rear axle nut-is there a secret? : MGB & GT Forum : MG Experience Forums : The MG Experience

rear axle nut-is there a secret? #1
wireman David Gaffney Key Largo ,Fla, USA 1974 MG MGB GT "The Mistress"	Posted: March 19, 2012 09:00AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 110

Morning all,I haven't asked a question in a long time,but I'm stumped

Have the axle on sawhorses and taking the brakes and hub off to do new seals. I cannot get the axle nut to budge,I have it locked up with a bar to stop the turning and even with an impact wrench I can't get that damn nut to break free.tried socket and breaker bar w/a BFH, Even thought that it might be reversed thread and tried it,but nope,no luck. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #2
pinkyponk Adrian Page Nova Scotia Canada, Canada 1971 MG MGB GT 1973 MG MGB MkIII	Posted: March 19, 2012 09:02AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,736

Air wrench.

OOps... didn't read your post carefully enough. They were regular thread on my MGB.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2012 09:11AM by pinkyponk.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #3
pinkyponk Adrian Page Nova Scotia Canada, Canada 1971 MG MGB GT 1973 MG MGB MkIII	Posted: March 19, 2012 09:03AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,736

Bigger air wrench.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #4
wireman David Gaffney Key Largo ,Fla, USA 1974 MG MGB GT "The Mistress"	Posted: March 19, 2012 09:05AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 110

Thanks Adrian,tried the air wrench,maybe my compressor is to small.These aren't supposed to be torqued to a high spec are they?

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #5
dickmoritz Dick Moritz Philly 'burbs, PA, USA	Posted: March 19, 2012 09:07AM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 7,266

David,

Like Adrian says, an impact wrench will spin it off. On tube-type axles as used on 68-up roadsters and all GTs, these nuts are all conventional direction threads, so lefty-loosey. You may need more air pressure for your gun. Also note that an air hose with a larger I.D. will deliver more power to the gun.

"Scotty! I've got to have more power!" winking smiley

Dick

Errabundi Saepe, Semper Certi
(Often wrong, but always certain)

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #6
pinkyponk Adrian Page Nova Scotia Canada, Canada 1971 MG MGB GT 1973 MG MGB MkIII	Posted: March 19, 2012 09:09AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,736

150 foot pound for the B. Then tighten more if you have to to get the pin in.

Mine zipped right off at 100psi on a Bluepoint 1/2" drive gun.

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2012 09:13AM by pinkyponk.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #7
lewisrn Bob Lewis Danville, IN, USA 1980 MG MGB "The "B""	Posted: March 19, 2012 10:08AM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 3,601

I used a long cheater bar on the end of a long 1/2" drive breaker bar. Had to jump on it, but it finally broke loose.

Life is a state of mind.

80B - Engine overhauled 1/11, SU HS4's, O/D, all Speedhut gauges, cruise control, front & rear suspensions rebuilt, tube shocks on rear, Moss lowering kit, Bell SS Exhaust, Ed's 110 amp alternator, Schlemmerized distributor with Pertronix, LED tail lights, halogen headlights, Limey's fuse box & relays, etc., etc.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/19/2012 10:09AM by lewisrn.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #8
ddubois Dave DuBois Bremerton, WA, USA	Posted: March 19, 2012 11:50AM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 4,290

Let the impact wrench hammer away on it nonstop for awhile. I was trying to get the UJ flange nut off of our 66 MGB and had to let the impact wrench run continuously for several minutes before it finally came loose.
Cheers,

Dave DuBois
1953 MGTD
1966 MGB
http://homepages.donobi.net/sufuelpumps/

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SU Fuel Pumps & More SU fuel pump restoration and conversion to solid state. Information and technical articles on SU fuel pumps.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #9
wireman David Gaffney Key Largo ,Fla, USA 1974 MG MGB GT "The Mistress"	Posted: March 19, 2012 12:06PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 110

Thanks guys,didn't realize that it required that much torque ,good to know when they go back on. OK bigger compressor!

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #10
Basil Adams About 12 miles from Sears Point, USA	Posted: March 19, 2012 12:36PM Registered: 6 years ago Posts: 5,983

Make sure you knocked back the lock tab and then get a long breaker bar and stand on it. I don't think this is true on a late B but on some cars, one side is left hand thread and the other is right hand - ask me how long I tried to take a nut off before figuring that out!

Basil C. Adams
1956 MGA Coupe (Show Car)
1957 MGA Roadster (Driver)
1958 MGA Coupe (Racecar)
1959 MGA Coupe (unrestored)
1960 MGA Coupe (unrestored)
1960 MGA Roadster (Driver)
MKIII Elva Courier (E1056)
1967 427 Cobra
1972 Alfa Romeo Montreal
A coupla late MGBs
1960 Austin Healy BN7
More Cars than Brains

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #11
pinkyponk Adrian Page Nova Scotia Canada, Canada 1971 MG MGB GT 1973 MG MGB MkIII	Posted: March 19, 2012 01:19PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 2,736

Tube axle uses a cotter pin. Not sure about banjo axles. The tube axle has regular thread on both sides.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #12
ClayJ Clay Johnston Mt. Olive, MS, USA 1972 MG MGB	Posted: March 19, 2012 01:21PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 7,362

Without an air wrench, the best way I've found is, remove the hubcap from the center of the wheel, remove cotter-pin, reinstall wheel, put car back on the ground use 1/2" pull-handle with about 4 feet of cheater-bar. As noted above, you may have to jump on the bar to break this loose.

Use plenty of anti-seize on reinstall.

I've never understood why this nut needs 150 ft-lbs since it has beveled mating surfaces, seems like serious over-kill.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #13
Ralph 7h Ralph Siebenhaar Viersen, Germany	Posted: March 19, 2012 01:47PM Registered: 4 years ago Posts: 1,772

I tried this too with the axle out of the car. Finally I blocked the half shaft and used a cold chisel. It worked very well this way and was a 5 minutes job then. Even the Nut could be reused after a little filing.

Ralph

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #14
geezer charles durning Magee, MS, USA 1958 MG Magnette ZB "Chick Magnette"	Posted: March 19, 2012 01:47PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 400

Not all impact wrenches are created equal. A lot of those cheap impacts will barely remove lug nuts. Even with a bigger air compressor you may still have to use a larger ID hose and an impact with some umph. This one is a real workhorse.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/ingersoll-rand-reg-edge-series-air-impact-wrench-impactool-1-2-in-drive-236g-3433448

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #15
78mgb White Wonder 78mgb Minnesota, USA 1978 MG MGB	Posted: March 19, 2012 02:32PM Registered: 7 years ago Posts: 1,361

In reply to # 2016225 by Basil Adams Make sure you knocked back the lock tab and then get a long breaker bar and stand on it. I don't think this is true on a late B but on some cars, one side is left hand thread and the other is right hand - ask me how long I tried to take a nut off before figuring that out!

Ok, I will ask how long it took you?

I found it out by twisting the lug nut off the rear wheel on my 66 Dodge Dart. A friend afterwards informed me that the car had left hand threads on one side and right hand thread on the other. The theory being that the rotation of the wheel would keep the lug nuts tight. It sound reasonable until you consider how little torque is applied during acceleration on the lug nuts. I have never seen another car with left hand threads on the lug nuts.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #16
geezer charles durning Magee, MS, USA 1958 MG Magnette ZB "Chick Magnette"	Posted: March 19, 2012 02:41PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 400

Actually left hand lug nuts were common for decades especially on Chrylser products. They were also the standard of the industry for trucks until the trucking industry switched over to hub poiloted wheels.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #17
lewisrn Bob Lewis Danville, IN, USA 1980 MG MGB "The "B""	Posted: March 19, 2012 03:07PM Registered: 2 years ago Posts: 3,601

In reply to # 2016343 by geezer Actually left hand lug nuts were common for decades especially on Chrylser products. They were also the standard of the industry for trucks until the trucking industry switched over to hub poiloted wheels.

Yup - Fords from the 50's had them too. One of the things I learned the hard way working as a pump jockey/flat fixer in the early 70's.

Life is a state of mind.

80B - Engine overhauled 1/11, SU HS4's, O/D, all Speedhut gauges, cruise control, front & rear suspensions rebuilt, tube shocks on rear, Moss lowering kit, Bell SS Exhaust, Ed's 110 amp alternator, Schlemmerized distributor with Pertronix, LED tail lights, halogen headlights, Limey's fuse box & relays, etc., etc.

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Re: rear axle nut-is there a secret? #18
RAY 67 TOURER Ray Marloff Fort Bragg, CA, USA 1967 MG MGB "My Girl"	Posted: March 19, 2012 03:11PM Registered: 3 years ago Posts: 5,952

They also had L stamped on the middle of the studs. This didn't stop me from trying to remove them in the conventional way however. With age comes wisdom. Sometimes. RAY

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