How do I remove stubborn %&$! Ford front axle spring perches?

I’ve got a 33 Ford front axle with an un-split wishbone and some very stubborn spring perches. I tried using the torch and hammer method, but they would not move. I took it to a local auto shop and they tried with a hydraulic press, but no good.

I thought about heat & a press, but I don’t have a hydraulic press and the shop I went to didn’t have a working torch (and they worked on the axle for me as a favor).

I’ve seen wishbones on ebay were they gave up and cut the axle, but I’m not ready to give up yet. Any secret methods?

 

i have had the same problem with my front end. i split the wishbone and die grinded the pin& nut heads off but still no luck with seperating mine either.i tried heating the axle to make it expand..no good. if i make any further progress on mine ill let you know how i went about it.

 

i've seen people cut the top of the perch off and drill the center of the pin out and THEN heat it up and drive it out. the pin and perch will be toast but the axle and bones will still be good.

i'm guessing you just have'nt gotten it hot enough yet though.

 

this is how i went about mine. no luck.

 

Heat, penetrating oil, repeat. repeat,repeat,repeat.

smack with hammer between cycles. if it doesn't move, see above.

pack a lunch, it will be a LONG day.

 

turn it up on end so the slag runs out and burn the perches out as a last resort....if your careful you wont hurt the axle or wishbone.

 

i have been beating the shit out of mine for 2 days now. and does anyone know exactly what front end that is? i just kinda found it.

 

Do a search on this, it has been discussed many times as it's a recurring problem for everyone. Stumped me too. If I remember right, the only trick I ever read (other than heat, penetrating oil, repeat) was to heat it all up and then melt a candle all over the perch pin. Try not to get any on the axle/wishbone. Sounds goofy but many claim it works well. Theory says that the candle wax applied to the perch pin pulls the heat out of it and allows it to cool much more quickly than the axle/wishbone, which frees it up. Try it and let us know.

 

looks like 46-48....

 

Thanks for the ideas, didn't know this was such a common problem. Did a search and found this:

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=138025&&showall=1

 

Just had the same problem but I used Gibbs, 5 Lb. Leather Mallet, and a 3/4 inch shaft to rotate the perch while squirting it with penetrating oil and whacking it with the mallet.

I would "Split" the wishbones and try to rotate the split bones side to side using a ton of penetrating oil... the split bones should give you plenty of leverage ... however it may be necessary to heat it up while pulling on the bone.

Get a couple of friends to help you so that one can hold the torch, another can spray Oil and you can pull on the bones.

2 hours later both seized perches were removed and reuseable...!

I never "DRY ASSEMBLE" parts... always use Lithium grease, Molibdenem (Moley), or anti-seize when assembling this stuff..

These parts were "Brand new" just a year ago and the corrosion was soo bad I was close to destroying all the components... the only thing I couldn't save were the spring shackle bushings...!!!!

 

If your perches still can be saved ( worth saving! ).. , then try this method :remove the perch-nut / Clean everything as best as possible ( wire brush ) then Drill a hole in the axle ( see pic )... then add some High quality penetrating oil ( rust remover ) into the hole & and let it do its job ( from the inside ) . Be patient , and ad penetrant as it dissapears down in the hole you drilled . ( drill down through the axle till the drill bit meets the perch , No further ) . then clamp the head of the perch ( Shackle -side ) in a vise , and use the wishbone as an power arm .. ( some Heat added when doing this wont hurt either )
Klaz
Drill hole here ( Fill hole with a welder when done ) :

 

Been there a bunch of times, too numerous too count, do what luxblue said and grind the already mushroomed head off soak with kano kroil heat rap on te sides heat again then a few raps with a sledge and the axle supported with wood blocks and theyll come out,definatly not easy but thats the easiesiest way ive found and ive done quite a few. JJust make sure you grind off the musroomed part if you can cause it makes it a real pita to get it through the perch hole once you get it there,if you do this you wont have ay trouble quick hard blows and its done.

 

Soak in WD40 or PN 105....or better yeat. YEILD penetrant.
every day for at least three days give it a squirt and then on the fourth day hit one good time with the BFH. Should pop out without a problem.

 

That is a 42-48 ford front end. That looks almost as fun as trying to get rusted up Model T headlight buckets apart with out destroying them

 

Get them cherry red hot one at a time, then fire up your compressor and air chisel. put them through the heat cycle twice and let them cool off. Put a pointed bit in your chisel and heat the section with the bone pin red hot again. When it gets that hot put the chisel to it and keep it hot with the torch. Repeat until free. This also works with old king pins in spindles and does very little damage if any. But patience is necessary. This is normally a couple of hours if they are really stuck. Just don't get into a super hurry and you'll have something left of your parts when you finish. Good penetrating oil helps as well before you heat the parts.
Tim

 

...the perch bolt nuts are recessed, if you grind them flush to the bones, a small amount still remains.

 

Thanks again for the ideas. This weekend I'm going to spend some time finishing the job. I didn't want to ruin a good axle and set of bones.

 

anybody ever try the vinegar trick? seems to eat the rust purdy well...forgive me, i'm new - john

 

I just heat mine a little with the torch - nowhere near red hot - then, put on the ear muffs and blast the perches out with a big air hammer! A flat tip punch works better than a pointed one.

I haven't had anywhere near the trouble I have heard of others experiencing.

Tim D.

 

Does anyone have the tool K.R.Wilson made to press the pins out? Looks somewhat like a wheel puller except the arms have fingers that go over the axle, and the bolt pushes on the bottom of the pin. Very rarely do the pins come out in reuseable shape. Once you do get everything removed the prices on axles and wishbones on eBay look a lot more reasonable.

 

Utilize the U bolts and nuts and spring locator/keeper plates from the front end and then get some steel plate welded a centering piece onto this plate that locates the center of the Spring perch. The steel plate will fit between the you bolts I used 3/8"X 2" 6"long as a home made press. U bolts go around the wishbone upside down using the plate as the pressure point against the spring perch Weld a centering device on to the plate so that it when you tighten up the nuts on the Ubolts even pressurre is applied. Once everything is tight then heat the axle not the perches, once it's Hot retighten the nuts, then get your BFH and whack the crap out of the plate and tighten the u bolts whack it again and retighten the U bolts, keep doing this alternating between heat, whacking the plate, and tighteninhg the bolts. At some point you will have put somekind of spacer between the Spring perch and the plate I used a cut piece of SBC fuel pump rod and welded it to the plate. This works well and if you are patient which is really the hardest part you will not destroy the Spring perches. See my earlier posts on this same subject also discusses a tool on there that is similar to what I have described above that works well. Oh yea when your not working on it soak it in penetrating oil. check out this post.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...025&&showall=1

 

Work it man remember it is not going to move under frustration.

 

Hey guys. I was looking for info on this topic & came across this thread. Here are some methods I attempted to remove the 15/16” nuts that were hard as hell to remove. In the end I was successful.
1. I tried penetrating oil, oxyacetylene & a 1/2” drive breaker bar w/ a 15/16” socket.
-Result: snapped 1/2” drive off of my breaker bar.
2. Put the nut of the spring perch into my bench vice & used the axle as my pulling leverage.
-Result: Snapped my cheap made in China bench vide in half. Ughhhh!!!
3. Bought a 3/4” drive x 36” long breaker bar. I couldn’t find a 3/4” drive x 5/16” socket so I used a 3/4” to 1/2” drive adapter w/ a 15/16” socket. The adapter was a little more heavy duty because it was for an impact. I also figured the leverage of the 3/4” breaker bar bring a little bit longer would also help.
-Result: I was able to remove one of the perch nuts. The second but was apparently more stuck because it snapped my 3/4” to 1/2” adapter in half.
4. Bought the biggest bad ass pipe wrench harbor freight carries for $30.00. Made sure it was super tight on the nut so it wouldn’t slip off.
-Result: I was able to spin the perch nut off.
Moral of the story. Keep at it & if at first you don’t succeed get a bigger tool.

To get the perches out of their holes I just spun the castle nut on backwards about half way, sprayed sone penetrating oil in the holes & pounded them out with a sledge. They both came out with sone effort. The nuts are no longer usable but the perches are in good condition still.
Hope this helps someone. Save yourself the headaches & just go straight to the big ass pipe wrench.



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