Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men
Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:06 pm
Was out in the pole barn yesterday getting ready for the kids coming home this weekend. All of this years wood is cut, 85% is in the basement and all that is left is to split the remainder. Tried backing Ellie up to the wall bracket and the splitter. Didn't work out too well. Putt-Putt is kinda in the way. Figures.
The best laid plans of mice and men - poof now you see the solution and now you don't. So I was scratching my head trying to figure out a way around it when it dawned on me - block the Putt-Putt up and take the wheels off. Kinda had to anyways cause the right front has the tube poking through the inner sidewall for about 30% of the tire - so that tire isn't going to stay on.
Got everything ready, turned on the big compressor, got my impact gun and a 3/4" socket, sprayed the wheel bolts with Nut Buster, let it sit for a bit and went at it. Dang, the nuts on the left front just weren't moving -- running short of breath and energy so I stopped for a few minutes. Moved over to the right front tire. Put the impact on it and poof off came 5 wheel bolts rather quickly.
So, decide the left front shouldn't be froze up that hard and maybe since the Nut Buster had been working it's magic for a bit, the wheel bolts should back out quite nicely. Nope, no dice, not a chance in he-double hockey sticks .
Went to the other shop and got my 1/2" drive cheater/power bar. Gave that a shot. Bolts moved but not a lot. And man I put me into it. Even after all the health issues I am not a weak man, my upper body strength is still pretty good - for short periods of time that is. Anyways, I worked at those 5 wheel bolts for about an hour trying to get em off. They would move a bit especially after I hit em with another shot of Nut Buster, but they wouldn't budge more than a quarter turn at a time. In between, I would try the impact wrench using forward and reverse to try and bust whatever lock the rust had. Even went and got my 3lb hand maul and smacked em a bit. Back to the power bar and a 3 foot extension of pipe and laid onto it. Moved some more but hey, ifn I gotta do this for much longer it is gonna put me into a coronary unit.
So I called Ray and asked him for his 3/4" drive electric impact (DeWalt). He asked me what I was doing .. so I told him. He said go back to forward and reverse with the impact as there is about 250ft-lbs of torque using the impact wrench. Well if there is 250ft-lbs of torque with the impact and the bolts weren't moving, I would be curious as to how much torque I was applying with the cheater and extension.
Anyways, I went back to forward/reverse with the impact. Gave one bolt about 3 rounds of that. Recoated it with Nut Buster and started again. All of a sudden the bolt moved. So I kept it up -- and then the weirdest thing happened. On forward all of a sudden the impact went chugga-chugga - vrrrrrip and the bolt moved. Took the impact off and lo and behold the bolt was half out. Scratched my head for a sec and then I realized that these were left hand threaded wheel bolts.
Now I have been playing with vehicles and such since I was about 14 or so, so that would be what -- 67/68. I had never seen a vehicle with right hand thread on the right hand side and left hand thread on the left hand side (looking from the seat) wheel bolts.
So I call Ray back and tell him I won't be needing the 3/4" impact. He asked me why. I told him that the dang bolts were left hand thread. He said to me, yeah the Putt-Putt has those types for the front wheel and probably the rear wheels as well. (I am thinking -- hellooooo weren't you listening when I said I was trying to take the wheel bolts of of the front of the Putt-Putt???) So I got me a little backward chuckle out of that. If it hadn't been that I was pooped after an hour and a half of playing with this, I probably would have really thought it was funny, but I was really beat so it tweren't so funny at all.
So when did they stop making wheel assemblies that had left hand threads? Our Cubs don't have that .......
Man was I confused and really tired.
The best laid plans of mice and men - poof now you see the solution and now you don't. So I was scratching my head trying to figure out a way around it when it dawned on me - block the Putt-Putt up and take the wheels off. Kinda had to anyways cause the right front has the tube poking through the inner sidewall for about 30% of the tire - so that tire isn't going to stay on.
Got everything ready, turned on the big compressor, got my impact gun and a 3/4" socket, sprayed the wheel bolts with Nut Buster, let it sit for a bit and went at it. Dang, the nuts on the left front just weren't moving -- running short of breath and energy so I stopped for a few minutes. Moved over to the right front tire. Put the impact on it and poof off came 5 wheel bolts rather quickly.
So, decide the left front shouldn't be froze up that hard and maybe since the Nut Buster had been working it's magic for a bit, the wheel bolts should back out quite nicely. Nope, no dice, not a chance in he-double hockey sticks .
Went to the other shop and got my 1/2" drive cheater/power bar. Gave that a shot. Bolts moved but not a lot. And man I put me into it. Even after all the health issues I am not a weak man, my upper body strength is still pretty good - for short periods of time that is. Anyways, I worked at those 5 wheel bolts for about an hour trying to get em off. They would move a bit especially after I hit em with another shot of Nut Buster, but they wouldn't budge more than a quarter turn at a time. In between, I would try the impact wrench using forward and reverse to try and bust whatever lock the rust had. Even went and got my 3lb hand maul and smacked em a bit. Back to the power bar and a 3 foot extension of pipe and laid onto it. Moved some more but hey, ifn I gotta do this for much longer it is gonna put me into a coronary unit.
So I called Ray and asked him for his 3/4" drive electric impact (DeWalt). He asked me what I was doing .. so I told him. He said go back to forward and reverse with the impact as there is about 250ft-lbs of torque using the impact wrench. Well if there is 250ft-lbs of torque with the impact and the bolts weren't moving, I would be curious as to how much torque I was applying with the cheater and extension.
Anyways, I went back to forward/reverse with the impact. Gave one bolt about 3 rounds of that. Recoated it with Nut Buster and started again. All of a sudden the bolt moved. So I kept it up -- and then the weirdest thing happened. On forward all of a sudden the impact went chugga-chugga - vrrrrrip and the bolt moved. Took the impact off and lo and behold the bolt was half out. Scratched my head for a sec and then I realized that these were left hand threaded wheel bolts.
Now I have been playing with vehicles and such since I was about 14 or so, so that would be what -- 67/68. I had never seen a vehicle with right hand thread on the right hand side and left hand thread on the left hand side (looking from the seat) wheel bolts.
So I call Ray back and tell him I won't be needing the 3/4" impact. He asked me why. I told him that the dang bolts were left hand thread. He said to me, yeah the Putt-Putt has those types for the front wheel and probably the rear wheels as well. (I am thinking -- hellooooo weren't you listening when I said I was trying to take the wheel bolts of of the front of the Putt-Putt???) So I got me a little backward chuckle out of that. If it hadn't been that I was pooped after an hour and a half of playing with this, I probably would have really thought it was funny, but I was really beat so it tweren't so funny at all.
So when did they stop making wheel assemblies that had left hand threads? Our Cubs don't have that .......
Man was I confused and really tired.