Lift arm swivel balls rusted to the pin

300zx · Oct 24, 2014

I am trying to remove the lift arms from my B2150. I need to work on the lift brackets for the MMM. Both arms (ie, the swivel balls) at the rear diff case are rusted solid to the pin coming out to the case. I have soaked them over night with WD40 and expect I will have to heat them today to get them off. I am using a chissel/pry bar between the arm and the diff case to try to get it to move. Any other suggestions?

John in VA

Highspeed · Oct 24, 2014

PB Blaster is a much better penetrant, should the WD not be enough. Just let it work for several hours and soak it good. Best of luck!

85Hokie · Oct 24, 2014

Highspeed said:
PB Blaster is a much better penetrant, should the WD not be enough. Just let it work for several hours and soak it good. Best of luck!

I second PBB.......soak and walK AWAY............

Stinks like hell and will stay on you for a while !

CaveCreekRay · Oct 24, 2014

Kroil works awesome if you have any on hand...

Tooljunkie · Oct 24, 2014

If that fails,try boiling water and a air hammer. Have used this method with great success. Pouring water while hammering breaks up the rust and water flushes the particles out of the gap.

ShaunRH · Oct 24, 2014

Ah the penetrant war...

The only thing universal to all penetrants is time. If you keep soaking a spot, once a day, for a few days, about any penetrant will work.

I have used WD-40 with success on a fully rusted top link. I have used PBBlaster with success on a rusted exhaust manifold bolt with success. I had sewing machine oil work on a rusted solid steel bench bolt. Success was just how long it took to get the penetrant through the rust.

Fastest penetrant I have heard of is 50/50 ATF and Acetone, however, that's also the most flammable one, so no heat-no spark- no flame near it.

300zx · Oct 24, 2014

Here is the status. Removed the rear wheel, ROPs, and fender. Then we removed the right plate that holds the pin that is stuck in the lift arm. The oxy/acetylene tip I have wouldn't heat the swivel enough for any progress. I am soaking it in my electrolytic rust removal tonight to see if that will help. Tomorrow I plan to use my ball joint pickling forks and air hammer to see if it will come loose. If not successful, it will be going to the weld shop Monday where they have more heat/bigger rose buds!!

John in VA

skeets · Oct 24, 2014

Where is Captian Candlewax when you need him

300zx · Oct 25, 2014

skeets said:
Where is Captian Candlewax when you need him

Who is Captian Candlewax?

John in VA

Vrat · Oct 25, 2014

My turnbuckles on the three point hitch were severely rusted, no movement at all. Soaking for a couple of days in various solvents did very little, next step was heat. Before I went to heat I did a quick search on rust remover and came across electrolysis rust removal. Watched the video and it made complete sense. So I put together a set up and cooked them for about 4 hours and with a little effort with a wire brush everything was working perfect. I honestly didn't think I would get good results. By buddy was blown away by the results. For what it's worth at least check out the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQNvhUYqCkw

jasonTDI · Oct 25, 2014

I keep my tractor inside to prevent a lot of rust. Kroil. PB, Aceton/ATF all work good. The trick is prevention. I coat all moving parts with WD or their new Silicone version to prevent it from rusting. I'd rather prevent than fight.

LowInOhio · Oct 26, 2014

I'm a believer in Kroil too, but....do you have access to any metalworking tools? I made this to pull off a steering wheel, but it has been handy on several stuck items since. I tried it on my B7200 and it fit just right over the bar that the swing arm fits over. You could make something like this, bolt together on the inside of the swing arm and use a 2-arm puller to get off. It would pull against the swivel ball. Close to Newark Ohio (or Nashport) and you can use this one!!

VA's not very close I guess!

300zx · Oct 26, 2014

LowInOhio said:
I'm a believer in Kroil too, but....do you have access to any metalworking tools? I made this to pull off a steering wheel, but it has been handy on several stuck items since. I tried it on my B7200 and it fit just right over the bar that the swing arm fits over. You could make something like this, bolt together on the inside of the swing arm and use a 2-arm puller to get off. It would pull against the swivel ball. Close to Newark Ohio (or Nashport) and you can use this one!!
VA's not very close I guess!

You're right, we aren't that close. I do have a bearing separator that I have considered using.

John in VA

300zx · Oct 26, 2014

jasonTDI said:
I keep my tractor inside to prevent a lot of rust. Kroil. PB, Aceton/ATF all work good. The trick is prevention. I coat all moving parts with WD or their new Silicone version to prevent it from rusting. I'd rather prevent than fight.

I agree. This is a new to me tractor that has been abused and I am in the middle of restoring it. It has a lot of life left in it.

John in VA

skeets · Oct 26, 2014

ZX,, there was a member a long time back that spoke of when he was a kid and they worked on old rusty stuck farm stuff,, they would heat it up good and warm hot red hot but really warm,, and then take the butt end of an old candel touch it to the heated parts and let it melt, and let it cool.. He claimed that the heat would draw the wax in to the rusted part and the wax would lubercate the part they were trying to get apart,,, Does it work I have no idea, but it sounds good on paper,,lol

LowInOhio · Oct 26, 2014

I'm assuming hot red hot is really not red hot! Sounds crazy enough to work. Heat will usually do wonders...used with care.

ShaunRH · Oct 27, 2014

Heat causes the parts to expand, breaking the rust down in the affected areas so you can either get penetrant in it or break it loose with a tool. The drawbacks to heat are usually damage to paint and tempering of the metals (if they are tempered at all). You can make an issue worse with heat and most penetrants are flammable so keep away from open flame or really hot parts.

Mild heat and an impact implement can resolve a lot of stuck issues, but I agree with the statement made by jasonTDI, prevention is better than fighting rust.

300zx · Oct 27, 2014

Success! I took it to the weld shop who had the larger oxy/acetylene tip and he was successful. Got the end of the lift arm red hot, and used a ball joint fork to break it loose. He had to heat it 3 times and drive the fork in from alternate sides to finally get it off. My wallet is $40 lighter, but it was well worth it. It took him a good 45 minutes of pounding and heating to get both arms loose. For reference, the side plate and pin is $231/side and the lift bracket is $138/side. The amount of rust scale inside the swivel ball was amazing. I clamped the ball in my vice at the 1/8" flat on the side of the ball so the hole was exposed. I then used a 7/8" drill bit to clean out the scale. All is good now. Reassembly will require drilling out and replacing some broken bolts and studs, but that should be straight forward compared to the stuck swivel balls. Restoration of what others have neglected and not taken care of is not for the faint of heart. But, I will also say that Kubota's can really take a beating!!

Here is a picture of where the side plate came off of the rear casting and a picture of the side plate, pin, lift arm and MMM bracket before we got it apart today.

John in VA

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