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About sticky bolts.... 


Date sent:             Mon, 22 Apr 1996 10:12:15 EDT
From:             "Rick Anderson" 
Organization:     Interactive Systems, Inc. - The Interactive TV Company
To:               offroad@ai.gtri.gatech.edu
Subject:            Re:Trooper II Again
Send reply to:    offroad@ai.gtri.gatech.edu

John Brooks (brooks@thaad.tecmas.com) writes:

> It is a difficult vehicle to work on unless you have access to about 
> 300psi air and industrial quality tools.  You see, the harmonic balancer 
> bolt is tightened to about 1,000,000 ft-lbs and any attempt to remove it 
> results in moving the vehicle.  Since foreign car mechs. charge about 
> $1,000,000/hr I do all my own work and since I could never get that damn 
> bolt out, believe me I tried, I couldn't even replace a water pump.  I 
> even braced a breaker bar against the frame with a large socket on the 
> nut, pushed the vehicle backwards at about 10mph with the clutch in in 
> fourth gear, and popped the clutch.  All it did was bust my socket.  That 
> bolt really pissed me off!
Funny story related to this. I had an 80 Mazda RX-7 and the engine went south. In my attempt to rebuild it (a rotary, mind you), I had to remove the flywheel. It had a huge 2.25" bolt on it. I rented a socket and brought it home. Couldn't budge it with my socket wrench. Couldn't budge it with my breaker bar. Couldn't budge it with my long torque wrench. Finally we took a 6' long weight bar on the end of a socket wrench and put two 200 lb guys on the end of the bar. Still would not budget the bolt. Heat and ice did no good either. Since the RX-7 rotary engine is about the size of a breadbox, I loaded it into the back of my Blazer and went to the local machine shop.

Immediately the guy said he didn't think he had a socket that big. No worries - I brought the rental socket. Then he says "OK, no problem". He brings out his air gun, slips the socket on, and the tries to loosen the bolt. No go. "Hmmm" he says. Disappears and comes back with a larger gun. "This will work" he says with confidence. Again, no go. Scratches his head, disappears again, and comes out cradling what I would call an elephant gun. This thing was a monster, weighing in at about 100 lbs. It was covered with dust and such. Probably hasn't been used since World War II. Looked like those old miner drills. "If this doesn't work, we are out of luck". Slaps the socket on there and fires on this air compressed behemouth. The first time the thing nearly turns him around! It was hillarious watching this whole procedure. He zaps this bolt about twenty times with short blasts and it finally comes loose. Charges me $5 for the comedy.

---
Rick D. Anderson (intsys!ricka@ormail.intel.com)
Interactive Systems, Inc. 503-627-0149



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