Did i eat a big bowl of stupid today??

[sapper]

Okay i was working on the rig just doing some minor stuff and now im stuck, the steering wheel was a little of center so i decided to to pull one side of the drag link give it a couple spins and get the wheel straight, simple right, well now i have a castle nut stripped on the bolt and its spinning, i was going to cut it off and replace the short arm with one i had lying around but its spinning too, do i need to just get a new short piece or is there something im missing to get these castle nuts back on?? TIA

 

[4xcrazy]

Should have just loosened up the two bolts on the sleeve and rotated the sleeve whichever way you needed to go. /forums/images/graemlins/doah.gif

 

[fatbob]

Sounds like its time to buy a new drag link end.
That will fix the stripped nut and the spinning
[bolt] problem. Just make sure you measure the overall
length of the draglink or count the threads on the end you are replacing. This will get you close, then fine tune it by turning the sleeve like 4x said.

 

[Nonesuch]

When removing a TRE or DLE, if you hit the threads you will break it to where the ball end will spin inside the carrier. Next time, hit the solid piece (in your case the pitman arm) on the side and the taper of the joint will loosen without you hitting the threads. I am just assuming that you hit the threads to get it out and that is why it is spinning. If not ignore me /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[smprider112]

I did pretty much the same thing...maybe stupider (not even a word thats how dumb!!) I whacked the threads with a hammer to get the draglink seperated from the steering arm...well those threads where F***ed so heres how I fixed it (too cheap to buy new draglink, or just the end) I clamped the draglink into the steeringarm, as tight as I could get it...that kept the joint from spinning too much...my threads where so gone it didnt really help to get the nut on...you may be able to. But what I did then was buy a die 5/8-18 and fixed the threads...then just ran the nut up, smooth as can be, and torqued it down. Hope that helps for you.

 

[darkshadow]

i have had this prob befor and just held the top on the taper with a vice grip untill the nuts as far it can go with them in there, then put them on the end of it and thread the nut on, might strip it but next time ust get a new one then. /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif

 

[sapper]

thanks guys, i have a new end and a ball joint seperator now /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif