NEED HELP!! Stuck Roll Pin, Mechanics/Machinists puzzle!!

[PhizzleSubarizzle]

Ok, here's a good one for all you die hard mechanics out there.

 

I'm in the process of trying to change my axleshaft...for the first time. I am a machinery mechanic by trade so most of this type of work is nothing new to me, but this one really has me stumped. I was trying to drive out the roll pin on the transmission end of the axleshaft with a hammer and punch. My 1/4" punch was just slightly too large for the hole so I used the next smaller size (first mistake). This was working, I managed to drive the pin about one third of the way out before the tapered part of the puch leading to the handle reached the edge of the pin hole and could go no further, but when I went to pull the punch out I found that I had managed to drive it deeply into the middle of the pin...and ohhhh was it stuck:eek: !!! In an attempt to remove the punch, the end broke off and is now in residing inside the roll pin as a permanent resident. I thought that since the pin/punch combo was moving until the punch was too large for the hole that I could just drive it the rest of the way through with another punch (second mistake), this drove the pin about 1/8" further and then stopped dead! Now I realized that the pin/punch was really stuck so I attempted to punch the broken punch back out the other way with a smaller punch that fit inside of the pin, this would not move the punch either and eventually resulted in a broken smaller punch (but this one not stuck). So after a lot of hammering:horse: and frustration I ground my 1/4" punch to the correct size on a bench grinder (which I should have done in the first place, hindsight 20/20) and continued hammering:horse: in either direction to no avail. So the next day (today) I made a special tool of two pieces of metal bolted together with a bolt in the middle with the end ground down to the diameter of the hole in an attempt to push out the pin, this resulted in a broken tool. I tried putting a jack under the punch and jacking it up into the bottom of the pin/punch and this just lifted the tranny until the punch slipped sideways. I tried heating the end of the axle shaft with a heat gun and putting ice on the out end of the roll pin and more hammering:horse: no luck. I tried hacksawing off the protruding end of the roll pin and hammering:horse: the reverse direction, again no luck. I tried using a drill and drilling into the punch (of course no use the punch is hardened) and didn't even make a dent.

 

I am thouroughly stuck:confused: and am at a loss for what to do next and I gotta say I feel pretty dumb because I should have known this would happen in the first place. If i could have had this problem on a benchtop, either bozo the big hammer would come out or I would use a hydraulic press, but since its under the car with limited space and strength, I am stuck.

 

Any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Thanx

Phill.

[Snowman]

I had a similar situation in which a well-meaning friend had gotten the axle 180-degrees out of proper alignment when installing it and tried to get the roll pin through anyway. I spent three hours beating on it with various implements of destruction until I finally gave up and got out the big grinder. Using that, I ground away the better part of the DOJ housing surrounding the pin on BOTH sides...that took a while, but it was the only way to remove the pieces that were stuck in there. With the pieces of the pin actually holding the axle on out of the picture, I slipped the axle off and the remaining bits of the pin fell right out.

 

Hope this helps.

[beataru]

You have anyfriends with an airchisel???

[DaveT]

Man, you got it stuck good!

 

How about a drill made for drilling bearing races? I forgot the exact name but I have seen them in the MSC catalog.

 

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRHM

 

I think they were carbide. Maybe a diamond drill?

[Ziggy]

Try useing a cobalt drill bit Tacoma Screw has them .

[idosubaru]

i don't know how EA81 transmissions are, but if you have an automatic transmission you can pull the stub out of the transmission. remove the axle from the hub and drop it down so it's hanging on only by the transmission stub. yank on the axle quick and deliberate and the stub will pop out of the transmission. this will allow you to work from the bench.

 

if it's a manual transmission or different than the EA82's then this won't work.

 

i bought some cobalt drills for drilling out a hardened steel water pump bolt. they sucked, didn't even touch it.

[Rebello240zx]

Yeah you stuck it real good man...

 

cobalt bits wont touch that hardened steel dont waste your time.

(Been there done that)

 

Your best bet is to get your aceteylene torch, heat up real good and then wack it out.

Looking at the metals involved the roll pin should melt first. hint* hint*

 

And no butane wont work either.

I would replace the axle, axle seal and trans fluid after wards though.... :-\

good luck

[GeneralDisorder]

First dissasemble the inner axle joint and remove the axle shaft and boot and joint components. Clean out all the grease from the inside of the cup.

 

Use your angle grinder with a cutting wheel to cut off the major portion of the cup down as close as you dare to the splined shaft. Remove the grease plate in the bottom of the cup and you will see that the cup is actually hollow all the way through

 

Grind a slot in the side of the splined portion of the cup with your angle grinder / air die grinder or whatever you have that will fit in the small space. You can grind a slot running centered on the roll pin hole in both sides of the cup

 

Use a large chisel to split the cast cup off the splined shaft.

 

Then deal with the stuck bits of punch and roll pin in the stub shaft. That's going to be a biotch. probably have to heat the sucker up - but at least you will have the cup out of the way.

 

GD