nut.

[Lazeum]

I got rid of mine with an impact wrench. You should try this solution

To torque it down to the right torque back is another problem afterwards...

[mbarjbar]

Well, I got it off. Yes, I had cut the peened part of the nut off. The strut is off the car. I put it in a vise and went at it. My impact was not working, I think because I was using a 12 point socket. The thing was swimming in PB blaster. In the end, I bought a 6 point impact socket, two 3 foot iron pipes I used as a 'T' with the sliding 1/2 inch driver. I pushed on one end, a friend pulled on the other. She move about a 1/4 inch and I finished with my impact wrench. Now on to the other one.

Mike

[gnosez]

I have built a holder for struts made out of two 4X4 blocks of wood with holes for the lugs to fit in. With the blocks clamped to my workbench, I place the strut on/in the blocks and use a long pipe over my 1/2 breaker to first tighten and then (with luck and a lot of swearing) to loosen the nuts enough to let the impact gun do it's work.

Heat works in extreme situations but must be careful applied.

[GreenZZZ]

Best rear axle reference here http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/rearwheelbearings/index.html

[Sailor Bob]

Thats the guidline I used - worked perfect.