Ok,

So I have all the parts (gasket & seal) for my 7.25 and the whole thing has been cleaned /scraped and is ready to be worked on. Well, I put the rear wheels on the ground to hold while I try to crank the the nut loose, no budge! I need some more leverage but no room. So, I put the rear back up on the jack stands and pull the parking brake as tight as I could. I try again with a 2 ft piece of pipe for more leverage as I now have a little more room, wheel spins, no go!

I need a new approach. This is what I was thinking. Tonight, I'm thinking I will spin the brake adjusters as far open as I can to try and lock the wheels tighter than the parking brake can hold and try again. My question is, do you guys think I can get the wheels to hold tight enough by doing this? Whatever else might I try if this doesn't work? Also, is the pinion nut a reverse thread ?

Thanks

James.

You might have someone stand on the brake pedal. I think the best way is to get a big pipe or crescent wrench and hold the yoke body while cranking on the nut. It's standard thread.

Lou

_________________
Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I once use a 2' breaker bar, a length of chain and a Ford to break loose the nut.

a nice heavy impact wrench and a strong compressor will probably work (with the wheels on the ground)

Big pipe wrench

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Official Cookie and Mater Tormentor.

I used a big pipe wrench to hold the yoke. I put a pipe on the handle of the wrench so that it was long enough to catch on my garage floor when force was applied to the nut. (Tremendous force)

I wrestled with the nut for a while. This is what finally ended up working.
I used a standard ½ inch socket. I let the socket hang at about 4 o’clock position. I held it in this position with a 4 foot steel rod (from my bike roof rack). I had the rod resting on top of the rear spring. It looked like a V. I used the leverage on the spring to break the nut loose. Bringing the socket into the 3 o’clock position.

The whole process would have been easier, but I did not have quite enough room under the car to get decent leverage. Oh, and I’m not superman.

Good Luck,

John



http://community.webshots.com/sym/image ... JtN_ph.jpg

[quote="killin5"]
I did not have quite enough room under the car to get decent leverage. quote]

Exactly my problem! I tried having my wife step on the brake least night while I twisted with no luck again. Not enough room still seems to be the biggest problem. I guess I'm gonna have to get the car higher or somehow get heavy duty air compressor / impact gun to my house.

What a royal pain in the @$$.

I would be very reluctant to just use an air wrench. You run the risk of damaging the gear teeth. You should have a wrench to hold the yoke. A pipe wrench will do, but a proper spanner wrench is best.

_________________
'66 Cuda 225/4spd
'66 Dart GT convertible 225/auto
'64 Dart GT 340/4spd

24" crescent holds the yoke good. Some time ago, I broke a pinion nut loose on a detached 8-3/4" center section that way (and a 3/4"-drive socket and 18" breaker bar and pipe cheater on the nut). Steady, overwhelming force is usually the ticket on stuff like this...I agree that an impact wrench might NOT be such a suave way to go. I seem to recall wedging the crescent and center section firmly in place and then standing on the breaker bar to break it loose with my body weight. Worked pretty easy with no damage to anything.

If you have to do it under the car, I'd brace the handle of whatever you're using to hold the yoke against the floor (as mentioned above) and then use a floor jack or bottle jack to apply force to the breaker bar handle. That'd apply strong, steady force which would be really unlikely to damage anything.

Hydraulics is wonderful stuff...


---Red

I attached a sketch to my original post.

First photo used on the web.

John

Does anybody have hard evidence that an air impact will damage the gears?

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Cheers!
Al T

John,
You're sketch looks like a red "X".

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.

Thanks for the comments everyone. I ended up using a big pipe wrench I borrowed braced on the floor and a breaker bar with a 2 pipe on the end for leverage and my foot. Minimal damage to the yoke with the pipe wrench, only a few scratches so I think balance is fine.

I had to take the seal back yesterday cause the one NAPA sold me was too big. I'll try to install it tomorrow.

Thanks again for the advice everyone.

James.