Re: Stuck front axle

Posted by Clooney on February 13, 2003 at 16:01:45 from (172.158.165.31):

In Reply to: Stuck front axle posted by Larry on February 12, 2003 at 17:28:48:

Larry, if those outer axle "knees" haven't been moved in a while you will have a hard time freeing them up. The problem is, all the oil spraying & soaking doesn't penetrate to where the rust & stuck areas are. I doubt a come along will apply enough pressure to move them. You can try it & you might get lucky. If you want to move them in a short amount of time probably heat [& lots of it] will be required & even then it will require some twisting & beating with a large hammer & block of hard wood.
~There are many methods of moving those knees & you have to pick the one that fits your equipment, time frame & degree of axle seizure.
~If you are in a hurry, sometimes using a bottle jack & piece of hardwood timber between the outer knee spindle housings then heating the axle housing with a rose bud tip on your torch will move them, it might help to pull the spindles & put a long pipe in the spindle tubes to help twist the knee while heating & jacking.
~If you have the time, sometimes just plugging the open adjustment holes & installing a large rubber plug in the inner axle housing openings, then filling the knee with used engine oil will help loosen it over time. After soaking it for as long as you can, remove the locking bolt & install one slightly smaller & leave it loose, then use the tractor until you see it move [if it does you are usually home free]. Once you get a little movement you can pull the spindle & put a long rod in the knuckle then work the knee back & forth while pulling outward on the bar or using your come along. I have even had some luck using a long bolt in an exposed locking bolt hole with a pipe over the bolt. Again once you get the knee to turn a little you can usually work it out with a twisting motion. If you can get some penetrating oil in the rusted areas then use a rose bud tip on your torch & heat the axle housing the heat will sometimes pull the oil towards the heat & expand the outer housing enough to allow the oil to get in the frozen areas. Heat & persistence will eventually get it loose. Resist the urge to use a hammer directly on the knees or housing as the hammer damage will be almost impossible to remove when the tractor is restored.
~Be very careful while working on the axle, it is easy to get hurt if a jack or pipe or pry bar slips off while pressure is being applied.
~Let us know when you get it apart.......

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