dryart wrote:G35TR, have you tried removing the nuts first, rather than the bolts?
It looks like there is enough room to get a box wrench or a socket onto the flange nuts.
Also, a heat gun to warm up those fasteners may be of benefit.

the service manual indicates the proper torque specification @ the nut, not the bolt, which implies that the nut goes on last, therefore comes off first!!
the service manual also specifies, both in symbols and in text, that the nuts & bolts should be replaced, not re-used!!!
RTM more carefully

P.S. It's amazing, when you think about it, how much load those little bolts & nuts are subjected to . Be sure to use OEM hardware for replacements. You do not want them to fail .

G35TR wrote:

xd9-g19 wrote:Here is a good how to from and Xterra site.
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19209

I just recently did mine, both of them seeing as I had the whole drive shaft out anyways, it took about 2.5 hrs and instead of using the tool like in the link, I just used a BFH and a couple of sockets.

XD9, how the hell did you get the flange bolts off? I'm dead in the water, with no choice but to take her somewhere now. They are on so tight, I'll do nothing but round the nut off (which I've already done to one now). Not being able to get anything but an open ended wrench in there is what is killing me.

I love how the FSM shows only an impact wrench and air ratchet to do this job, neither of which would actually even be able to get in there and get these flang bolts off. Arrrgggg! I'm so pissed now. The FSM says to tighten them to 44lbs when reassembling. Not sure how tight they actually are on there now, but it's a hell of a lot more then 44!! I swear they do this **** intentionally so people can't work on their own vehicles these days!!

try a crawfoot wrench and attach it to a breaker bar.

EDIT here's a picture

kev1n wrote:

G35TR wrote:

xd9-g19 wrote:Here is a good how to from and Xterra site.
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=19209

I just recently did mine, both of them seeing as I had the whole drive shaft out anyways, it took about 2.5 hrs and instead of using the tool like in the link, I just used a BFH and a couple of sockets.

XD9, how the hell did you get the flange bolts off? I'm dead in the water, with no choice but to take her somewhere now. They are on so tight, I'll do nothing but round the nut off (which I've already done to one now). Not being able to get anything but an open ended wrench in there is what is killing me.

I love how the FSM shows only an impact wrench and air ratchet to do this job, neither of which would actually even be able to get in there and get these flang bolts off. Arrrgggg! I'm so pissed now. The FSM says to tighten them to 44lbs when reassembling. Not sure how tight they actually are on there now, but it's a hell of a lot more then 44!! I swear they do this **** intentionally so people can't work on their own vehicles these days!!

try a crawfoot wrench and attach it to a breaker bar.

EDIT here's a picture

The pic is of a torque wrench using a crowsfoot. Not the same as a breaker bar...

True, but essentially he can use a long breaker bar in the same manner to crack it and then use a long torque wrench to tightento spec. All he needs to do is get a good amount of torque on it to be able to open it up

kev1n wrote:True, but essentially he can use a long breaker bar in the same manner to crack it and then use a long torque wrench to tightento spec. All he needs to do is get a good amount of torque on it to be able to open it up

If its really torqued on that tight, I doubt he would be able to get the leverage he needs without either breaking the crowsfoot or slipping off of the nut and rounding it. I see some bloody knuckles in his future! Here is my latest battle scar, altercation with the oil drain bolt on my honda....



Doesn't look that bad anymore, but boy did that ever smart in -20C temps!

I say give it a good shot of penetrating oil and let sit overnight. Then let the bolt have it with impact, while holding the nut in place with a wrench. Its bound to break. Short of that, grind em and replace since thats what you are supposed to do anyway.

My buddy ended up reusing mine though. I'm not too worried, at 44 lbft, there's no way that fastener yielded, so there should be nothing stopping one from reusing as long as its in good shape.

t

I just made sure I used a lot of wd40 10min prior to me working on it, and I just used a ratchet wrench on one side and a regular wrench on the other.

Update: This is crazy how tight some of these are on. I went ahead and picked up a set of the new grip-tight combo wrenches. These things work great. That combined with some pen. oil and I've manage to get 6 of 8 off. Got 1 left on each side. I had to put the wrench on, and actually use my leg/foot to push it and break these things free.

As for working the nut vs bolt head - you technically have to put force on both or you'll freespin the whole thing. The bolt head is pressed up against the flange yoke very close, which makes getting a socket, or even another boxed wrench on there impossible. While I could use an open on the bolt, and boxed on the nut, there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to put enough torque on them to remove these things. The good news is, its so close that the yoke itself should prevent the bolt from freespinning, allowing all the force to be worked only on the nut. OR SO I THOUGHT. Actually this worked on 6 of them. The last two are on so tight, that the bolt heads DID round off from the yoke, and now freespin. I eneded up loosing light so I'll give it another shot this morning.

As for a breaker bar - muscle/leverage isn't really the problem. The problem now is that the nuts and bolts can't stand up to the force needed to break them free. They're simply deforming

How on earth did anyone get an impact on the bolt? I can't get anything other the an open-ended on there. Is it even possible?

I did plan on getting 8 new bolts/nuts from the dealer as the FSM states, so I'm not too concerned about the shape of these coming off. I actually started cutting one of the bolts last night. It's still pretty much intact, so I'll give it another shot this morning. If that doesn't work, I'll finish cutting it through, as well as the other remain bolt.

I'll keep you posted.

G35TR wrote:Update: This is crazy how tight some of these are on. I went ahead and picked up a set of the new grip-tight combo wrenches. These things work great. That combined with some pen. oil and I've manage to get 6 of 8 off. Got 1 left on each side. I had to put the wrench on, and actually use my leg/foot to push it and break these things free.

As for working the nut vs bolt head - you technically have to put force on both or you'll freespin the whole thing. The bolt head is pressed up against the flange yoke very close, which makes getting a socket, or even another boxed wrench on there impossible. While I could use an open on the bolt, and boxed on the nut, there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to put enough torque on them to remove these things. The good news is, its so close that the yoke itself should prevent the bolt from freespinning, allowing all the force to be worked only on the nut. OR SO I THOUGHT. Actually this worked on 6 of them. The last two are on so tight, that the bolt heads DID round off from the yoke, and now freespin. I eneded up loosing light so I'll give it another shot this morning.

As for a breaker bar - muscle/leverage isn't really the problem. The problem now is that the nuts and bolts can't stand up to the force needed to break them free. They're simply deforming

How on earth did anyone get an impact on the bolt? I can't get anything other the an open-ended on there. Is it even possible?

I did plan on getting 8 new bolts/nuts from the dealer as the FSM states, so I'm not too concerned about the shape of these coming off. I actually started cutting one of the bolts last night. It's still pretty much intact, so I'll give it another shot this morning. If that doesn't work, I'll finish cutting it through, as well as the other remain bolt.

I'll keep you posted.

Is the shaft still installed from factory? Or has someone else already done this job and over torqued?

I'm not sure if it's ever been done or not. Since the part failure is pretty common, i think it's safe to assume it an OEM joint. No way to know for sure though.

BTW, I used a grinder and cut the final 2 bolts off. Both u-joints are replaced and drive shaft is ready to be put back on the truck. Only problem now is no local dealers have any of these nuts/bolts in stock,
and will have to order them, which gets them here no sooner then Wed.

Kind of makes you wonder how they perform the reassembly themselves when the FSM clearly says not to use the old bolts.

Should I just order them (Courtesy or local) and wait, or should I check hardware stores?

hmm, guess i missed that on the FSM, I used my old bolts and have about 10k miles since than and have no problems(4 wheeling also)

G35TR wrote:
Kind of makes you wonder how they perform the reassembly themselves when the FSM clearly says not to use the old bolts.

Should I just order them (Courtesy or local) and wait, or should I check hardware stores?

I agree, when I had my crank case leak fixed, they replaced the u-joint and upon inspection they appeared to have re-used the old bolts.

I would say go to a local dealer and get them, there is no advantage to courtesy due to the shipping cost, in fact I ordered mudguards from my local dealer for a few bux cheaper then Courtesy.

G35TR wrote:BTW, I used a grinder and cut the final 2 bolts off. Both u-joints are replaced and drive shaft is ready to be put back on the truck. Only problem now is no local dealers have any of these nuts/bolts in stock,
and will have to order them, which gets them here no sooner then Wed.

You should be able to take one of the bolts to the hardware store and find something close. Just make sure its a GRADE 8 bolt and you'll be fine. In fact the lowes here has a great selection of grade 8 nuts and bolts!

GOTGOO wrote:You should be able to take one of the bolts to the hardware store and find something close. Just make sure its a GRADE 8 bolt and you'll be fine. In fact the lowes here has a great selection of grade 8 nuts and bolts!

Unfortunately you're not going to find much in the way of fine threaded at my local Lowes. Didn't see much I'd feel comfortable using from Advanced Auto either. Oh well, I'll just have the dealer order them in. Hopefully they can get them in from Orlando. Last time they had to order parts for me, I could upgrade to overnight for like $2.

GOTGOO wrote:

G35TR wrote:BTW, I used a grinder and cut the final 2 bolts off. Both u-joints are replaced and drive shaft is ready to be put back on the truck. Only problem now is no local dealers have any of these nuts/bolts in stock,
and will have to order them, which gets them here no sooner then Wed.

You should be able to take one of the bolts to the hardware store and find something close. Just make sure its a GRADE 8 bolt and you'll be fine. In fact the lowes here has a great selection of grade 8 nuts and bolts!

As this is a metric bolt, wouldn't it be Class 8.8? (it would say 8.8 on the bolt head).

http://www.americanfastener.com/technic ... _steel.asp

Mine just have a big "11" in the middle.

I had them overnighted from the dealership. Only cost me an extra $3.