1976 280Z Restoration Project

[wheee!]

Well. It moved. I am not going to push my luck beyond 60 tonnes of force.

Going to soak it in ATF...

Those are grade 8 nuts I was pushing with... Note the deformity!

[Zed Head]

No heat?  People just don't understand the power of a billion molecules holding hands.  Nobody's surprised when freezing water breaks a block, but the connection to other materials is just a really big jump.

 

An experiment - put 10 or 20 tons of pressure on the press's hydraulic gauge.  No movement.  Heat the casting with a torch.  Watch the pressure drop.

 

No offense intended if you had a torch on the whole time.  Or even if you didn't.

[Consigli]

We will see how he likes my little friend!

I hate to be such a stickler for detail, but its: "Say hello to my little friend!"

 

[wheee!]

My Mat Tech explained that the heat would make it break free from each other but after that, it won't make them move any better than the pressure due to the metals both expanding at the same rate.

Soaking in ATF followed by another round of pressure should make things move easier.

Heat was originally applied but had no effect on the pin as both parts expanded together.

I'm trying to be patient and not break anything along the way...

[wheee!]

And as for the quote: I was going for the allusion to the famous line as I was not using a machine gun. Of which I have many here at work

[Zed Head]

My Mat Tech explained that the heat would make it break free from each other but after that, it won't make them move any better than the pressure due to the metals both expanding at the same rate..

That's not true.  I've had three items that I can remember specifically moving when hot, locking up when cold - a broken stud in an exhaust manifold would only turn when everything was hot, a front control arm bushing that would only move when hot (using a vice and a socket, didn't want to cut it out), and the spindle pin.

 

Often, the worst thing that can happen to a person is to receive a title.  They stop thinking and assume that their first thought must be right.  Because they now have a title.  The theory may be right, if you give enough time for temperatures to equilibrate.  Don't do that.

 

Try my experiment.

 

Your time.  Might be fun to prove me wrong.

[Zed Head]

Ask your Mat Tech what happens to the clearance between two materials when they're heated.  The clearance grows too.  Since you're not working with what started as an interference fit, you'll make more space for the rust to move.

[wheee!]

I will let the spindle soak over the weekend (no time left today to play) and then attempt the press again on Tuesday when I have access again. If that fails to make things move, out comes the torch and the press together!

[Zed Head]

I've wondered if something like vinegar or Evapo-Rust would loosen things up.  Dissolve the rust.  Haven't had a reason to try it yet.

[Patcon]

Only 60 tons? You got 40 more...

 

That's crazy how it deformed the nuts. Might want to make some short sections of solid rod to use as arbors instead, just make sure they are small enough to not get stuck...

[Captain Obvious]

Now THAT'S a press!! I think I just heard my wimpy little 20T press in my shop whimper in fear...

 

More rough back of the napkin calculations:

 

At an estimated 125K psi tensile strength for the spindle pin with approximately 0.69 square inches... It would take about 43 tons before the threaded porting tore off. So you can be confident that building a beefier puller device would probably never have worked anyway and would have been a waste of time. If it took 60 tons to move that thing, the tip would have ripped off long before it started to move.

 

We absolutely DO need to get together for drinks!!  I don't know if I'll ever get really close to you, but I am hoping to make it to ZCON 2016 in Toronto next year. That's not far from you, right? It's in Canada after all...  

[Patcon]

He's close, it's right next door like 3500Km or so...