The frozen whelk thread

[jpokerwinski]

Hitting from the back will probably trash the rim before it comes off. An air chisel usually works for me. A torch usually works too but you need to repaint the rim.

Flat air chisel? Put it on the lip where the rim meets the axel?

 

[bertsmobile1]

Flat air chisel? Put it on the lip where the rim meets the axel?

Get a pair of scissor jacks and place between the back of the wheel & the mower body
Tighten them up to take up the play in the axel then 1/2 to one turn more
Use the point chisel on the end of the axel
If yours has a bolt then put an Allen head bolt in the hole to prevent damaging the threads & mushrooming the end of the shaft
Push as hard as you can on the air chisel then pull the trigger slowly
Some times it is easier to turn the mower on it's side
hammer away till the jacks start to slip out .
From here I like to get in with a fine wire brush, we & dry , what ever I have on hand to clean the small amount of exposed axel the some penetrating oil & tap the wheel back on
Now that there is a bit of movement some times a hammer from behind will give a bit more, if so clean again oil again & repeat as necessary

If not then back with the scissor jacks & air hammer again
On some I have had to walk the wheel all the way off with the air hammer & jacks

On some really rusty ones that also had axel damage I had to heat the wheel red hot with the oxy torch while using the air hammer .
I try not to use the torch because that means repainting the wheels

Make sure you clean the axel when the wheel is off and liberally grease it
Then take bot wheels off every odd numbered year and regrease them

 

[Hammermechanicman]

Flat air chisel? Put it on the lip where the rim meets the axel?

No, get a pointed chisel and use it on the axle.

 

[jpokerwinski]

Get a pair of scissor jacks and place between the back of the wheel & the mower body
Tighten them up to take up the play in the axel then 1/2 to one turn more
Use the point chisel on the end of the axel
If yours has a bolt then put an Allen head bolt in the hole to prevent damaging the threads & mushrooming the end of the shaft
Push as hard as you can on the air chisel then pull the trigger slowly
Some times it is easier to turn the mower on it's side
hammer away till the jacks start to slip out .
From here I like to get in with a fine wire brush, we & dry , what ever I have on hand to clean the small amount of exposed axel the some penetrating oil & tap the wheel back on
Now that there is a bit of movement some times a hammer from behind will give a bit more, if so clean again oil again & repeat as necessary

If not then back with the scissor jacks & air hammer again
On some I have had to walk the wheel all the way off with the air hammer & jacks

On some really rusty ones that also had axel damage I had to heat the wheel red hot with the oxy torch while using the air hammer .
I try not to use the torch because that means repainting the wheels

Make sure you clean the axel when the wheel is off and liberally grease it
Then take bot wheels off every odd numbered year and regrease them

I’m a little confused as to where you put the point chisel. In the back , driving it towards the front ?

 

[bertsmobile1]

The jacks are pushing the wheel out and the chisel is pushing the axel in

It is done this way to prevent ripping the axel out of the gearbox
10,000 little blows a minute works better than 2 massive big ones a minute with a 10lb hammer
Very important that the end of the chisel is in hard contact with the axel & not bouncing or you will mushroom out the end of the axle .
This is Taryl showing how to do it Walking off wheels

 

[jpokerwinski]

The jacks are pushing the wheel out and the chisel is pushing the axel in

It is done this way to prevent ripping the axel out of the gearbox
10,000 little blows a minute works better than 2 massive big ones a minute with a 10lb hammer
Very important that the end of the chisel is in hard contact with the axel & not bouncing or you will mushroom out the end of the axle .
This is Taryl showing how to do it Walking off wheels

The end of my axel has threads where the bolt goes. Someone suggested putting a Allen or hex head bolt in there and using the center of the Allen head.
so the jacks need to be on the wheel “sleeve” ( on the inside) or the axel itself.
I am so pissed off at this thing I’m about ready to use a sawzall on the wheel and cut the damn thing off in pieces

 

[StarTech]

And if push come to shove you can always take the transaxle apart and try pressing the axle out of the rim.

Those darn MTD axle and rims do rust fairly solid at time. Penerating oil like PB Blaster simply can not work as the rust and dirt swells thus preventing good penetration.

What a lot of the times here is 2 cycle fuel mix. It can penerate and not swell the dirt and rust. This provided that there is some movement to start with. You never ever want beat directly on the shaft as it will flare the end making a bad problem even worst.

Using a socket head is a good idea to prevent the flaring but you limit the wheel movement in reference to the axle or you just wasting your time. An air hammer applied the screw may overcome this enough to move the axle.

 

[bertsmobile1]

The end of my axel has threads where the bolt goes. Someone suggested putting a Allen or hex head bolt in there and using the center of the Allen head.
so the jacks need to be on the wheel “sleeve” ( on the inside) or the axel itself.
I am so pissed off at this thing I’m about ready to use a sawzall on the wheel and cut the damn thing off in pieces

I usually put them between the the body & the rim
I have done some with the jacks against they tyre because there was not enough space
I have also used " Machine jacks" which I made by putting two bolts into a thread extender ( length of hex with a thread all the way through ) which are a hardwear item
If you go that route then use 1/2" or bigger
The jacks are not trying to push the wheel off they are just taking up the free play in the axel which is only 1/8" to 1/4" so have to be retightened every 1/8 to 1/4"
Usually once it starts to come and the initial rust bond is broken it will usually walk off as easy as the first one Tarly does
I have used wooden wedges , surveyors pegs , lengths of 2 x 4 , pry bars .

Some of corse are just plain obstinate and need to be hammered off the whole distance , these are the ones that get the axel & wheel wire brushed , sprayed with penetrant then tapped back on, left over night & tried again in the morning
The allen head screw is just to stop the point jumping off and the end of the axel mushrooming
If your wheel has the puller holes then you can use a puller with a rattle gun
Similar story the 10,000 little jerks a minute as the rattle gun tightens the puller works so much better than a wrench with 6' of pipe on the end of it
Only once is 11 years have I needed to resort to the oxy and that was a mower that had been in several floods

 

[jpokerwinski]

I usually put them between the the body & the rim
I have done some with the jacks against they tyre because there was not enough space
I have also used " Machine jacks" which I made by putting two bolts into a thread extender ( length of hex with a thread all the way through ) which are a hardwear item
If you go that route then use 1/2" or bigger
The jacks are not trying to push the wheel off they are just taking up the free play in the axel which is only 1/8" to 1/4" so have to be retightened every 1/8 to 1/4"
Usually once it starts to come and the initial rust bond is broken it will usually walk off as easy as the first one Tarly does
I have used wooden wedges , surveyors pegs , lengths of 2 x 4 , pry bars .

Some of corse are just plain obstinate and need to be hammered off the whole distance , these are the ones that get the axel & wheel wire brushed , sprayed with penetrant then tapped back on, left over night & tried again in the morning
The allen head screw is just to stop the point jumping off and the end of the axel mushrooming
If your wheel has the puller holes then you can use a puller with a rattle gun
Similar story the 10,000 little jerks a minute as the rattle gun tightens the puller works so much better than a wrench with 6' of pipe on the end of it
Only once is 11 years have I needed to resort to the oxy and that was a mower that had been in several floods

Well the holes in my wheels are getting stretched. That’s how tight this wheel is.

 

[bertsmobile1]

Well the holes in my wheels are getting stretched. That’s how tight this wheel is.

Which is why I use the jacks & air hammer
Look at the video link & learn .