MTFCA Forum

The nut came off fairly easily.

I've sprayed PB Blaster and let it soak in for several days, but no look; it's in there pretty tight.

I'm open to suggestions on how to get it out.

Thanks.

Normally there would be no need to separate a steering arm from its spindle, is there some reason it has to come out, like it's bent or cracked?

I have a press, so if it had to come out I would thread the nut back on backwards so that it is flush with the end of the steering arm (to protect the threads), then use my press.

If you don't have a press, but you do have an air hammer, thread the nut back on backwards so that it is flush with the end of the steering arm (to protect the threads) and use the air hammer to jar it loose. I find that the air hammer can loosen things that manual hammering can't.

Failing that, some heat, then more pressing / hammering might coax it out. Good luck!

That arm can be bent and twisted cold to whatever position is correct as the misalignment is usually quite small. The only reason it would need to come out is if some fatal flaw existed and if that was the case then any machine shop can take care of it for you. Myself, I have never seen an arm which needed to come out.

If it needs to be twisted to bring the bushing parallel such that the tie rod operates in a plane parallel with the opposite arm, then like I said, it can be twisted slightly with a smooth faced pipe wrench. If you do not like that approach, some heat from a MAPP gas torch will heat things quite hot, but not so hot as to damage anything. In nearly every case (every case for me) with the nut off as it is, and the parts cooled off, the arm can be twisted enough to line things up properly even without actually breaking the arm free enough to remove.

There are very few cars that I have worked on which had things lined up properly on the front end, to start with, and this sort of tweek is commonly needed but rarely done.

heat. if it must come out it must.

Do not attempt to remove it unless it will press out easily, unless you have a good replacement for it. You might damage beyond repair if you try to force lit out.
Norm

I just got done removing the arms from a pair of spindles for the speedster that I am building. Since the front end is lowered, I had to swap the arms side to side on the spindles to allow more clearance.

It is difficult to get the spindles positioned correctly in a press to press them out. I heated the spindle body with an oxy acetylene torch and let it cool several times to allow the expansion and retraction to break the rust loose. Then I took a nut and welded one side closed to make a “knocker” and threaded it onto the arm until it bottomed. Next, with a little creativity and finesse, positioned the spindle just right in a vise and with several swift blows with a hammer and was able to knock the arms free from the spindles.

Ed is right. It is most difficult to set up a spindle in a press so that the arm can be pushed out. Oxy heat is your friend, if it must come out. Otherwise, correct misalignment/twisting/bending in situ. This can usually be done cold.

Hope this helps
Allan from down under.

Unless it's some special piece that needs to be saved, I would go out to my pile and pick out another one that was straight, throw this one on the pile and quit fooling with trying to remove it.