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Re: Flange on tapered rear axle won't come off

To: <tigers@autox.team.net>
Subject: Re: Flange on tapered rear axle won't come off
From: "Thomas Witt" <atwittsend@verizon.net>
Date: Fri, 08 Sep 2006 10:55:20 -0700
Jim,
  My Tiger (#101) seems to have been an "in house" Rootes contest car to see
who at the assembly plant could bend the needle on the torque wrench the
furthest. I tried every "whack it here with a hammer,"  "whip a chain back
and forth," "heat it to this color, then tap it off" suggestion offered on
the list. I even made my own puller to no avail.
 In the end I bolted the spare tire to the hub and suspended this between
two rickety saw horses. I put the nut on backwards flush with the axle and
for added protection place a 1/2" steel plate on top. I liberal dosed the
area with oil and heated it with a propane torch. It still took about ten,
full force, overhead whacks with a 10 lbs. sledge hammer before the hubs
popped off. Amazingly the saw horses survived the pounding better than my
back did.
 Once loose there was no rust or burrs indicating a reason for the
difficulty. Even though I was careful with the nut placement and used a
protective steel plate I still had threads I needed to restore with a file.
I used anti-seize when I reinstalled with a 1/8" of silicone gasket seal at
each end to keep water out.
 All the best in getting the hubs off. I wouldn't doubt you may find yet
another "it worked for me" method of removal. The harder they stick the more
creative the methods of removal seem to become. Lastly in closing I have
heard it said that it is the abruptness of the blow rather than the total
pressure that it helpful in removal. Likewise, I was told that an acetylene
torch was better than propane because in heating the hub faster it allowed
less time for heat to transfer to the axle.

Regards, Tom Witt




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