DeTomaso Mailing List: May 99, Message #134

Bill Welter wrote:

>Can any of the experts out there PLEASE tell me how to get this shaft
out? The assembly is out of the car (which has been sitting for a
while), but this shaft is in there really good, and has no intention
of coming out. How do I "persuade" it to come out?? I can get a new
shaft and bushings, but I certainly don't want to buy a hub carrier.

>>>When I bought my car, it had NO nuts on either end of either lower shaft!  
The shaft ends were mangled as a result of somebody beating the snot out of 
them, trying to get them out, but they were frozen solid.

What I wound up doing was CAREFULLY cutting between the inner edge of the 
a-arm and the outer edge of the hub, slicing through the cupped washers and 
then through the shaft.  I used an air-powered die grinder, although a 
conventional hacksaw would probably be safer (but take a LONG time!)

Once the hub carrier fell away from the a-arm, the inner sleeve and the 
center portion of the shaft came out fairly simply.  The two shaft stubs were 
frozen in the arm and required serious heating/banging/pressing to get 'em 
out.  Hopefully you will be more lucky that I was.

Don't order your shafts until you have the old units apart; then make sure 
you order all the necessary washers, etc. to replace the ones you destroyed.  
And of course, do NOT buy stock shafts; instead buy aftermarket units fitted 
with grease fittings so you never have to go through this pain again! :>)

Mike