rear driveshaft removal - stripped bolt?

My fine FSM hasn't arrived yet and I've run into a snag; I bet somebody here has dealt with this before.

I was busy taking the back yoke off of the e-brake drum and 3 of the 4 nuts came off but the 4th turns on the bolt or stud. What now? :?

 

Cut or grind the nut off. Is there enough space there to use a nut cracker like Sears sells? It's a bolt and the head is captured in a recess in the backside of the ebrake drum. It's been years since I've worked on a D18 transfer case so I'm going by memory.

 

:iagree: Yep, you will most likely have to carefully grind it off. If the bolt is damaged in the operation you will need to find a 3/8 * 24tpi grade 8 bolt with a long shoulder like the other three, Even if you have to buy a slightly longer bolt to get the shoulder and buy a die to run the threads up the bolt a little farther then cut to proper length.

 

Thanks for the replies.

Since you said it was held in a recess I gently pried against the yoke and drum and the nut loosened!

Now I'm looking at the 4 crossmember bolts... They're smaller than 9/16 and bigger than 1/2 and they don't seem to be metric. I suppose I have a reason to go get a sears nut cracker after all. R)

 

Those are rustibolt size - they require a rustisocket to remove R).