Removing propshaft bolts

[zooooom]

Started today on the long over due job of replacing flywheel, clutch and slaver cylinder with the help of Graham Varleys excellent manual.
Exhausts, chassis plates, and rear diffuser all off,but I can not budge the propshaft bolts.
Anybody got any tips for removal please before I have resort to having to cut them off some how.

[duff-man]

Mine came off with brute force but they are imperial sizes if I remember correctly, also are you using allen keys or Hex Sockets on the bolts?

Give them a soak with WD40 if you haven’t already.

ETA:
I also zip tied the Gearbox end of the prop-shaft to the gearbox to prevent having to drain the oil out of it.

Edited by duff-man on Wednesday 5th January 17:19

[zooooom]

I wish the were allen key bolts as per manual it would make it a lot easier, they are 9/16 hex bolts I cannot even get a socket or ring spanner on either nut or bolt side just an open ended spanner.
Plus the very strategically place chassis cross member doesn't help either (thanks TVR).
Left them soaking in penertrating fluid over night again and will give them another go tomorrow.

[PetrolHeadPete]

Recently done this on a Mk1 Tuscan...and it is a PITA

I managed to get a 3/8th drive socket onto the head with a bit of brute force (a metric socket I might add, having not quite realized they are imperial bolts). 14mm socket applied with a gentle tap of a hammer. And the sockets are special ones with UJs in them and are really skinny around the hex part. You'll find the nut comes to rest on the casting on the diff-side boss so they wont turn themselves until you start to loosen the bolt...and once you've done that you then have to hold the nut with a spanner avoiding the cross-member as you say.

I replaced mine with cap heads on re-assembly...far easier!

[hardtailer]

Tried this yesterday on my t350 but had no luck as no 1/2in drive 14mm socket would fit due to an outside diameter that was too large.
A crow foot 9/16" (1/4in drive) did fit but was too weak and flexed open despite soaking the nuts & bolt heads in WD40 for a couple of days.

Went back today to check a few dimensions after having searched the net for options before ordering(seemed that 14mm (is actually 9/16in on a spark plug tool) thinwalled (available down to 19mm external diameter from ks tools) spark plug socket would fit as long as outside diameter would be less than 20.5mm.
Good thing I did instead of just ordering the thing as I found that at 85 or 90mm long it would hit the yoke and therefore wouldn't seat properly.
A 1/4in drive 14mm socket fitted nicely but I considered it too weak to try it.
14mm is also the size for crank bolts on shimano equipped mountain bikes or road race bikes so that could have been an option too but unfortunately the one I had was too thick walled.

Anyway I managed to undo the bolts using a 14/15mm tube wrench I have in my tool chest. The big advantage of these is that they are square ended as opposed to any sort of socket (which are beveled on the inside so that the actual 6 or 12 faces are recessed and grip even less in cases where the socket can't seat properly like here. The beveling helps to place the socket on the nut by feel)so the hex part goes down all the way which helps maximum seating when space is tight.
These wrenches are slimmer towards the middle so the yoke isnt as much of a problem and a smack with a hammer improved the seating even further. An 18mm socket over the 15mm end provided the means of fitting a breaker bar^*^ and after blocking the wheels (or prop shaft) it went easy (very progressive, nothing sudden).
So easy even that replacing them for new hex bolts in the same size (as opposed to allen headed bolts which provide lousy grip as soon as they are corroded IMO) seems not such a bad idea at all. I will go for metric though and am considering torx.
They are grade 5 which is 8.8 in metric BTW.(http://k-tbolt.com/bolt_chart.html)

The nuts do not require a tool as they bind against something on the diff flange as mentioned above. By prying against (I used a tyre lever) the threaded part of the bolt the nut remains blocked and no open ended spanner is required to hold the nut.

^*^if space is tight underneath the car you could be forced to use a ratchet

I hope this is of further use to anyone trying this in the future in addition to the posts above which helped me to give it another try with what I had available (especially after reading the nuts bind and I'll do the tie wrap trick as the fill plug will not budge...)
Giving back a tiny little bit to the TVR community on Pistonheads so to speak after reading countless hours on speed six engines and the T models on here the past few months

piccie for good order of the tool in question.

Edited by hardtailer on Sunday 14th July a couple of times...

Edited by hardtailer on Sunday 14th July 23:00

[Geoff Ashcroft]

You can get a socket on, but you'll need to rotate a wheel to get prop joint to open up as much as possible, to let you gain access to the fastener with a socket. Admittedly, it is tight, and its UNF thread too so it will feel like you're undo-ing forever. Patience is the key.

[Geoff Ashcroft]

You can get a socket on, but you'll need to rotate a wheel to get prop joint to open up as much as possible, to let you gain access to the fastener with a socket. Admittedly, it is tight, and its UNF thread too so it will feel like you're undo-ing forever. Patience is the key.

[Geoff Ashcroft]

You can get a socket on, but you'll need to rotate a wheel to get prop joint to open up as much as possible, to let you gain access to the fastener with a socket. Admittedly, it is tight, and its UNF thread too so it will feel like you're undo-ing forever. Patience is the key.