Steering Arm

[scottystills]

I am REALLY hoping it comes off tonight... I'm actually thinking if the chisel won't work tonight, I'll take the entire brake assembly off to make some room, and just cut 1/4" notches through the arm with a grinder. That'll at least give it room to wiggle while i'm hitting it and should do the trick. The good thing is I'm not planning to reuse the destroyed arm haha!

 

[88jimmy4x4]

update?

 

[scottystills]

Well after smashing the hell out of it for a few days, last night I finally broke down and used a pipe wrench to pull the front stud out of the knuckle. When I got it out, I realized that the whole thing was completely coated in lock-tite and was likely never going to pop off. Even now that it's out, I couldn't get the cone off the stud with a hammer. Crazy.

Apparently that's some pretty serious cast steel; the air chisel barely dented it.

So called the shop, they've got some studs, cones, and nuts for me so tomorrow I will hoipefully have time to pull the hub apart, get the rotor off, and have room to get the other two studs off.

This is a LOT more work than I thought it was going to be...

 

[BoondocK5]

Like this...

Those are the only way to fly!

 

[scottystills]

Yep, I'm heading out to pick up one of those tomorrow, giving up on saving the damn things!

 

[Stomis]

All about the toyota SFA method.... Put two or three of the nuts on the stud, take a normal ballpeen and give the top of the stud some good old taps on the head of the bolt.

The cone washers will come right out.

 

[EIB8400]

The 2 times that I had to take a steering arm off I used a big sledge and hit it up. The cones came loose usually within 5 hits.

 

[88jimmy4x4]

All about the toyota SFA method.... Put two or three of the nuts on the stud, take a normal ballpeen and give the top of the stud some good old taps on the head of the bolt.

The cone washers will come right out.

The 2 times that I had to take a steering arm off I used a big sledge and hit it up. The cones came loose usually within 5 hits.

wish you guys lived in Houston...I got one that will give you a run for your money...damn thing wouldn't budge after 100 hits

 

[StreetshocK]

Just a thought, can you use a stud removal tool, or "double nut" it to take the studs out of the knuckle?

 

[scottystills]

wish you guys lived in Houston...I got one that will give you a run for your money...damn thing wouldn't budge after 100 hits

Agreed! This one I pounded on for intervals of 30 minutes at a time, hundreds of hits. Haven't had a chance but going to make sure I get to the shop to pick up a stud remover tomorrow, as well as the new stud/cone/nut kit. Have to make sure I get this thing on before the weekend, I'm not missing ANOTHER weekend of wheeling!

 

[scottystills]

SUCCESS!! So the cam style stud remover wouldn't work; didn't fit between the stud and the dust cover on the rotor. Went back and picked up a set of socket style removers. The front stud was out already (pipe wrench) and the middle one seemed REALLY stuck, but got the rear one out. Put the attention back to the middle and last one, and it actually just shredded the entire layer off the stud, all threading gone. Crazy. BUT, started whacking it with the sledge again, got it loose, hammered a screwdriver under one end, then the other, and tapped up on the other side with the sledge while levering it up with the screwdriver. OFF!! Had to put the stud remover on top of it and smash it on with the sledge to get it to bite, but eventually got it off.

Mounted the new arm fairly easily on some new (used) studs that I picked up from my local 4x4 shop this morning. Good to go. But I think I have the actual arm in the wrong place, have to line that up better tomorrow. Also I'd had the caliper off and I'm getting a brake light and the pedal feels soft so having it turned up for a couple days must have gotten some air in the line somehow; not sure how... I'll try bleeding the line tomorrow and see if that takes care of it. Couple minor things and I'm ready for the trails this weekend! FINALLY!