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Tue May 28, 2002 7:38 pm

Guys i have tried my hardest to get that rear axel nut off to check my rear brakes and grease my bearings on my 78 bus. Is there a trick to it or any pointers you guys out there can give me to get this done? Need any help you can give.

Thanks, James 78 bus

Tue May 28, 2002 8:59 pm

BEATER-Wrench..... its a special wrench made for use with a hammer, almost all VW accessory shops sell em, use about a 3 lb sluggo hammer and make sure your turning LEFT to remove, its a good idea to to mark on the nut where the cotter key hole was lined up before you remove so you dont tighten too much during reassembly

Tue May 28, 2002 9:37 pm

You do not have to remove the big nut to look at/work on the brakes. The drum comes off the hub by removing the 2 11mm headed bolts.
Yes, you will need to remove the hub to grease the bearings but it is very rare for them to go bad. The grease does not usually leak out...

Tue May 28, 2002 10:26 pm

I used a big socket with a five foot length of pipe over the ratchet to get the leverage to undo the nut. Once I got it to start turning it was pretty easy
Jeremy

Mon Jun 17, 2002 10:46 pm

AXLE NUT TOOL>>>

Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:17 am

how did you finally get it off/ I am trying to get mine off now, and the :evil: thing won't budge!!!!!!!

Tue Jul 19, 2005 11:41 am

The following is a portion of a post I saw the other day. It from the guy who sound proofed and insulated his bus. Also, I think hte big axle nuts unscrew in the oppisite direction, right? maybe you're really tightening them when you think you are loosening.

The way to loosen them is to use vibration. Yep. You heard right.
VIBRATION. You see, those little bonds can stand up to constant pressure
(like torque) very well. But they are extremely FRAGILE in the face of
focused vibration. Here is how to apply focussed vibration, so you will
NEVER break another fastener again.

Let's say that the fastener is an outer CV joint bolt...the type with the
12-pointed star head that is buried inside your trailing arms. Tough nut?
You bet.

RULE NUMBER ONE: Soak it. Saturate with a penetrating oil for at least one
day. Brand doesn't matter. Use whatever has worked for you in the past.
Just let it do its thing for at least a day. Tougher bolts, and longer
threads: do it for up to a week. You know you are going to work on it, so
start loosening stuff up NOW. Re-saturate just prior to commencing the
loosening procedure, and at least once during the process below.

Next, we are going to create our vibration. Using a 12" ratchet extension
and the 12-pointed star attachment, fully seat the tool into the fastener.
If there is a lot of crud in the fastener, pick it out with a toothpick or
such.

RULE NUMBER TWO: Tap it. Next, using a small hammer, and light blows, begin firmly tapping the end of the ratchet extension, as if to drive the tool
into the bolt. The key here is to use firm taps, NOT heavy blows. You don't
want to damage the tool or the fastener, and you are looking for a
vibration, not an earthquake. Tap if you were driving a small
picture-hanging nail into a cheap sheet rock wall. Tap- tap- tap- tap- tap-
tap- tap- tap- tap- tap- tap- tap- tap- tap. 200 times. That is right
TWO-HUNDRED TAPS, or for about 2 minutes. You want to tap fairly quickly, like the sound of the bell when the stock market closes, or like the bell at a train crossing gate. About 120-140 bpm. Pause to re-apply penetrating oil, and to contemplate the fact that you are saving yourself the abominable misery of a broken bolt. Now tap for another 2-minutes, or 200 taps.

Tue Jul 19, 2005 12:08 pm

Might have to turn the shoes down as sometimes the brake dust forms a line which will not allow the drum to slip off- that and the fact that they have been on there for years and years doesn't help either.
Take off the 2 bolts and the drum will come off. Pound it lightly with a sledge to break the drum free from it's brake dust adhesion!

Tue Jul 19, 2005 2:18 pm

A 6' scaffolding pole and a very disposable 3/4" t-bar with a big impact wrench on the end plus a big friend!

Tue Jul 19, 2005 5:47 pm

yeah this is one big bitch aspect of the VW. while all the advice here is valid some of it doesnt work all the time depending on the sitchuation. for instance, some times that drum just wont come free of the hub easy enough and i will have to take off the big nut. once i have the hub/drum on the ground i have to hit the hub center for 5-10 minutes to break it apart. not to be done on the car!!!!

heres the procedure i use for the big nut: first soak it, then either 3/4 bar and five foot black pipe, or the beater wrench. the shock/vibration advice is right on the money. its like a slot machine- one guy might pump huge bucks into it and get nothing back until he gives up. but thats right when it was about to bust open! as you hammer that puppy it might not seem like its moving, but every time you whack it , the nut moves a millionth of an inch! after a while it becomes a thousandth for each whack. just dont give up. same with air tools.

the 3/4 bar & 10 ft pipe method doesnt always work even with the brake on AND the tire tread sunk into frozen mud , ETC, ETC.!!! ...this is where the beater wrench shines. if all this fails just waste that nut with a 4" grinder. the cut off blade allows you to cut the time in half on this job. when you see the threads on the inside of the nut , give it a big whack on the left side of the grind flat with a cold chiesel... DONE!

Tue Jul 19, 2005 6:31 pm

i have a tool which works super-good. i copied the design from someone i met at a formula vee race.

it is so simple, but works so well, just a 4' piece of 1" x 2" rectangular tube with a 36mm and a 46mm socket welded either side of one end. works for gland nuts and axle nuts on all VW's. i have yet to find a vehicle that can stump this tool. the sockets are relatively cheap, about 8-12 bucks at harbor freight (or pricess auto in canada) and the tube is about 10 bucks. the fact that they are welded to the bar makes for much better leverage, all the force goes straight into the nut.