brake job on a '73 thing

[mark dennis]

brake job on a 1973 thing;
I just bought a Thing for my son as a project for both of us. We're trying to do a brake job but can't get a casting nut off the passenger side rear drum. We've beat it with a hammer, used a breaker bar with 36mm socket, applied heat, and sprayed with some buster. does anyone have any more suggestions?

[sixty9fasty]

Do yourselves a favor and buy a torquemeister/torquebuddy whatever they are calling them now a days.. You'll thank yourself.

[analogmax]

I had the same problem. I broke two cheater bars trying to get mine off. I finally borrowed a 5' torque wrench and it took it off no problem. You could also try one of these http://www.vwparts.net/LR000133.html I have heard a lot of good things about them.

[///Mink]

A big impact gun or if you don't have access to that, a torque meister tool would probably work, too.

[Banker]

used a breaker bar with 36mm socket
now add 5 feet of pipe and stand on it not kidding
_________________
Brian

07 Charger Sublime
03 Goldwing
74 Thing

[Solomon Grundy]

The torque meister is GOLD, buy it and keep it in the car.

A deep 11mm socket compliments that set quite well.

'Remove even the toughest flywheel gland nuts or frozen 36mm axle nuts with a 3/8 inch ratchet. Only 30 ft/lbs of torque applied to the CIP1 Torque Tool equals 270 ft/lbs. of torque at the gland nut. Kit includes Torque-tool & drum plate as well as both 6-volt & 12-volt flywheel gears.

This is what one of our customers had to say about this great tool....received 02/02/2003...
Hello- I just had to tell you people how happy I am after ordering the -torque meister- type tool that recently came up after a long absence. Such fast and accurate service after I ordered online. The price was the best since this tool had it all included. My 6v and 12v VW's are happier for it. I couldn't wait until I got home to try it out on a stubborn gland nut. I didn't want to bust my butt on this one- the future rebuild. I nearly teared up as I applied minimal force on the geared end. Uhhh! Instantly paid for itself!!! Dennis C.~ Mpls. MN

WORKS ON ALL 12-1600CC ENGINES WITH STOCK SIZE 36MM GLANDNUT & 36MM DRUM AXLE NUTS WITH 12MM BOLTS.

INSTRUCTIONS:
This tool is invaluable to anyone doing brake or engine work. The kit comes with all the parts needed to loosen the 12-1600cc engine flywheel 36mm gland nut or 36mm axle nuts on either 5 bolt 205mm or 4 bolt 130mm rear drums.

The ring gear section with the 4 holes in it is for attaching to the rear brake drum when loosening or tightening the rear axle nut. For wide 5 bolt pattern use the top set of holes and two stock lug nuts to attach the ring gear section to the drum. For 4 bolt pattern use the bottom holes and two stock lug nuts to attach to drum. Next attach the narrow toothed long gear shaft to the top of the 36mm lever shaft with shims on either side making sure, for drums, the gear is on the protruding side of the socket lever and secure with clip. Then slide the socket lever assembly onto the axle nut and mesh the gear shaft at the top to the ring gear section already attached to the drum. If loosening, any socket or wrench will work on the hex end of the gear shaft using the gear drive and the socket lever to loosen the nut. You may have to reapply the tool once you run out of teeth on the ring gear section.

For flywheels you have to reverse the drive shaft gear so the gear is on the flush side of the socket lever. Flywheels are either 12v or 6v so there are two different gears to accommodate this. The long gear with narrow teeth is 12v and the short gear with coarse teeth is for 6v.

**When tightening please use a proper torque wrench as this tool WILL over tighten bolts and breakage CAN and WILL occur**
25 ft lbs = 230 at the nut/bolt. 30ft lbs= 270 at the nut /bolt."
_________________
"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."
- Dr. Seuss
VW 181 Archive: https://sites.google.com/site/jeffgilleland/vw_archive
| _______
| |_______| '73 Thing "481"
| _\_\_|_/_/_
| |O||_4_||O|
| [ ]=====[ ]
http://vwthingregistry.com
https://doublecabshaka.wordpress.com

[SilverThing]

I broke two craftsman ratchets (the lifetime warranty replacements weren't as good of quality) and a cheater bar trying to get that nut off. I think a few unkind words were said as well. I finally bought a 500 ft lb air impact wrench, which made real quick work of the job. I also got a torque meister or whatever they are calling it now, but haven't needed to use it yet.
_________________
"I like how everyone likes talking about Zeke's Thing yet he's the only one that's ever seen it." - Katie
"I've seen pictures..." - Jeremy

[kubelmann]

Older big Ford truck and Military Duce and a half trucks use a lug wrench that works on 36 mm nuts perfectly. You can find one on ebay for under $20.


I have had one since the late 60's. These lug wrenches have a large eyelet that allows a long spud bar or in my case a military track breaker bar and I simply attach the lug wrench to the 36 mm nut and move the track breaker bar toward the ground ( I use gravity as my friend) and since the 60's have never had any issue not only removing various highly torqued 36 mm nuts. But, I also have not had any trouble putting 330 ft/lbs on the nut during installation Since my track breaker bar is over 4' long, All my efforts are multiplied by a factor of 4. Added to that the breaker bar and lug wrench have a combined weight of around 30 lbs. This gives added force as you lower the bar to the ground while the lug wrench effortlessly loosens the nut.

[Semper_Dad]

[Yarkle]

like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/190598066043?ssPageName=ST..._500wt_939

(this will probably expire soon, but heres another http://www.ebay.com/itm/Budd-Lug-Nut-Wrench-Dodge-..._500wt_939

the hole on the end is where you put the narrow end of the "tanker bar"

[Yarkle]

Kubelmann,

on the M35 Wrench, its inch and a half..does that cause any problems with rounding off the 36mm nut, cuz its a little too big...like 8 hundredths..

[kubelmann]

I have been using mine with a tanker bar on VWs since the 70's with no trouble with nut size over the decades.

[Yarkle]

K-Mann,

does your fit tight? Maybe the one i have is too big..its pretty loose..its inch and a half..is your sinch and 7/16?

CP

[kubelmann]

Mine is the original lug wrench from my 38 Ford 1 1/2 ton flat bed truck. One end has a square socket about 7/8" and the other end is a 1 1/2" hex socket

This is around 38 mm but the shoulder of the 36 mm axle gland nuts are big enough that the 2 mm size does not deter its effectiveness. My is a big cast iron tool.

[mtwrench540]

last count i had 36mm converted to 1"7/16!

[Yarkle]

[Rev. Scott]

Lube and let settle. A few cracks with a generous hammer will break the gum and rust. The correct 3/4" drive socket with the breaker bar and a four foot long cheater...and stand/bounce on it! works every time!
_________________
"I haven't seen one of those since I was shootin' at 'em!"

[DougD]

I did the same thing. 6' chunk of steel pipe and it came loose pretty easy. Hopefully Mark got that nut off by now...

[mondshine]

Solomon Grundy has it right; the torque tool is the way to go.

Whether you are removing a flywheel gland nut or a rear axle nut, you will probably want to put it back on, and to a specific torque. This is where the torque tool pays for itself. The 9:1 ratio allows you to use a torque wrench you probably already own to tighten these fasteners correctly with ease.

For the price of a tank of gas, it's a once-in-a-lifetime purchase you will be glad you made.

Good luck, Mondshine

[guppysoup]

A BIG pipe wrench with 5' cheater works in a pinch. It´s not the preferred method but after breaking my then 1/2 inch breaker bar it got me home. I now have a 3/4 bar.
_________________
1973 Thing/Safari
1985 Bug/Vocho wanna be class 11
2014 Amarok TDI 4x4