Nut stuck on Dana 18!

So I pulled the engine yesterday, and began to separate the Dana 18 from the t90. I removed the pto cover plate, removed the cotter pin from the 1 5/16" castle nut, and proceeded to try and break the castle nut free. I used a breaker bar with no luck. I tried turning the castle nut counter clockwise, nothing. Tried clockwise, nothing. Then I put a 3 foot cheater on the end of the breaker bar, and... NOTHING! All I managed to do was bend my back up bar. Soooo, any suggestions? I thought about putting some heat to it with an oxy acetylene rig and small rosebud, try to focus the heat on the nut, but I'm new to this, and don't want to create a bigger problem. Also the potential for a fire in and around the case is definitely a possibility!

 

might try a impact wrench, one of the bolts was stuck on mine and the only way I could get it off was pb blaster and a impact.

never had access to a torch when I was removing things, so I can't help you there.

 

Sorry, i forgot to mention that i tried that too. Well my dads cordless impact. Maybe it's time to go out and buy a new tool!

 

might be time to cut the nut off.. takes some time and patience but it's an alternative to maybe destroying the threads....

 

in a similar situation I once succeeded by using a hydraulic floor jack under the handle of a breaker bar, to turn it. Might need to borrow a 3/4" drive bar if yours is not strong enough.

 

Back up bar?

You can take the top off of the transmission and put it in two gears at the same time. Then it cannot turn... unless you rip the transmission off its mounts.

I would give it a try with the breaker bar again.

 

"... unless you rip the transmission off its mounts."

Best to avoid that, however.

 

You're going to have to rip the engine and transmission off of their mounts, if they are bolted together.

Didn't think it was a serious issue... Maybe put a bolt through the mount?

 

Try to find an air impact wrench. That cordless job just will not have the oomph to do the trick.

 

I had one I used like a 5' piece of pipe, for a cheater pipe, on. Thought for sure I would breaker the breaker bar or something but, it worked. They can be a bugger. I'd say a very good, string impact would be the best solution.

 

I never used a cordless impact. But on the air impact make sure you use a big enough compressor otherwise you will run into the same thing. I spent a good half hour working on it with a air impact on mine.

 

You might want to borrow an impact that runs off 110 they will usually have more power. I've broken a few bolts in half loosening and tightening nuts.

 

I think I'm going to borrow an electric impact, dewalt 292. Never even thought about a jack or hoist, or even locking 2 gears together! I definitely tried using a pipe as a cheater, but no luck. The nut has to have been over torqued right? This almost came to a crazy bout of wrench throwing! That's when I knew it was quitting time. I started to think the nut was cross threaded or something. So I don't have Kroil, but I have PBS Blaster, think that'll help. And constant tension with a jack may do the trick. Now, the engine is out, and this puppy likes to rock a little on the tranny mount when I put tension on that friggin nut. Any suggestions?

 

An impact tool won't put torque on the transmission mounts. But you may need something bigger than a Dewalt electric.

If you can lock down the transmission, one of the other methods will probably work. For instance, jack or pull against a chain to the trans/frame, not the floor. Maybe you can rent/borrow a 3/4" ratchet with a planetary-geared torque multiplier, like they use on heavy industrial machinery. They can torque to thousands of ft/lbs. <http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200315001_200315001>

Are you absolutely sure you are turning it the right direction? Just saying... ;-)

 

Carefully and lightly heat the nut then try again. Someone may have used threadlocker on the nut and a little heat goes a long way to breaking it loose.


Sent from my iPhone

 

Right on guys! Mission accomplished! So with the engine out I used my floor jack and a block of wood to support the rear of the transfer case, put my 1/2" breaker bar and 1 1/4" socket on the nut, grabbed the handle from my floor jack, slipped it on the bar and bam! Nut is free!!! Oh I forgot to mention the squirt from the pb blaster on it just seconds earlier, and locking the tranny in third gear. Much thanks to all of you guys and your suggestions, it really bailed me out again!

 

wow thats tight! i get that gear from jeeps at the junkyard all the time and 90 percent of the time they are loose and unscrew by hand when you take the cotter pin out

 

The reprint manual says it should be torqued between 80ftlbs - 110ftlbs. But it took a hell of a lot more force than that!