Page 1 of 1

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:06 pm
by Rudi
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. :roll:

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 :shock: :? .

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 :big give up: and really tired. :roll:

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 4:54 pm
by midmo
Chrysler Imperial quit using the left handed nuts in 1970 and Plymouth and Dodge in 1968. My best guess. Don't know when they started but both my 49 Plymouth and 50 Dodge pickup had the left handed bolts.
Ron

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:38 pm
by beaconlight
It brings back memories but i had forgotten that.

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 5:44 am
by randallc
It brings back memories of an old trailer tire that I am still trying to forgot. Didn't have an impact, just a cheater bar - then a longer cheater bar - then. When it finally dawned on me it was like slipping down - I quickly looked around to see if anyone was looking. Course they were not - I was by myself!

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:41 am
by Bob Perry
When I first got my license, and shortly thereafter my first flat tire, I snapped off a few lugs on my '65 Plymouth, nobody ever told me about left-handed threads on the driver's side, I had to learn the hard way!

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2012 7:47 am
by pm_wells
I had traded for a 1947 Willys CJ3A a few years back. My oldest son and a friend decided to take the wheels off to use on another jeep, well they got the right sides off without a problem. I walked out there to see how it was going and saw they were having trouble with the left side. Some of the lugs were rounded off, they had used a cold chisel trying to cut some of the lugs off, boy what a mess. I stood there and thought you guys are ruining this jeep, then I said maybe they are left hand threads on this side. They found one or two that they could still get a wrench on and turned clockwise and it came off. They looked at each other like how dumb can you be. Needless to say most of the studs and lug nuts on that were done for.

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2012 10:16 am
by cowboy
My brothers 1981 F-250 has left hand studs on one side. I've broken off a few left handed studs in my time LOL.

Billy

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 10:24 pm
by Ida Red
Most Apache campers have left hand threads on the left side. Narrowed the rear wheels on the 240 ane found both side were right handed.( Lefty lossey and Righty tighty)

Re: Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 8:29 pm
by VinceD
Not to worry, Rudi. Has happened to most of us. :D :D