My Nuts are Frozen

[utahwilson]

Figured that would get your attention. Need some help here. The bottom nut on the variator steering adjustment bracket is Frozen to the bolt. I have tried heat, leverage, impact, phuemantic chisel with hammer and not budge. I am afraid If I put too much torque I will bust the bolt. How screwed am I is I release the spring so I can cut the bolt out if needed and replace with a new bolt?

Second question, once I get this fixed. When I put it back together should the nut be turned all the way in so the spring is compressed and then back off counter-clockwise since this is the bottom? Same with the top. Was not clear in variator tuning instructions or I didn't follow.

thanks…the is the only piece left to have her running.

 

[FrancSevin]

Mix ATF 50/50 with WD40. Let it soak a day. Tap it occasionaly with the hammer


Add some heat and walah! It should come looose.

 

[utahwilson]

Thanks, need to get this done soon. I have 15 scouts waiting to go winter camping on Thursday. I was thinking that if I can safely remove/put back the spring. I can slide the bolt out and just cut off the nut. Clean up the threads and put-on a new nut. Curious, how hard it is to put the springs back on.

 

[300 H and H]

First I woud try and heat the nut red hot and hit it with ice cold water. This will shock the rust with expansion/contraction and usually will free it up. Worth a shot.

Regards, Kirk

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

Wilson do use caution, I haves seen these break before that nut doesn't adjust the spring rather the position of the arm. dot 3 brake fluid will free up the rust you can even use it in conjunction with heat from a propane or map gas torch to wick it up in to the threads. as kirk said you can heat it and shock it with ice or heat one flat cherry red than start wrenching it off you will need oxi acetylene to do it as you must heat the nut faster than the stud for the nut to expand and break the rust bind.

 

[JimVT]

I think some have two nuts. one is inside holding a spring inside a spring. I just snugged the inner up. The inter nut shouldn't move . I think I pinged it. the outside adjust your steering and belt. it needs to be adjustable.
do you have the schematics to look at? Reading it's a surprise has a section on it.

I took that pin out and put the whole thing in a vice. I wound up replacing the long bolt. Don't get your spring hot. If you damage the spring I have a new unused one.

 

[utahwilson]

Don,

Bolt with frozen nut spins freely. Retaining nut for Spring is loose as well. When I was hitting it with my air chisel the two nuts holding the spring actually started to turn and loosen up. I will try the heating process. I don't have a torch, placed it in the fire place last night until it was hot. However, everything was hot. If I can't shock it loose can I safely remove the spring and easily put it back on or will I need a press to compress the springs to get the holding nuts tight?

thanks

of course…could use this as a good excuse to finally buy a oxy/acet torch.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

too late the bolt is broken at the eye been there and done that I may have an extra pm me an address I can send it out to . even the same position as mine was broke on

 

[Track Addict]

Cut it with a dremel tool on each side and take it off in halfs buy new nut.

Had to do this with some track bearings the other night.

Although a soak and red hot with a torch should do the trick.

 

[utahwilson]

bolts not broken. I can turn the end with the loop and it turns the end with frozen nut. I will try the heat tonight. If that doesn't work. I will cut off with a dremel tool.

Thanks for the tips.

 

[utahwilson]

another question. Anyone considered welding posts to the two nuts (top/bottom) so you can adjust by hand without a wrench? Do the Variators needs adjusting enough that would warrant something like that?

 

[300 H and H]

Don,

Bolt with frozen nut spins freely. Retaining nut for Spring is loose as well. When I was hitting it with my air chisel the two nuts holding the spring actually started to turn and loosen up. I will try the heating process. I don't have a torch, placed it in the fire place last night until it was hot. However, everything was hot. If I can't shock it loose can I safely remove the spring and easily put it back on or will I need a press to compress the springs to get the holding nuts tight?

thanks

of course…could use this as a good excuse to finally buy a oxy/acet torch.

Are your springs loose because you put the whole works in a fire place and removed the temper from the springs? I sure hope not.... Never heat a spring you intend to reuse. Hope I am not understanding what you did..

Regards, Kirk

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

when you spin the nut, the spring will turn as the whole works has a threaded sleeve in the inside with a nut on top to set spring tension .the bottom nut on the bottom and top nut on the top just adjust shive position and belt tension. it sounds like every thing is working right.

 

[utahwilson]

Don, great talking to you on the phone. Apparently, from the comments I did not do a good job explaining. I believe I finally got my situation explained to Don. I posted a couple more pictures. The Nut I am pointing to is used to adjust the varriators from the bottom. Second picture pointing to the bolt is the one the nut is frozen to. I cannot cut the nut off as the nut is attached to a sleeve that runs up through the springs. Most likely that is where the rust has collected. Going with the suggestions to soak the assembly for a few days. I built a custom vibration bucket to hopefully speed up the process.
Don, I also mentioned to my wife that you also married a Mormon and she let you have two snowcats. Wife asked me how many kids you had. I didn't know so I said 3 since that is one more than we have and figured if you can handle 3 kids and 2 snowcats we should be good with 2 and 2. Plan backfired, wife said that if we had another child, I could have another snowcat.

 

[utahwilson]

Just thought of something. I showed the picture of the Tucker to my wife and said we could give it a girls name and she could baby it. I figured that was a good compromise. I may be sleeping on the couch tonight.

 

[DAVENET]

OK, it took me a second to figure this out, but you sir, are a genius.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

good morning Mr Wilson I actually have 4, one is now grown up and the last is 8 my wife is still wanting more, I have put my foot down . my wife is 10 years younger until she can equal my income no more kids, I'm not going to be able to work for ever some day I'm going to be Like Allen and always hurting. .those days I intend to sit around the house and relive my teen years watching re runs of Magnum pi and Miami vice

 

[JimVT]

I wound up running one season with mine double nutted after I stripped the threads. I cut a new bolt and welded a new large washer type connecter on the end it works fine now and looks factory made.
Cutting it off may be the fast easy way if you need it running by Friday.

 

[utahwilson]

OK, it took me a second to figure this out, but you sir, are a genius.

Seems to be working. I placed some other rusted together parts in there last night and they came apart pretty easy this morning. I will give the spring assembly another 4-5 hours before I try and seperate.

 

[Snowtrac Nome]

never under estimate the power of dot- 3 brake fluid I have used it many times it has never let me down.

 

[utahwilson]

dot-3 worked great!! thanks for the suggestion.