Need help with a stubborn NUT!!

[dqdave1]

Use a standard nut without the nylon. run it down and tighten; then run either the nylon nut on or another standard nut to jam against the first nut to secure it.

 

[cp1969]

The brass blocks will hold it, I'm pretty sure. What you do is get a block about 2x the size of the shaft...bore a hole through it the same size as the shaft...then cut it in two right through the center of the hole. The kerf of the saw blade doing this provides the space for your clamping action. Then drill two (or four) holes through the blocks, perpindicular and outside of the gripping bore. Put the blocks over the shaft and tighten up the bolts. There is a lot of gripping action there; the bolts can put thousands of pounds of force on the blocks.

 

[AndyM]

Wow! Sometimes the actual post has nothing to do with the subject heading!
I first read the title of this thread, and thought it was going to be about one of the TBN members!







P.S. Please post pictures of your car lift when it is finished. This would make a good thread too!

 

[BTDT]

I would try the strap wrench again, but cut a piece of old inner tube to wrap around the shaft, then the strap. The rubber might hold it enough for you to get it run up.

You might take cylinder to a hydraulic shop and let them attatch whatever it is that is held on by that nut (if I remember right it's a chain of some sort), then bring it back home and install it.

 

[Dusty]

Here are two. The first one is the lift the way it is shipped with the two runways bolted together. All the other parts are packed in between the runways. The second is the lift assembled. The uprights, hydraulic rams, hardware package were all between the runways. It was a treat just trying to get them all out. My working area is a mess right now since I am also cleaning out some junk from the garage. The tires and wood were for helping to support the runways while we were putting the structure together. By jacking up a runway at one end and putting wood and tires under it, we were able to save our backs. We, my helpers and I try to work smarter, not harder. The one thing that I don't care for about the Bend Pak lift is the poor instructions. To say the least, they leave a lot to be desired. They have line drawings that are very crude and don't give much detail. We spent a lot of wasted time deciding if what we thought they were trying to communicate was what they were communicating. I then remembered that I got a set of instructions from Rotary Lift, which is identical to this one and started to use those instructions. Made it a lot easier.
Dusty

 

[sandman2234]

First off, I don't think I would go anywhere near the cylinder with a torch.
Second, I don't think a rubber tube inside a strap wrench will work, but it might and won't cost much to try. If not, pick up some of that anti-slip stuff at wallyworld that people put under dishes, in the back of cars,etc to keep stuff from sliding. It might be better because it isn't slick like an inner tube.
Another thought, if you can find a way to power the cylinder up, either by the pump, or a tractor, or a porta power pump, run it all the way out. It might hit the top extent and create enough friction/pressure to keep it from turning. Don't break something by adding too much pressure.
Good luck, David from jax

 

[whitetiger]

I am trying to assemble my 4 post car lift and have run into a problem. The hydraulic cylinder is threaded and there is a locking nut that needs to be screwed onto it. The shaft doesn't have any flats to grab hold of, and when I attempt to put the nut on with the impact wrench, it will only go on about 1/2". I have backed it off to see if there was any damage to the threads, but the threads are perfect. I tried to lubricate the threads with anti seize, but that only helped slightly. Any suggestions, short of grabbing the shaft with a pipe wrench? The nut takes a 1 7/16" socket. thanks Dusty[/quote

Is the cyclinder plumbed and ready to extend or retract? I you can run the pump, either extend or retract you cyclinder all the way and then tighten the nut. Let the hyd pressure clamp the piston and rod assembly for you.I have done this many times for removing rusted cyclinder stops.

 

[CurlyDave]

If you use any type of pipe wrench, vise, etc, you will damage the surface of the shaft. If you have access to machine tools, you can make a pair of brass blocks that have the size of the shaft bored through them where the blocks meet, then use bolts to sandwich the blocks on to the shaft and hold it with a big crescent or pipe wrench.

If you can get your hands on a non-locking nut of the same size and see if it goes on. If not, you might need to return the cylinder to whomever you bought it from.

This is an excellent method.

Gunsmiths will use a very similar technique to hold a barrel in order to thread an action onto it.

Aluminum blocks will work as well as brass ones, and are easier to make.

Since the only machine tool I have is an el cheapo drill press, I would make the shaft vise in a slightly different way. Get two pieces of aluminum thick enough so you can drill a hole the size of the shaft through two of them clamped together and still have some meat left. They do not have to be the same length, in fact, if one is long enough it can be the handle for your custom vise.

Drill & tap them so you can clamp them together, and then clamp them. Carefully drill through them with the correct size drill (measure, it might be metric) using a drill press. Try to get as close to the center line as possible, but you are going to correct for small errors in the next step.

After you have drilled them, take them apart and remove enough material from the mating surfaces with a belt sander so they will fit over the shaft.

Clean all of the oil off the shaft with brake cleaner twice, lightly dust the inside of the shaft vise with rosin, and clamp away.

 

[Dusty]

I had an idea this evening that was prompted by a poster to this thread. I am going to allow mother nature take her course overnight. The outside temperature tonight is 18 degrees. In the morning, instead of putting bread in the toaster, I am going to put the nut. I figure I will warm it enough for it to expand. Screw it on the end of the shaft and let the impact wrench do its thing. Where it stops is where it is going to wind up being. If I get lucky, then I will get the 1/4" exposure that the instruction manual calls for. If not, then it will just have to do. I had to heat the nut with the propane torch just to get it off tonight. I will let you know tomorrow how well it works.
Dusty

 

[JoeL4330]

An interesting problem. I assume you have tried the other suggestions, like cold rod, warm nut? ...I wouldn't heat the nut too much, but it is the temp differential that matteers...Colder rod (dry ice)? As suggested, you could use a different nut...nylock, two jam-nuts, either with a hole drilled throught the rod for a cotter pin or aircraft style wired nut. If you decide to drill, I would run a die all the way down, first, so after I drilled, I could back it off and make sure the threads were restored. If you decide you need the nut they supplied, but don't need all the thread length on the rod (i.e., you are going to run the nut all the way down, which would leave "excess" threads at the end) then here's a trick that has worked for me in the past: first, as before, run the die down; then, gently grind off about a 1/2 inch or so of the threads on the end so the lock nut will start, not at the end, but 1/2 down; then, grind two flats on the de-threaded end that will accommodate an open end wrench. Now, back off the die so the threads are restored and (you get the picture) start the lock nut by hand ...then use a box/open end on the nut and an open end on the flats you ground/filed on the rod end. If you need more leverage, use pipes on the wrenches.