I've now reached the stage in my MG TC restoration where I'm virtually down to the bare chassis. The only things left to remove are the shackle bolts that the leaf spring carriers hang off. I've tried WD40 and a hammer, but try as I might, I cannot get the shackle bolts out of the chassis. They have been in place for 65 years, so its surprising really that its the first bit that I've been really stuck on.

You can see one in the photo. The part that looks like a fat washer with a bit of blue/grey paint on it is actually part of the shackle bolt, otherwise I would have been able to simply put an oversized socket over the shaft and then wind the nut back on with a breaker bar to pull it out. I don't want to heat the chassis if I can help it, because if I break it at such a critical place then I'm really in trouble. I probably wouldn't bother, but the off-side one is bent so needs to be replaced. By the way, they are metal in metal, there are no bushes at this point that I could have melted or drilled out

Any suggestions??


Description

You need heat on it, a concentrated "sharp" flame not a blow lamp.

Is the bolt disposable I often weld a nut on the heat cracks the bond and its handy for applying torque

If you have a compressor, an air impact hammer is the right tool for the job.

You could leave it and just straighten the other side using heat and ingenuity?

Electrolysis! Try and get the offending area in a container and zap it overnight. That will get if free with no fear of any damage.

Personally I'd just use a blow torch but my method my not be the right one…

It is strange that it isn’t budging since it doesn't look corroded, are you sure they come off? Or maybe a left hand thread some other weird thing being such an old car. I think I'd speak to a specialist in the old MG's before going there gung ho and breaking something needlessly

Have a read here:
Pin removal

Part way down the page I think it gives an idea of what is required.

Rod

[Edited on 22/10/14 by cs3tcr]

Electrolysis will still help in getting it loose

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Electrolysis will still help in getting it loose

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Thanks for the advice guys. As far as I can see, the shackle bolts at the front of the rear springs screw in and may be held with a taper pin, but looking at the parts catalogues it looks as though the rear one just pushes in. Unfortunately, its a rear one that I need to get off.

One of the problems is that the bit that looks like a fat washer has a flat on one side that mates with a flat on the chassis cross bar above it. This means that you cannot apply torque to the pin to break the rust seal. Unfortunately, I don't have a torch with a fine flame (only a blow lamp) and I don't have a windy gun to hammer it out. I'm reluctant to try and straighten it in situ because its large diameter and something else might give first (yes, I know that someone managed to bend it without breaking anything, but it still seems to be risking the chassis to me).

I like the idea of electrolysis. As the chassis is now stripped its easy to turn it on its side, so I could do that and dip the shackle bolt into a bucket of electrolyte.

I'll have a go at a couple of things and report back

Yes go for it. Tried electrolysis before? You be amazed at the things it can do...

I would get a bit of thick wall tube that just fits over the pin and about 2 foot long and weld it to the flange on the pin, then find a suitable piece of metal to use as the weight for a slide hammer and fit that followed by welding a bit of bar across the end of the tube to hammer against.With some gentle heat and release fluid you may then be able to slide hammer it off.
Paul

I finally managed to get it off by doing the following

I) Stood the chassis on its side. On the inboard side of where the shackle bolt goes through the chassis, the mounting point is a larger diameter than the bolt so it creates a sort of well which I filled with Plus Gas and left for a few days.

ii) I then got an old drill bit and put in in my drill the wrong way around (so that it had a flat end rather than the drill tip), put the drill on its hammer setting (the one that you use for drilling masonry) and used it to vibrate the bolt as long as I could stand it (ear defenders needed). My logic was this all this vibration and hammering might release the rust or allow the Plus Gas to penetrate further.

iii) Applied more Plus Gas and left it another day

iv) Tried to drive the shackle bolt through with a drift and hammer and hey presto it came out.

I'm not sure which of the above steps did any good, but I got the right result.

Well done, I'm sure the electrolysis would have done the same and made it easier to remove.

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Originally posted by coozer
Well done, I'm sure the electrolysis would have done the same and made it easier to remove.

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Indeed it will, anyvquestions just ask...