Electric Hammer Drill for Removing Steering Shaft

[gimlithepirate]

I'm gearing up to replace my Rack and Pinion (if the damn thing will ship), and my main concern is getting the lower intermediate steering shaft off the splines.

If I'm lucky, a BFH and a pry bar should work fine. But I'm worried about what happens if I'm not lucky. Is there any alternative to getting an air hammer? I'm all electric, not air tools, and trying to see if I have any options.

I do have an electric hammer drill, but I'm not sure if that will work in this case.

Any clever ideas I'm missing?

 

[firebirdguy]

you "shouldnt" have a problem removing the shaft off the splines unless its very rusty... if it doesnt come free i would try some heat from a propane torch on the outside clamp part which will expand it & break free any rust or corrosion & should allow it to slide off without too much effort.

heat almost always works to break free stuck parts or rusted bolts, the key is to heat the outside part or nut so it expands, avoid heating the inner part or bolt threads if possible so they stay cooler & dont expand (as much) ive had great results using heat on 25-30+ year old rusty cars & it will get all but the worst bolts/parts to break free.

good luck!

 

[gimlithepirate]

you "shouldnt" have a problem removing the shaft off the splines unless its very rusty... if it doesnt come free i would try some heat from a propane torch on the outside clamp part which will expand it & break free any rust or corrosion & should allow it to slide off without too much effort.

heat almost always works to break free stuck parts or rusted bolts, the key is to heat the outside part or nut so it expands, avoid heating the inner part or bolt threads if possible so they stay cooler & dont expand (as much) ive had great results using heat on 25-30+ year old rusty cars & it will get all but the worst bolts/parts to break free.

good luck!

It's the "shouldn't" I'm worried about xD

This car is a southern car, but I'm pretty sure the U joint isn't in great shape any more, even though its not rusty and crusty. I am planning to replace the intermediate shaft while I'm at it, because it seems crazy to remove something on 186k mile car and put it back on unless you know its good.

My worry comes from the face that ball joint removal on this vehicle required serious mechanical ford. Pickle forks did not work. So something that says the best procedure is banging on it with a hammer, and maybe adding some heat, makes me nervous.

 

[MikeinNH67]

Seeing you don't live up here it shouldn't be too hard to remove especially if you soak it in something like PB blaster. The space is tight though. I ended up cutting mine with a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder and dremel because of rust.

 

[gimlithepirate]

Seeing you don't live up here it shouldn't be too hard to remove especially if you soak it in something like PB blaster. The space is tight though. I ended up cutting mine with a cutoff wheel on an angle grinder and dremel because of rust.

Huh, you were able to get an angle grinder in there? Not sure how I would do that.

Since I have a new intermediate shaft, if it does get stuck this is in fact an option.

 

[Hunter61]

I live in the rust belt and my intermeadiate steering shaft was siezed on real good. My under powered air hammer wouldn't budge it.
I ended up using a Dremel with a cutoff wheel and cut away small chunks of it at a time until it popped free with a hammer & punch.

 

[montijo505]

Don’t overthink it, a cold chisel and a small handle 3 pound sledge will work. The lower ball joints on these cars are the worst to get off, everything else is cake.


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[Drcoffee]

Remove the bolts and Try to spread the clamp open first with an air hammer before trying to persuade it off. I cant imagine hammering the rack pinion with a BFH would do your rack much good.

 

[rdruss]

When I did mine I beat on it with a drift and hammer for an hour, did'nt budge!
Got the propane torch out and gave it some heat and it came right off. Greased the new one up good before install.

 

[firebirdguy]

When I did mine I beat on it with a drift and hammer for an hour, did'nt budge!
Got the propane torch out and gave it some heat and it came right off. Greased the new one up good before install.

yep, heat is your friend for things like this. & soaking with some penetrating oil before hand is a good idea too.

if its a southern car it "should" come off ok. as a last resort you can use a BFH but as mentioned its probably not too good for the rack & limited space in there to get a good swing.

 

[gimlithepirate]

Don’t overthink it, a cold chisel and a small handle 3 pound sledge will work. The lower ball joints on these cars are the worst to get off, everything else is cake.


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Cool. Main reason I was concerned was how many people seemed to need air hammers to get the damn thing off... But a lot of those also appear to be people with major rust problems. PBlaster, a cold chisel/piece of metal, and my 4 lb mini sledge should do the job nicely.

 

[gimlithepirate]

Remove the bolts and Try to spread the clamp open first with an air hammer before trying to persuade it off. I cant imagine hammering the rack pinion with a BFH would do your rack much good.

Not hammering the rack and pinion. You put the cold chisel on the u joint and bang on that. Both the Rack and the shaft are getting replaced so damage isn't a huge deal.

 

[MikeinNH67]

Huh, you were able to get an angle grinder in there? Not sure how I would do that.

Since I have a new intermediate shaft, if it does get stuck this is in fact an option.

Sorry, not specific enough... 4" die grinder in reality. May have used a sawzall too. I threw lots of tools at it.

Not sure if this was mentioned but I did most of the work through the wheel well.

 

[MikeinNH67]

Don’t overthink it, a cold chisel and a small handle 3 pound sledge will work. The lower ball joints on these cars are the worst to get off, everything else is cake.

Curious, why would you need to remove the lower balljoint for the steering shaft? Also, why would it be hard to remove? These guys have a couple bolts you remove and the balljoint with small bar attached drops off the rest of the knuckle.

 

[gimlithepirate]

Curious, why would you need to remove the lower balljoint for the steering shaft? Also, why would it be hard to remove? These guys have a couple bolts you remove and the balljoint with small bar attached drops off the rest of the knuckle.

I think that was more a general statement because I am worried about getting the steering shaft off because of my experience changing out the LCAs. While the balljoint attaches to those bolts, getting it off that bar is a bear. I had to use a pitman arm puller and an impact to separate them when I changed out my LCA.

Also, I'm going to have to separate tie rods because I am ultimately changing out the whole rack, not just the steering shaft. It's just since I have to disconnect the steering shaft anyway to change out the rack, it makes sense to replace it.

 

[MikeinNH67]

I think that was more a general statement because I am worried about getting the steering shaft off because of my experience changing out the LCAs. While the balljoint attaches to those bolts, getting it off that bar is a bear. I had to use a pitman arm puller and an impact to separate them when I changed out my LCA.

Also, I'm going to have to separate tie rods because I am ultimately changing out the whole rack, not just the steering shaft. It's just since I have to disconnect the steering shaft anyway to change out the rack, it makes sense to replace it.

Ah, I see. If changing the rack and replacing the shaft at the same time I think I'd just cut it close to the steering rack to make it easier. The troublesome part is moving 2 corroded joints on their spines with one moving up the shaft steering wheel side. Cut it and you only deal with one at a time and both coming off. If you have little corrosion, unlike in this area, then may not be an issue. Good luck!

 

[Ralph Blake]

Walmart has two brands of Hammer Drills, one is their own brand the Hyper Tough and the other is the Hart both are 1/2 inch and for their low price will do what is needed. the Hart is around $15 dollars higher then the Hyper tough.

If you don't think they do your job you just return it to Walmart get a refund.