Will it break?

[pattieG]

I've royally screwed the pinch bolt fixing the steering knuckle to damper on my car. I now need to remove the knuckle and damper together in order to get it in a vice. This means loosening the hub nut. I have a 1/2 inch 32mm socket, 450mm breakers bar and an acroprop to slide over it for extra leverage.

Am I likely to break my breakers bar? I don't think I can handle breaking any more tools this week

RIP many sockets.

[kambites]

Depends on how good it is, the universal joint can be a weak point in cheap ones. Do you not have anyone you can borrow an impact gun from?

[227bhp]

Yes it's likely you will. Buy a sliding Tbar, they don't break.

[HustleRussell]

Snapped my Halfords pro 1/2” x 18” breaker bar doing exactly that.

[pattieG]

I wish I had a workshop and all the tools. Would make life a lot easier!

I think I'll ring a mobile mechanic. Do I need to put the brake disc and caliper back on? Car can't go back down on it's wheels so I'm guessing someone will need to stand on the brakes to stop the driveshaft turning?

[kambites]

HustleRussell said:

Snapped my Halfords pro 1/2” x 18” breaker bar doing exactly that.

Out of interest, did they replace it?

[HustleRussell]

Didn’t think to try them, bought a new Teng with serviceable knuckle

[E-bmw]

kambites said:

Depends on how good it is.

One of the few Snap on tools I have for precisely this reason, never let me down even with some severe force on it over the years.

[HustleRussell]

E-bmw said:

kambites said:

Depends on how good it is.

One of the few Snap on tools I have for precisely this reason, never let me down even with some severe force on it over the years.

The nut which defeated my Halfords bar was eventually cracked by my Dad's equivalent Snap On, also 1/2" & 18", even though it is 35 years old minimum and the knuckle pin is held in with duct tape.

[E-bmw]

My knuckle pin is held in with a st/steel bolt as the OE one fell out some years ago.

[Sanchez89]

I think you will crack it loose, remove the 'staking' dent in the nut to make it easier on yourself

Give it a bash, try and do it without a cheater pipe on the end, if it doesn't budge then start extending it.

I find tools only get damaged or break when you are giving them far more grief than they were ever designed for.

I.e an 18" breaker bar knuckle having 48" of leverage put on it

[pattieG]

Sanchez89 said:

I think you will crack it loose, remove the 'staking' dent in the nut to make it easier on yourself

Give it a bash, try and do it without a cheater pipe on the end, if it doesn't budge then start extending it.

I find tools only get damaged or break when you are giving them far more grief than they were ever designed for.

I.e an 18" breaker bar knuckle having 48" of leverage put on it

Does that nut look staked to you?

[paintman]

No. It looks like a multi-layer nut. Designed to be self locking.
You don't give any idea as to what car it's on. (Is it a Ka?)
Suggest you look up the tightening torque required for that nut on that car & that will give you an idea of how hard it's going to be getting it off.
I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's in the region of 250Nm plus.
I believe they can be reused, but only a set number of times before you're supposed to use a new one so you need to check that as well.

Edited by paintman on Friday 6th April 16:51

[Sanchez89]

Certainly it isn't a staked nut, but it was made as more of a point of ways to try and not snap your breaker bar.

And that isn't any type of nut I've seen before, seeing as it looks loads cleaner than everywhere else on the hub is it some type of cover?

Have you tried fiddling with the 2 tab looking sections to find if it comes off?

Also what the vehicle is would help..

[E-bmw]

Never seen one before but it looks like you bend the 2 tabs out, flip off the front hex cover & then the "top hat" over the nut.

[paintman]

Ford driveshaft nut. Would help if the OP told us what they've actually got.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Ford-Fiesta-ST1...
and
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Genuine-Ford-Driveshaft...

[pattieG]

It's a fiesta and it came off surprisingly easy despite supposedly being tightened to 235Nm!

I've bought a new nut as I don't know how many times it has been torqued up.

[paintman]

1. Well done.
2. Very sensible!

[pattieG]

The trials continue.

With the broken bolt machined out and the knuckle now reattached to the car I turned my attention to changing the original issue of the broken spring. I have the spring compressor ready to go along with the new spring. Can I get the nut of the top of the shock?

Can I bks!%&^*&&$%^^$£%$"%!%$!%$%"%^$££$

Anyone want to buy a 3 wheeled Fiesta?

[E-bmw]

There is only 1 easy way with these if the obvious long socket & allen key doesn't & that is take it yo your local garage & get them to whizz it off with a windy gun, then put it back on enough to get you home & get spring compressors on it.