Advice for removing 67 front wheel bearing nut

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69OldsSpeed
Posts: 13
Joined: Sun Apr 16, 2017 6:47 pm
TOA Membership Number: 0
Years Owned: 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass S
1967 Oldsmobile Toronado
Location: Florida

Advice for removing 67 front wheel bearing nut

Postby 69OldsSpeed » Sat Jul 15, 2017 11:45 am

Hello all. I'm new to the forum. I have been in the process of rebuilding a 1967 Olds Toronado. I wanted to share a few experiences that have been problems for me and the solutions may be helpful to you.

For what they are worth...

Removing a Rusted and Stubborn Front Wheel Bearing Nut:
The front wheel bearing nuts on my car were rusted on and would not budge with heating and long torque bars. Rather than try to use the weight of the car in some dangerous fashion to force the nut to loosen with a large wrench, I paused to search online. I found a claim that moderate heating of the nut followed by applying a candle to the nut/thread interface would help.

It worked flawlessly. The candle melts into the threads on the outer and front edges of the nut when applied generously. As the wax melts it seeps into the threads and some drips to the floor. I presume that as it cools, it breaks the rust bonds inside. The nuts on both sides of the car were removed without a torque bar using this method. I was amazed.

Very Soft Brake Pedal With Sudden Hard Grabbing and Frequent Front Wheel Lock-up:
My brakes were giving me fits. The pedal was very soft (not spongy) and would go to the floor so easy my breaks would lock up in the front. I had replaced the entire break system on this car (in-kind 4-wheel drum.) All parts were replaced trying to fix the issue I was having (drums, shoes, hoses, lines, valves, wheel cylinders, master cylinder, power booster, shoe springs.) I performed multiple break bleedings using three different methodologies. I even broke my cardinal rule took the car to several local shops to try and diagnose the problem.

No success.

...until I spent a day looking online and found a video where the Australian mechanic indicated that in rare cases the rod between the master cylinder and the power booster may be mal-adjusted. If the rod is adjusted too long, the breaks may have sudden break engaging.

I measured the rod. I measured the booster / master clearance and found, to my surprise, that the rod was ~0.01 in. longer than the master cylinder/booster clearance. This made it about 0.03 in. longer than proper adjustment. I adjusted the rod down 1/2 turn and the breaks perform normally again.

The GM tool for making this measurement (J-7723-01) would be best if you wanted/needed to check the measurement required for proper rod length. Typically if you buy the power booster and master as a set this rod length is already properly adjusted. I bought mine separately.

Replacement GM Torsion Bar Tension Tool (BT-6601):
I purchased a torsion bar tool (SKU 1067) from Rough Country Suspension Systems for $76. This was significantly cheaper than the $200+ that eBay vendors were selling the original tool for. This tool fit in the space required. It works just like the GM tool was intended to. It looks like the price went up to $86 at the time of this post. Link provided below.

http://www.roughcountry.com/torsion-bar ... -1067.html

In order to get it into place, I had to approach the crossmember from outside the exhaust pipes (from between the exhaust pipe and the care frame) and slide it over the crossmember at the tapered end. Then I slid it over the exhaust pipe and across the crossmember into place. It took me some time to find this out, but it worked. I did not have to loosen the crossmember or pry anything to make it fit. The tool will not fit when directly approached to the torsion bar location due to the fitment of the crossmember into the floorboard support structure.

I hope any of this is helpful. I wish I could have the time and money back that I have spent on some of this stuff.

B57-1974
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jul 22, 2017 8:57 am
TOA Membership Number: 0
Years Owned: 1966

Re: Advice for removing 67 front wheel bearing nut

Postby B57-1974 » Sat Jul 22, 2017 7:01 pm

Thanks for the tips! I will definitely try the candle next time I have a nut that just won't come off.


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