Removing Drive shaft nut from a Xantia

[gadgetgricey]

I think I must be doing something drastically wrong/different, as the drive shaft nuts refuse to undo. (To the extent that I've managed to rip the end off my extending tyre wrench), have now bought a Breaker bar, but having no success.

Removed road wheel, split pin and cover from the drive nut, Popped the centre piece out and refitted the wheel.
Car now standing under its own weight, and can fit socket to nut.

However the whole car is just moving, and the nut(s) are not shifting.

Any ideas, or anything obvious I'm doing wrong.

Thanks again

- Dave -

[CitroJim]

They can be exceedingly tight Dave..

I broke TWO breaker bars in undoing Xac's once and it was I who originally did them up You do need a very long bar..

My suggestion: Invite Xac and Chris570 over and ask them to jump up and down on the breaker bar. It's what worked for me in the end on Xac's.

This method works I guess because it injects a bit of percussion into proceedings. Another method would be an extremely hairy rattle-gun...

[jgra1]

its not reverse thread is it Dave?

fire the car up and jam a peice of wood betwixt seat and pedal?

sometimes it can help to use a long extension, and put this over a v-shaped axle stand.. so you can get a but further out from the car.,. not sure why it helps but
J

[CitroJim]

its not reverse thread is it Dave?

Nope, both sides are normal RH threads...

[Monkeyfeet]

Socket with a 3/4 inch drive and extension is usually needed, supported on axle stand / jack etc and most definitely standing on the end "jumping" - usually gets 'em in the end. Keep a good hold on the roof (drivers side) or bonnet though!
Missus inside jamming the brakes on has helped in the past too.

[Mandrake]

Ah, stub axle nuts...the only one I've ever done was on a GS, and we used a steel water pipe about 1.5 metres long slipped over a very sturdy breaker bar, that did the job.

Yes, they are that tight...

[gadgetgricey]

Good calls re the axle stand and getting the Mrs to stand on the brakes...

Will give that a try the weekend.

Cheers

- Dave -

[myglaren]

Ah, stub axle nuts...the only one I've ever done was on a GS, and we used a steel water pipe about 1.5 metres long slipped over a very sturdy breaker bar, that did the job.

Yes, they are that tight...

I tried to get mine off the GS and then learned the official method - smash them off with a cold chisel and fit new ones.

[RichardW]

More brake force needed if it is rolling the car along...

If you really can't seem to get them, then try whacking the back of the breaker bar at the nut whilst you have the tension on to free it - this simulates the action of an impact driver. Bit difficult on your own though....

[mendedit]

And be aware of your back, knees, guts, hips, and/or shoulder when they do crack off!

[Xaccers]

And be aware of your back, knees, guts, hips, and/or shoulder when they do crack off!

and any cat litter trays full of old gearbox oil...

[CitroJim]

and any cat litter trays full of old gearbox oil...

Yes indeed. I still mourn the loss of that litter tray. It and I had had many adventures together...

The new one is good though...

[the_weaver]

You're putting a lot of force into the breaker bar, but part of the force is being lost, and not getting to the nut. What you need to do is to minimise all the losses in the system, then the nut will undo.

The biggest loss is in compressing and expanding the suspension. I don't know where the handbrake is on a Xantia. On a ZX, it's on the back wheels. When you try to undo the front hub nut, the force is travelling through the front suspension, through the rear suspension, and then to the ground via the rear wheel, which is locked up by the handbrake. The best way to avoid these losses, is to use a triangular chock under the front wheel, so that your force is going directly to the ground at the front wheel. Better still, use two chocks under the front wheel.

If adding chocks doesn't work, then the next thing to do is to get a 3/4" drive breaker bar, instead of the 1/2" drive breaker bar. When you put a lot of force on a breaker bar, it bends. That bending is your force being lost, and not getting to the nut. I couldn't remove the hub nut on my ZX with a 1/2" drive, one metre long breaker bar. However, when I used a 3/4" drive bar of only 19" long, it did the job straight away.

I bought this one for £25, from Halfords:-

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165469" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

On a 1/2' drive breaker bar, the joint will be opening up under the force you're putting on it. A 3/4" drive bar is much more solid. 35mm and 36mm hub nuts are too big for 1/2" drive really.

If that still doesn't work, then you might want to try spraying brake cleaner from an aerosol, onto the threads of the nut. I once had a nut on my ZX that wouldn't come off. Eventually, it came off with a loud bang, and a cloud of black dust. It was locked in place by a mixture of brake dust and rust. That stuff is like iron. Something like Plus Gas would be a good idea as well.

Paul

[Xaccers]

I bought this one for £25, from Halfords:-

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165469" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yup, that's one of the ones I snapped

Xantia handbrake is on the front wheels.

[red_dwarfers]

Weavers advice does sound like a very sensible place to start

If it comes to, this is a fantastic tool, A Sykes-Pickavant hydraulic nut splitter. It got a lot of use on my old tractor with its massive rusty nuts (Ooo err missus). Ours is a very old one of these, this photo of a new one looks almost identical so it must good!