engineering question

rbigg

14 years ago

Here's a real engineers delight: What could be simpler than taking the front wheel off a Craftsman tractor?

The answer is not much.

However, I've got a big question:

In my setup, there is a 25/32 axle. The book shows it with a clip on the end holding the whole works together.

Wouldn't ya know it, mine has some kind of nut.

Now, this nut is interesting. I've used SAE/Metric sockets in both 1/2" drive, and 3/8" drive. Not one think in either set will fit it. It's closet to 11/16, but not exact.

The angle you have to have on it won't let me use pliers or Crescents.

I'm sitting here, having a libation, defeated.

Help me out. Make me smile again. What the heck do I need for this application???

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Comments (14)

mownie
14 years ago
Libate away (small sips, but often). Try this, experiment to see if you might be able to "wedge" something between one of the "flats" on the nut, and the wall of the hub. Then, with the nut held by the wedge, see if you can rotate the entire wheel/hub assembly and turn the nut off that way. You may have to try a few different objects to find what will work. Suggestions for that include: chisels, open end wrenches, wedge shaped pieces of hard wood (or hardwood). Make sure you have wiped off any grease that might be concealing a cotter pin.
larso1
14 years ago
Hmm, now how could the axle be larger than the nut (0.781" dia. axle vs 0.688" across the flats nut)? If that is indeed the case then the end of the axle is turned down and threaded for some reason? You can always get a hold of a set of British Whitworth sockets. They're slightly off-sized from SAE & Metric. I had to get a set for my Norton motorcycle. You know somebody with an old Triumph, BSA, Matchless or Norton?
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mownie
14 years ago
***"You know somebody with an old Triumph, BSA, Matchless or Norton?"***
Or Royal Enfield??
larso1
14 years ago
"Or Royal Enfield??"

Yes, you're right about that mownie, although the only two models of that marque I would consider owning are the Constellation and the Interceptor. They still make the single cylinder Bullet (350 and 500) in India, but I kind of doubt it has B-W fasteners these days.

Also the AJS, Ariel, Brough, Panther, Velocette, the Vincent-HRD, and many lesser known brands.
mownie
14 years ago
larso1, thanks for the stroll down memory lane sir. I remember a guy that worked where my dad worked had a Norton 750 Commando. As a kid, I used to enjoy hearing him tell stories of how his Norton could beat any Harley around. Though I never saw a Vincent Black Shadow, I heard about them as though they some great and powerful mythical beast that prowled through the universe. The guy with the Norton 750 used to speak "reverently and respectfully" of the Black Shadow.
marineguy
14 years ago
I wonder how Norton Man would have spoken about the Kawasaki ZX-11D which was the sole possession of 19-year old Lance Corporal Marineguy. 130 rear-wheel hp (not accounting for the 10% ram-air boost at high speed) moving around 600 lbs at warp speed. Talk about reverence; I recited the Lord's Prayer as I pulled it off the dealer's lot and let the clutch out for the first time.

My buddies and I made a trip from LA to Vegas on I-15. I guy on a GSX-R 750 pulled up along us and started pulling wheelies and gunning his throttle. We waved him off, declining his challenge. I waited till he was a 5 mile speck on the horizon of the straight desert highway, dropped it from 6th to 4th and gave him a 175mph fly-by.
Man that machine was fun while it lasted. I can't believe it (or any open-class sportbike made since then) is even street legal. To drive it at posted speeds was like walking with no more than a 5-inch stride.

Nowadays, when I get ideas about buying a motorcycle again (a cruiser this time, no need for speed anymore), my wife points at the three little boys playing outside, then to the 8" Z-shaped scar on my knee and says "Hell no."

At least I can predict thunderstorms with my leg. Handy superpower for a pilot.

Rbigg,
Back on subject, I'd say pull the whole spindle and wheel off and take it to a garage (or neighbor) where they have an impact gun. It's amazing how something so simple like a lawn tractor tire can be the source of so much frustration. If you think taking a wheel off is a pain, just try replacing a tire on those little rims. Don't even think about attempting that without a large compressor, a valve core removal tool, and a ratcheting nylon strap.
mownie
14 years ago
***"I wonder how Norton Man would have spoken about the Kawasaki ZX-11D"***
He would have "wet" and wept!
bushleague
14 years ago
Owning Raleigh bicycles introduced me to Witworth tools early on, these being the British standard. You should be able to find a 'tweener', an 18MM six-point perhaps. Why we didn't adopt the metric standard during the 70's when we had the opportunity is beyond me, the carmakers went ahead anyway.
njdpo
14 years ago
is it possible that the bolt is a little "boogered up" and a slight tap will get the socket on - to remove the dreaded axle nut ?
mbsl98
14 years ago
Sears and others sell a "universal" socket that is supposed to fit just about anything within a broad range. It is a large socket that is filled inside with steel rods. When you push it down over a nut, the nut pushes in the rods that it needs to, and leaves the rest of the rods forming a grip on the nut, whatever shape is it in. I think there was one in this weekend's sale flyer. I haven't used one, but have it on a list of things that I should add to my tools.
njdpo
14 years ago
I have one of those adaptable sockets with the pins. As the overall size is not that big - I have yet to find a good use for it in the last 5 years Ive had it .

Not to say it doesn't work - its just that its limited size is somewhat prohibitive.

Good luck - Dave
larso1
14 years ago
That pin filled socket seems like it might be OK for the right sized application. For Christmas, my FIL received one of those Craftsman electric adjustable crescent type wrenches. He just looked at it (when everyone else had left the room) and shook his head. He still hasn't used it. Looks kind of bulky. Maybe there is a good application for it tho...don't know.
dale1234
14 years ago
Gator Grip ETC-200MO Universal Socket
has got me out of a lot of jams
mownie
14 years ago
OK, what happened to rbigg??? Hit and run posting????

engineering question

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