Title: Leg levelers
Post by: 90grad on April 10, 2006, 06:15:13 am
All,
My neighbor called me last night, and he has a Cavalier CSS-64 he's been working on. He said the leg levelers are incredibly stuck. I haven't messed with them yet to see if I can get them off with a pair of channel locks. He's squirted a bunch of WD-40 on them. I really didn't want to get into trying to drill them out if at all possible. Anyone have any secrets other than the brute force method? Thanks.
My neighbor called me last night, and he has a Cavalier CSS-64 he's been working on. He said the leg levelers are incredibly stuck. I haven't messed with them yet to see if I can get them off with a pair of channel locks. He's squirted a bunch of WD-40 on them. I really didn't want to get into trying to drill them out if at all possible. Anyone have any secrets other than the brute force method? Thanks.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: loman4ec on April 10, 2006, 07:04:13 am
Heat them with a blow torch and they will come right out. It might mess up the pain some but he is repainting it right.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: Lulu on April 10, 2006, 07:13:21 am
An old guy that had a welding shop told me his trick. He heats the bolt with a torch and gets it really hot. As soon as he takes the heat away, he pours cold water on it and uses a wrench right away. I guess the heat expands the steel and the cold water shrinks it. If they are really stuck, you may have to do it several times, but it works. Good luck.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: Kevin C on April 10, 2006, 07:41:15 am
Hello
Try the old army trick. Put a large wrench on the leg & then place a pipe (longer the better) on the end of the wrench. This will allow you to get more force on the wrench because you can get your body weight behind the pipe.
Kevin
Try the old army trick. Put a large wrench on the leg & then place a pipe (longer the better) on the end of the wrench. This will allow you to get more force on the wrench because you can get your body weight behind the pipe.
Kevin
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: 90grad on April 10, 2006, 07:44:14 am
Yep, Don will be repainting the machine. Neither of us have a torch (at least I don't, he may). Anyway, we have another neighbor who might.
Kevin,
The thought of the old "cheater pipe" definitely crossed my mind. We use them to get those hub bolts off the Abrams. 750 lb-ft of torque is a load with those hubs!
Thanks to all.
Kevin,
The thought of the old "cheater pipe" definitely crossed my mind. We use them to get those hub bolts off the Abrams. 750 lb-ft of torque is a load with those hubs!
Thanks to all.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: Jim on April 10, 2006, 08:16:14 am
The heating/cooling method works the best; however, prior to brute force, try to locate/purchase a spray on penetrating oil called "PB Blaster". This works well for this type of problem; just let is soak for a while before attempting to remove the leg(s). Additionally, be sure to work the bolt in both directions instead of just loosening. This will keep the threads cleaner as you may be removing rust as you unthread the bolt... Lastly, you might try to clean the threads of the exposed section as this will need to pass all the way through the threaded hole.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: BryanH on April 10, 2006, 02:01:21 pm
CLR works pretty well also... undiluted.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: Tim Mehner on April 10, 2006, 06:07:11 pm
I'll 2nd the PB Blaster. I used it on mine and after they soaked for a couple of days. They came loose with a normal wrench. No excessive force was needed. 
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: bubba on April 10, 2006, 06:44:41 pm
Also, for the heat and cool method... its smokes like heck, but instead of water, use oil or any penetrating fluid.
There was a product I had years ago made by Wynns, called Xtend. It was probably the best penetrant I ever used, but it was only available to pro shops and stuff. The guy we used to get it from stopped coming around... Also, motor oil is a good penetrant, especially when you start to get the bolt to turn...
There was a product I had years ago made by Wynns, called Xtend. It was probably the best penetrant I ever used, but it was only available to pro shops and stuff. The guy we used to get it from stopped coming around... Also, motor oil is a good penetrant, especially when you start to get the bolt to turn...
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: Pat Pixley on April 10, 2006, 11:24:13 pm
I will third the PB Blaster. I used it on the Cav. 80 sprayed it on a
Sunday and they came right out Monday night.
Pat
Sunday and they came right out Monday night.
Pat
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: MCarter on April 11, 2006, 08:39:33 am
If you break them off for some reason.....Force? Put 2 nuts on the bolt part inside the machine and turn one of them clockwise and the other one is tight against it. You will see that the bolt part will come out. I use a socket wrench when this happens. Sorry if i confused anyone.
Title: Leg levelers
Post by: sodaworks on April 16, 2006, 12:47:55 pm
After wire brushing the threads I use the torch method.