What tool to use?

[bizzard]

Bring back sleel wheels I say. No heavier than the aluminium equivallent. Steel nuts on steel wheels so no corrosive reaction.  Unlike aluminium wheels that can corrode onto the hub requiring whacking from behind with a big hammer to remove them. No difficulty aligning up to refit steel wheels. In my opinion aluminium wheels look silly on certain- most cars seeing all the rusty brakes and stuff behind and look absolutely weird and silly, like boy racer wheels on posh cars like Rolls Royce, Bentley and many others that spoil the entire apprearance of them. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by bizzard

[Iain_S]

52 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Bring back sleel wheels I say. (snip)

Too true! The alloys on the Landrover always need several belts with a sledgehammer to get them off; the steel ones with the off road tyres come off no bother.

[nb Innisfree]

Stainless steel wheels. 

[cuthound]

14 hours ago, bizzard said:

Bring back sleel wheels I say. No heavier than the aluminium equivallent. Steel nuts on steel wheels so no corrosive reaction.  Unlike aluminium wheels that can corrode onto the hub requiring whacking from behind with a big hammer to remove them. No difficulty aligning up to refit steel wheels. In my opinion aluminium wheels look silly on certain- most cars seeing all the rusty brakes and stuff behind and look absolutely weird and silly, like boy racer wheels on posh cars like Rolls Royce, Bentley and many others that spoil the entire apprearance of them. 

 

But have you noticed cars don't rust as much as they used to.

 

I reckon it's because the aluminium alloy wheels act like anodes when the weather is wet. ?

[frahkn]

13 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

But have you noticed cars don't rust as much as they used to.

 

I reckon it's because the aluminium alloy wheels act like anodes when the weather is wet. ?

Amazing how a thread can drift!

 

But certainly Cuthound's theory has the ring of truth, for instance cars have 4 wheels and boats often have 4 anodes!

 

 

[rusty69]

6 minutes ago, frahkn said:

Amazing how a thread can drift!

Dunno if you can use a drift on a thread! I think that is a different tool altogether.

[bizzard]

13 hours ago, Iain_S said:

Too true! The alloys on the Landrover always need several belts with a sledgehammer to get them off; the steel ones with the off road tyres come off no bother.

I always used the standard Avon TM's on mine, traction mileage, great tyres.

[rusty69]

Spose a cold chisel would work, but would damage the bolt head.

[bizzard]

On 08/10/2019 at 05:19, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Generous application of heat with the blowlamp before attempting to loosen them usually does the trick, along with (as suggested by Rusty) an extending tube over the Allen key for extra leverage.

 

If the Allen key snaps, use more heat and/or buy better quality Allen keys.

 

 

Yes, heat helps but the quickest and sure way is Oxy-acetylene, small flame, played on one flat of the nut which suddenly expands it and releases its hold on the bolt without heating the whole thing up.

[magpie patrick]

16 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Highly unlikely. Steel is very ductile meaning bolts or studs tend to stretch when overtightened rather than snap. 

 

Bolts/studs only tend to snap when twisted e.g. when heavily rusted and forced with long spanners/powerful impact wrenches.

 

 

However unlikely it might be, I had to drive a hired minibus onto the ferry at Caen with one wheel dangerously loose because of this. three of the five bolts had sheered - the hire company had had the wheels off just before I picked it up. 

 

Brittany Ferries suggested (and I agreed) that t would be easier to get recovery from Portsmouth than Caen, but the other passengers had to go as foot passengers, BF wouldn't allow them to be in the vehicle

[Iain_S]

11 hours ago, bizzard said:

I always used the standard Avon TM's on mine, traction mileage, great tyres.

I've got Goodrich ATs on the alloys, and MTs on the steels. The MTs are a bit noisy, and not as grippy on the road in the wet, but are a lot better in the wet off road than the ATs are. Mileage is pretty good; I've gone through one set of ATs, half way through another, and the MTs are about due for a change, which has taken 130,000 miles or so.

[MtB]

11 hours ago, bizzard said:

Yes, heat helps but the quickest and sure way is Oxy-acetylene, small flame, played on one flat of the nut which suddenly expands it and releases its hold on the bolt without heating the whole thing up.

 

Agree about the oxy acetylene, but few peeps have it available on their bote, unlike a blowlamp. And if no blowlamp, they can be bought in B&Q for not much, unlike say a BOC PortaPak.

 

And secondly there is no nut anyway, in the case of the OP!

 

 

 

[sirweste]

On 08/10/2019 at 08:35, frahkn said:

Didn't know they existed but now I've got a set. Be back on the boat in a few weeks.

 

 

Know you've already bought them, however, I would recommend the Halfords Advanced range. No questions ask replacement over the counter if anything brakes. Has been successful for me a few times now - given you're about to be swinging on something heavily, it might be useful I thought.

[BEngo]

On 08/10/2019 at 20:14, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Highly unlikely. Steel is very ductile meaning bolts or studs tend to stretch when overtightened rather than snap. 

 

Bolts/studs only tend to snap when twisted e.g. when heavily rusted and forced with long spanners/powerful impact wrenches.

 

 

Tell that to the A35 van wheel that parted company with its hub at 60 mph on the East Kilbride bypass.  I was outside a truck at the time so life was briefly somewhat hairy. 

The studs had quite clearly been overloaded, probably by a gorilla tyre fitter.

N

[Mad Harold]

4 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Tell that to the A35 van wheel that parted company with its hub at 60 mph on the East Kilbride bypass.  I was outside a truck at the time so life was briefly somewhat hairy. 

The studs had quite clearly been overloaded, probably by a gorilla tyre fitter.

 

Is that the one that the Romans left behind in 440 AD ?