pulling a wheel off a tiller?

[heehaw]

anyone got a really good an easy way to pull the wheels off a troybilt tiller: got the pins out, but the wheel doesn't budge, yet..i am soaking them in penetrating fluid now.
heehaw

 

[/pine]

I can't say that I've ever worked on a tiller...but a work-around trick to not having a box full of professional pullers...is:

a torch and a hammer...but the real trick is a cheapo "palm nailer" ($20) from Northern Tools or Harbor Freight...

heat it up and squirt it with some penetrating fluid (I lke acetone and ATF) then hit it with the palm nailer...it will hammer it hard so be careful where you apply it but it is amazing how fast it will vibrate a wheel, hub, pulley etc. lose.

 

[heehaw]

don't have a palm nailer, but have an air chiesel...with the right attachment in it, might work..if i can get it to the wheel in a place that won't do more damage than good.
thanks
heehaw

 

[Saxman]

I learned this trick along time ago with my old Troy "Horse". I soaked it as much as possible with penetrating oil then I applied heat with a torch to the wheel and took a pipe wrench to the wheel to get it to rotate on the axle shaft. If you can get it to wiggle it will come off. The moral to this story: pull the wheels every year and clean and regrease the axle shafts.

Steve

 

[heehaw]

"pull the wheels every year"..sounds good, but that would mean these wheels would have been pulled 20+ times...i would have to replace the roll pins with something easier to take out before i would consider that. the roll pins are hard enough to get out..but then i could buy a longer punch an it would be a lot easier..
thanks for the pipe wrench idea..
heehaw

 

[Saxman]

Hehaw, get some bolts and nylon lock nuts to replace those roll pins and you are good to go.

 

[heehaw]

getting the pins out of the wheels was the easy part: i got the wheels off the 1999 model without to much trouble, the tires look like new, but kept going down, so i put tubes in them: but the 1980 model, i have worked on for quite a while, an have not got them to budge yet: had two big pipe wrenches, with cheater bars on them, an still could not budge the wheels: so now i am soaking them to see if that will help: i will need new tires on this one, the tire almost worn out...so i will try again tomorrow, after soaking the wheels all night..
heehaw

 

[2manyrocks]

Been a while since Ive done this job, but as I recall, I cut off a piece of round electric fence and used it to drive out the pins. It just happened to be the right diameter.

If it comes to it, I suppose you could weld a couple of ears to the outside flange and then use a flywheel puller to pull the wheel off the shaft. Or I guess you could cut up the puller arms on the puller enough to fit inside the pin holes and then try to pull it that way.

Another possibility is to weld a pin across the flange and cut out a matching slot in an old socket, and then use a impact wrench to spin the wheel on the shaft to break the rust free.

 

[Code54]

Sort of laughed when I seen this - last year I was using my tiller and the the wheel pin somehow came out and my wheel slid off the axle and went rolling across the yard. Seems like I had a little different problem - keeping the wheel on!
Good luck

 

[2manyrocks]

That's a new one. I haven't seen a tiller wheel fall off before.

I suspect there might be just enough of a burr on the shaft around the pin hole to keep the wheel on the shaft.

Maybe a small scissor jack would fit between the wheel and the transmission housing to push the wheel off the shaft?

 

[heehaw]

i got the pins out with no trouble: i wonder how long i could use the tiller with the pins out, before the wheels fell off? trouble is, i would have to air the tires up about every 5 minutes...oh well, i am still soaking them.
heehaw

 

[heehaw]

ok, i give up..i have tried everything i can think of...heated them with a propane torch, put a scissors jack between the wheels, an two pipe wrenches with cheater bars on them an i still cannot get the wheels to budge....i guess i will get some tire sealer an see if that will get them to hold air for long enough to use..i called a couple places, including a machine shop, an they said they sometimes destroy the wheels trying to get them off: so they suggested taking the tiller to a tire shop an have the tires replaced with the wheels still on.
heehaw

 

[2manyrocks]

That is unhappy news. It would be a bear to change the tires while the wheels are still on the tiller.

Last ditch tries here--and not to stir up an endless penetrating oil debate, but did you use kroil oil or some other good oil?

 

[heehaw]

funny you should ask...i have one can of kroil oil that i always use for tough jobs: learned that one from my dad. i may operate the tiller without putting the pins back in an hope the wheels fall off.
heehaw

 

[honorbound]

in yahoo under yahoo groups there is a troy built tiller group that has pictures of apuller to build to pull the wheels off of a troy built. I am having one built for myself.

 

[Kep]

That is unhappy news. It would be a bear to change the tires while the wheels are still on the tiller.

Last ditch tries here--and not to stir up an endless penetrating oil debate, but did you use kroil oil or some other good oil?

I found it pretty easy to just leave the wheels on the tiller and change the tires.

 

[heehaw]

i have one other thing i may try later, putting the tiller between two trees: put a pipe from one tree to the center of the wheel, an a hydralic jack from the other tree to the center of the wheel, an see it that will move the wheels or a wheel in slightly, i think, just getting them broke loose, would allow the penatrating oil to seep in, an make it possible to get them off:
i just got new wheel seals an tine seals for the other tiller i have, so i will be replacing those first, or trying..at least the wheels came off easy enough, an using that tiller when the ground dries..
heehaw

 

[troybilt]

i was able to get the wheel off my tiller by taking the pin out and tilling with it pinless. Eventually the wheel broke loose. Used a little penetrating oil to help it too.

Would be great if equipment would come with a simple list of important things to do, usually a list of 10 things would do. Instead we get a huge manual.

Just got an old Troybilt Horse tiller, the Kohler engine is junk because the guy never changed his Air Filter.

Don't change an air filter and the gas mixture is too rich and wear out the engine. Well at least i know, but my mechanic says most folks will not change their air filters.

He sold me a generic filter for $5......heh go figure.

Oh, yeah the wheel on this Horse probably has never been lubed either. Uh, here we go again. i do have a Palm Nailer.

How do i get the wheel off with a palm nailer?

 

[johnrex62]

Oh, yeah the wheel on this Horse probably has never been lubed either. Uh, here we go again. i do have a Palm Nailer.

How do i get the wheel off with a palm nailer?

I can only suggest holding the palm nailer against insole of your left foot and activating it. You will no longer care about the wheel.

 

[5030]

I took the wheels off my old but newer to me Horse and replaced the ouybaord seals. I used BP blaster for a couple days and a propane torch along with a 5 pound drilling hammer.

Never sieze is my friend now.