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Posted by David Sherman on Thursday, August 06, 2009 at 01:35:36 :
I dug a pair of usable-looking axle shafts for the Tucker out of the bone yard, but no matter what I do I can't get the hub off of the shaft. This is the kind that has the hub attached to the shaft with a taper and a shaft key. The ends where the nuts went were very rusty, though the nuts came off pretty easy with some Kroil and an impact wrench. I have to separate the shaft and hub in order to replace the bearing and seal. I've had them soaking with Kroil for over a week now. First I tried my biggest gear puller. Then put it in the 20 ton shop press and worked the jack lever harder than I've ever worked a big jack jacking up a heavy machine, though I have no way to know if it really put 20 tons of force on it. The rails on the shop press had a pretty definite bow to them so I think I was pressing about as hard as the press was good for.
On one of them, I put the big gear puller on it, took a hard pull, and heated the hub with a torch. I didn't want to get the hub red hot, lest it ruin its heat treatment, but I got it "smoking hot" shall we say. That didn't work either, even though I've used that method with great success on stuck drive-line flanges.
Now I have one of them in the electrolytic de-rusting tank hoping that it will work some magic, but I doubt it will do very much. I'll take it out tomorrow, heat it to dry it, soak it with more Kroil and let it set another week.
I don't know of any penetrating oil that's better than Kroil, and it seems like if a week of soaking didn't loosen it up, a month won't either. I obviously can't go pounding on it with a 20 lb double-jack or I'll ruin the threaded end. Can I use a little more heat without killing the temper? Other than that, all I can think to do is take it to one of the mine shops where they have a seriously big press and press it until something gives. I imagine with a big enough press the hub flange will bend or the threaded end will flatten out like a big rivet if the tapered part doesn't break loose.
From what I can tell, this is the same axle used on 1/2 ton 2WD Dodge pickups and some Chrysler cars (Imperial?) in the 1950s.
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