Snowblower Wheel Rusted On, Need Advice

[threeputtpar]

Attempting to remove the wheel assembly from the snowblower that I'm resurrecting, but having a bit of trouble. It is rusted tight on the drive axle shaft. This is the type of wheel that is on the machine.

https://www.surpluscenter.com/15X5-00-6-.../ProductDetails

I've tipped it on its side and have been spraying Blaster on the end of the shaft to try to get is loose. I even hit it wil a propane torch on both sides of the wheel to see if that would help. Using a three jaw puller on the outside rim bead to try to pull it off and it hasn't budge one bit. I've only been working on one wheel so far.

Is there anything that anyone has tried that has been successful with this type of rusted together assembly? The wheel hub covers about 5 inches of the shaft, so I suspect that Blaster just isn't getting all the way into the areas that are rusted. Short of ordering Kroil, is there anything that's stronger than Blaster? Grainger near me has a product called Knock'er Loose that Google searches show to be a popular alternative to Kroil.

Or do I just need to go up to a acetelyne torch as the propane one doesn't produce enough heat? My main goal is to get these wheels off without damaging the drive shaft. I have replacement wheel and tires, so if the old wheels are damaged/destroyed in the process it's not a big deal. I don't see a way of cutting them off as there's just not enough room to work and I don't have decent cutting tools.

 

[racer12306]

I'm curious about this too as I have a lawn mower wheel stuck on the axle but I need to save the wheel.

 

[Rand]

propane torch should be plenty. not like you need to exceed 1000F

i think you would be better off with something like a 3lb sledge vs a puller.

and are you sure there isn't a weird clip etc holding it on?


Finally.. while pb blaster is good.. there is much better stuff out there.. like kroil.. if you have any handy.
(used pb blaster for years I'm a convert)

 

[threeputtpar]

The 2lb sledge was the first attempt to get it to move. All that did was dent up the inside bead of the wheel.

If there are no other suggestions for penetrating oils or homebrew tricks, I'll probably try the stuff I can get at Grainger and keep dousing it every couple of hours and hope for the best. Maybe I'll even use a 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone that Google said was a good option.

Hopefully someone that works on these more often than I can give some insight or a unknown trick of the trade.

 

[IndyIan]

Can you tap it in? With a pipe over the axle?
Heat the wheel as much as you can with a torch and give a few wacks. Don't break the transmission though...

If you have to hit it too hard, I'd just cut it off with an angle grinder, just keep gnawing at it until you get to the axle! Rust swelling in a slip in connection can seem stronger than welding the parts together so I'd just bite the bullet and buy a few discs for the grinder.

 

[JR]

Tap the axle shaft and pry on rim at same time. heat help to break the bond too.
i have used this process on riding mower rims all the time.
They make a spray can called freeze off. i use heat and use that stuff when i have it. really works on stubborn stuff.

ken

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: IndyIan

If you have to hit it too hard, I'd just cut it off with an angle grinder, just keep gnawing at it until you get to the axle! Rust swelling in a slip in connection can seem stronger than welding the parts together so I'd just bite the bullet and buy a few discs for the grinder.


Yeah, this. I cut off a brake drum with an angle grinder and very thin cutting wheel. Just make cuts that tangentially pass over the axle-- that is, they come in from the right, barely grind the axle, and exit stage left. Do a bunch of these and you'll get little triangles (with concave bottoms) that should pop out. Once you get one triangle out the press fit should relax, but you may have to go whole hog.

 

[ABerns]

I had a front wheel stuck on a mower. I took the axle and tire assembly off, which allowed me to hit the axle square on, eventually freeing it from the wheel.

My guess is, though, you can't get the axle off that easily in your situation...

 

[rrguy]

are you trying to replace bearings an want rim off or just a flat tire might be easier to replace tire & leave rim alone?

I would avoid using a hammer, if you can drill 2 holes in rim near hub using a beam type puller run two bolts with washers put some tension on there maybe some heat if it don't start moving or you could cut off rim od then use a bearing s[plitter typr puller to pull on hub itself.

if you doo have to cut off do it over key way you dont have to worry as much about hurting axle.

 

[threeputtpar]

A little more clairification:

The tires that were on the unit were rotted out, so they came off easily right away. Now just the wheels/rims are left on the machine and they are so rusted that it's not worth the effort to clean them up and try to get new tires on them and sealed up or inner tubed.

While I was at the local small engine shop, I found two almost brand new wheel/tires off of a junked machine that I paid $20 for so those are the ones that I will be putting back on once I can get the rusted out wheels off.

I'm going to give the Knock'er Off a try tonight and keep at that and see if it will creep down all the way. Not trying to replace any bearings or shaft as they are all in great shape. I would have to get at least one wheel off to be able to remove the shaft assembly so if at least that happens I can work on the other wheel while it's on the workbench then.

 

[Fleetmon]

Ther

 

[Fleetmon]

^ - sorry...tried to edit my post but it wouldn't let me edit it nor delete it.

My JD has a split pin through one wheel and through the axle but it was hard to see due to the paint.

 

[JTK]

3putt, is it possible to drop the whole axle w/ out removing a wheel? Luckily I've never had one rust on too badly. I'd try heat and penetrating oil. Like said, heavy pounding and prying is going to break other stuff. The old electric spinning disk hatchet will remove it in sections

 

[Donald]

NAPA sells some stuff I bought but have not tried that tries to expand via freezing to loosen parts.

If you squirt some PB Blaster in while its cooling after being mildly heated it might get further in.

Bang it inwards a little to break the rust?

Drill holes thru the rim and mount up a gear puller. It will come off.

 

[threeputtpar]

JTK - unfortunately at least one wheel needs to be removed in order to get all of the other parts off of the shaft to be able to remove it from the housing. Also, there's just not enough room between the wheel and housing to get an angle grinder in there to cut them off.

Donald - I did see that stuff at Grainger yesterday and will consider it if the Knock'er Loose doesn't work.

What I think I'll attempt is to get a pipe wrench on the shaft and another on the wheel hub and heat the wheel up good and see if a torsional force will break it loose instead of the lateral force I was trying with the gear puller. If not, I think I may have to take the sawzall to the wheel and cut most of it off so I can access the hub on the shaft and then use an angle grinder and a big chisel.

What a pain, no wonder why I got it for free!

 

[SHOZ]

The best rustbuster is a 50/50 mix of acetone and atf.

 

[lars11]

Ok, this is what I would try:
1. Try and hang it on the side by one of the rims. Between two planks or something.
2. Make sure there is no fastener, can be tricky to find them.
3. As you did, soak axle end in creeping rust buster oil
4. Wait a few days
5. Using a bolt sized nearly the diameter of the axle, whack the axle end with a good sized hammer, like 2 kg/4 lbs. Watch your hands.
6. THEN, if nothing happens: Heat the rim tube hard THEN spray "-60 C cooling spray", or the like, on the axle and the axle end (not on the rim). Then whack axle end hard again. Repeat.

If it is rusted in place, you want to make the axle and tube to move against each other and also soften the rust, you achieve this by heating outer part and cooling inner part.
You can also try and enlarge the size of the rim tube by hammering potholes along it, which will make the tube slightly larger.

As a last resort if you have new rims, you can just cut the rim in a sector shape, wide enough to allow you to cut the rim tube along the axle and just ditch the old rims. Watch so that you don't waste the axle in the process, take your time.

 

[threeputtpar]

lars11, those are all good suggestions.

After walking away from the project for a couple of days, fresh eyes have noticed that the axle is merely just a 3/4" round steel bar with 3/8" holes drilled in it in certain places to hold the two wheels and drive gear in the proper places.

What I will be doing is picking up a new round bar and taking a sawzall to the old rusty one and cutting it in half. I've freed the drive gear so that it moves along the shaft easily, so now once it's cut in half I can pull the halves out of the frame bearings and take some measurments and drill new holes in the new shaft. I'm a bit embarrasssed that I didn't think of this right from go, since I do have new wheels and tires already.

 

[lars11]

ok, that's the better solution!

 

[threeputtpar]

A quick update:

I sourced a new 3/4" steel rod from the maintenance department at work and set out to fix this problem. The sawzall went through the old axle like butter and the two halves slid right out of the frame. I thought that the axle would put up a fight, but it must have been the cheapest low carbon steel they could source.

Got all of the measurments for the holes and set off to drill press them in. I must admit, that this is the first attempt to drill in anything that's not flat so the first go around was a failure. The holes were measured out right but they didn't go through the exact center of the rod so they didn't line up with the holes in the gear and wheels. Doh! I guess I better measure better this time.

Second attempt went much better with a dial caliper to measure the center punch against the sides of the jig to make sure it was dead center this time. Success! Now it's back together and I can at least wheel it around the garage when the wife yells at me that it's in the way again.