Kinda silly question re drive shaft bolts

[Blueman2]

Was going to do U joints on my sister's 2wd ranger today, what a circus. While backing up the ramps to get the rear in the air, she drove off the end of the ramps. The ramps flipped up then collapsed, leaving the rear wheels stuck in the air a couple inches off the ground. A few minutes with the jack and we got all four tires on the ground again. Next time, I backed up onto the ramps!

Ok, finally got under the truck and started chcking things out, hmmm 12 point bolts to the pinion flange, wonder what size. Tried a 12mm 12 pt box wrench, no go. Tried a 13mm box, no go. Tried a 1/2 inch 6 pt socket, no go. Tried a 9/16 6 pt socket, no go.

Now to my silly question. What kind and size of socket do I need to get the pinion flange bolts out? Is this a custom socket or should I be able to get it anywhere?

Truck is a 2001 Ranger 2wd, 2.5 4 cyl, manual trans, bone stock.

Thanks for any info or comments.

Blueman2

 

[Sasquatch_Ryda]

They are indeed 12mm 12pt bolts. Dunno why your wrench didn't fit?

 

[BRUTUS_T_HOG]

try a different 12mm wrench. sometimes there are slight flaws in the wrench.
i've run into this before.

if thats not it then the points on the bolts might be bent from over tightening

 

[Blueman2]

Thank you gentlemen. Presumably then, if I buy a 12 pt 12mm socket and clean off any rust and other debris, I should be able to get the socket onto the bolt head for removal?

The 12mm box wrench I had is an old cheapo, quite possibly not precision formed. I'll try a quality socket and see what happens. Am I going to need an impact wrench to break these loose or should I be able to do it with a 1/2 drive ratchet or breaker bar?

Thanks again for your comments.

 

[kunar]

definitely 12mm 12pt. use a little heat on the flange to loosen up the factory thread locker if its still there. dont melt the pinion seal though!

 

[superds]

Put some penetrant on it and you should be able to break it loose using hand tools. I know I have been able to on even older vehicles.

 

[Blueman2]

Thanks guys, a Craftsman 1/2 drive 12mm 12 pt is $3.99 and tx. I'll give that a shot. I'll try the penetrating oil a day early first, would prefer to avoid heat if possible.

Any thing else I should watch out for as I do this job? I bought the "high end" u joints from the local O'Reilly Auto Parts, Precision brand. They come with a zerk to be installed in the joint. Bought a Harbor Freight mini grease gun, packaged grease cartridge claims to be lithium 2 grease or at least to the same standard.

I figure I'll mark both ends so I can put them back where they came from relative to the pinion flange. I have a vague recollection that zerks should be positioned in the compression side of the web rather than the tension side. Do these shafts rotate clockwise looking from the front?

Thanks

Blueman2

 

[scotts90ranger]

clockwise from the front yes... and put the zerk in compression

when they say heat, it doesn't take a lot, 20 seconds with a butane torch will do the trick (the orange one from harbor freight is my tool of choice, $6 and is friggin handy). penetrating oil won't touch loctite, heat will

 

[Blueman2]

Thanks again for all info. Sears was out of stock but ordered online, should have the socket in a few days.

In the mean time, rebuilding crushed ramps.

 

[Captain Ledd]

I used a hammer to make my 12pt 12mm socket fit. They were a little rusty.

x2 on the heat. That stuff is basically a glue and will seal anything in/out, including penetrating oil. A little heat will melt it and make it significantly easier.

 

[adsm08]

Dunno why your wrench didn't fit?

Crappy wrench. I have 4 wrenches, 2 13mm, 2 1/2", one of each fits my drain plug, one of each don't. They are all craftsman.

 

[Hopman]

Thanks again for all info. Sears was out of stock but ordered online, should have the socket in a few days.

In the mean time, rebuilding crushed ramps.

May I suggest 1/2" diamond plate for the ramp surface? You need grip. Also, think abut putting some sort of stop at the top end of the ramp so it's REALLY hard to roll off the end.

Heck, if you really wanted to go crazy, cut some teeth into the bottom edge (ground side) to keep the ramps from sliding.

 

[Nhaz]

You Should Need a propane torch to break those bolts lose.

If they were properly installed there will be red locktite on the threads and trying to break that free by hand without heat is going to break something. possibly your hand or the wrench.

They Will come lose nicely with the torch and a 12MM 12 sided box wrench some heat and maybe a cheater bar just for added leverage.

Clean out the threads and put them Back with Red locktite. These are bolts to Never ever want to have loosen up.

 

[Will]

I never glue them back in and I've never heated them to take them out. Sounds like a good idea though.

The roof air on my bus was dripping because the front end was a little low. Thought I would use my ramps to kind of level it. That wasn't a good idea. It didn't drive up the ramps--it just squashed them flat.

 

[Blueman2]

Thanks again for all comments, sorry for delay in responding.

She did not drive off the end of the ramps, they had a handle/stop at the end. When the tires hit the stops, the ramps actually tipped up in front. They held for a while but she kept rocking back when trying to pull forward (manual trans) and after that happened a couple of times, the cross straps on the ramps gave way and the whole thing collapsed, leaving the driving wheels a few inches off the ground.

Finally did the u-joint job yesterday. Got the bolts out no prob, they had a yellow threadlocker on them but came out without heat and not much cussin'.

Rear u-joint was shot, all the needles gone from one cup, cup and yoke all wallowed out.

Started trying to take them apart and found my deep bar clamp would not cut it. Ran to Harbor Freight for a tool, out of stock! Called Sis, she agreed to spring for their small A frame press. Got it home and assembled, not enough clearance to fit the joint and sockets under the ram . . . Dang!

Finally resorted to brute force. Got the 4Lb sledge out and sockets to drive and support and got to work. Slow but it worked. Had also found small wire wheels at HF, used those to clean the lock ring groove and touch up the joint bores. Went back together fine for rear u-joint. Front joint, got some needles crosswise in the 3rd cup, took a while to figure it out. Needles now broken, off to O'Reillys for another u-joint. A little extra care and the new one went in fine.

I had marked the shaft and flange as well as the trans tail housing so putting it back was no prob. Cleaned all threads and used locktite blue (all I had) on reassembly. Torqued to 85 ft-lb in two stages all around. Greased all zerks, smeared grease all over all retainer clips

Good news is Sis covered all the costs for tools and material, bad news is that it took us all day with all the messing around finding tools and spare parts.

Truck moves well now, no vibes at speed.

Next job is rear wheel stud (one broken), then on to front bearings and brakes. Will have lots of ?? on those.

Really appreciate everyone's contributions, if you ever have ?? about Mossberg .22 rifles or Triumph Sprint ST 2000, drop me a line

Thanks again.

Bruce