Front Drive Shaft was sqeaking and went to pull it off on my 97 D1. The nuts at the front diff were easy to remove. The other end at the transfer case is a pain. I got one off, but the other three are almost rounded. Anybody ran into this and how did you get them off? I was thinking of cutting, but it looks like the flange on the transfer case has to be removed to put new bolts on. Any ideas, I know Sears sells the sockets for taking off disfigurd nuts and bolts, but not sure if those will fit.

Also are the precision 344 joints the correct ones for the front shaft and the rear shaft? I also will be replacing the flext plate on the rear.

thank for you help

 

honestly, i used a ****ton of liquid wrench, soaked over night, and reapplied, and some serious vicegrips.
if the nuts are soft enough to warp, which they are, i found that mine were grade 8, you can use vicegrips on the nut, and put a wrench to the bolt, you should be okay.

 

Stay far away from the Grip-Tite set from Sears. I broke 2 sockets but at least they took them back. Don't cut yet, go to harbor freight and get the damaged bolt removal socket kit. They have an SAE and Metric kit for $20 each. They work great. I had a rounded off cylinder head bolt that was on there really tight. They work like a charm.

Like said above spray with PB Blaster and let sit over night. If they are too rounded off for the extractor socket then go to the vise grips/chisel/drill/saw.

 

I don't know about Gripe-Tite, but these from sears work great.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...d=bolt+remover
I actually bought one set from Nothern Tool, then the add-on metric ones from Sears.
But your problem is that you won't be able to get them on the nuts as there is no clearance.
You might be able to hold the nuts with a pair of vice grips, then turn the bolt with a wrench, but in all honesty I seriously doubt that will work.
Your best bet it is to just get a cut off tool, that uses the thin disks about 3" in diameter, and cut off the nuts, or heads of the bolt.
Yes, you will need to remove the output flange to replace the nuts. The mud shield just taps off, then you can replace the nuts and reattach the mudshield.
Use a new nylock nut when you reinstall the output flange. I'd go ahead and replace the oil seal while you have it apart.

 

Those are the same thing. You just get twice as many for the same price from Harbor Freight. The ones from HF are durable too, I put them to the ultimate test getting off that cylinder head bolt, it took about all my strength with a 32" bar.

Try a wobble extension but if there is not the clearance to get a socket in there then just use a big vise grip like mentioned above or a cutoff tool. Dremmeling off 3 bolts under a truck does not sound like good times though.

 

I've never seen an HF tool that had a lifetime warranty.
I've taken tools to Sears that broke after 40 years of use and they replaced them.

 

They have lifetime warranties, I've used it a couple times over the past couple months. obviously not as good of a warantee as sears but some people are on a budget. I know people don't like HF but I find their wrenches and sockets to be top notch for the price. If not for HF I would not have been able to do my head gaskets or my front hub. The same Craftsman tools would have cost me well over $1000 while HF cost me under $350. FWIW I've broken more Craftsman tools than HF while doing work on my DII, no trouble replacing either.

 

Dont the nuts that hold the drive shaft on or the plastic "locking" type?
If so could he not use a small torch and melt the plastic inside the nuts?
I dont know that is why I am asking.
He would then need to replace the nuts and bolts but that is a small price to pay.

 

I don't think melting the nyloc would really help all that much, unless you completely burned it out. And even then I'm not sure. A cut-off wheel is the best bet I think.

 

Thanks, I did by the sockets from HF today. So I will try that route first. If that does not work, I will have to cut them. How involved is it to replace the studs on the transfer case output shaft? It looks like I have to remove the flange.

I bought the Precision 344 u-joints, but it seems some people dis-like those, should those be okay to use or is there another brand I should look for?

Thanks for your help