The frozen whelk thread

[Wrenchit]

I hope someone could give me some insight or knowledge on how to get a frozen rear wheel off a garden tractor. Specifically it is a. Old MTD .
I have tried everything from PB Blaster to heat to pounding it. Nothing no budge.
My next try would be to get an air chisel to the back of it. But I wanted to see if anybody had any other ideas?
Jim

Being in the repair business for 40+ years , you have few options. Replace the tire on the rim while on the tractor. Use Kroil to loosen the rust, (Expensive but actually works) and use a puller to remove the rim.
There are 1/16" snap rings holding the spider gears on the axle inside the gear box, hitting it either way can damage the snap ring. The trans axles are well sealed together, and some times will crack, while splitting the case in two. Those old MTD parts are no longer available, so you junk the tractor.
If you don't have proper tools, I would just break the tire loose get one side out and tube it.. If not, cut it off without damaging the rim. Lube the new tire good and get it back on. Tie a rope around the middle of the tire and twist it until the tire beads touch the rim and it will take air. Once it starts taking air, remove the rope. I have junked many of the old MTDs because of people banging on the axles and destroying the snap ring.
It can be a nightmare but take your time, and you will get it fixed

 

[jviews12]

I have used PB BLASTER fo 5 to 10 days in a row. Every day hit with hammer, but does not work. BLAST again because maybe crack in rust allows BLASTER to penetrate more. Did a snowblower gear this way. In my case maybe heat would have worked faster, but one day, gear just moved.

 

[gbrewer]

I hope someone could give me some insight or knowledge on how to get a frozen rear wheel off a garden tractor. Specifically it is a. Old MTD .
I have tried everything from PB Blaster to heat to pounding it. Nothing no budge.
My next try would be to get an air chisel to the back of it. But I wanted to see if anybody had any other ideas?
Jim

I had this same problem about two years ago. I tried all the options mentioned. I finally drilled out a hole as close as I could get to the wheel hub and used a sawsall to cut the wheel
from the hub. I then used the sawsall to cut the hub away from the axle. I then used a chisel to spread the hub and remove the hub from the axle. I went to the junk dealer and bought a
nearly complete (no engine) Murry with the same size wheels for about the same money that a new wheel would have cost. If you continue to beat on the wheel you will damage the seals, retainers, gears and housing of the transmission. Mine is a MTD Legacy GT1846 1991 Model. Lately I had a flat tire on the same wheel and tried to remove it; but it was stuck
tight again. Note that I did all the necessary stuff to reduce the possibility of this wheel ever getting stuck; I cleaned and buffed the axle, cleaned an buffed the key and keyway, used
antiseeze compound for assembly. Good luck.

 

[TobyU]

Someone mentioned tranny/acetone mix. It is a 50/50 mix of ATF (automatic transmission fluid) and acetone. I read a comparison test of that mix and retail penetrating fluids. The 50/50 mix was far better than the purchased products. You would have to turn the tractor on its side (draining all fluids first) so that the wheel and tire surface are horizontal. You could make a dam on the wheel hub to keep the mix above the axle end and wheel hub so it can work its way in. Remember that the mix is flammable. Let it soak for a few days. Some degree of impact/vibration helps the mix to break down the rust. After a few days of soak and impact, try your favorite method of impact, pressure (jacks, etc), and heat from all of the great suggestions. As with troubleshooting, start with the least intense method and work your way up. Good luck and keep posting.

There's really no reason to turn the more completely on its side as a 45° angle or even less than that we'll get the job done and then you can simply rotate the wheel half turn around and pour some more on.
It is true that the 50/50 acetone ATF mix has proven to be the best penetrating oil out there but even in a squirt bottle it's a little bit harder to use..
Maybe as a last resort but as I have said, squirting these down multiple times and rotating them around and letting them sit for a day and a half to two and a half days has always allowed me to rock it back and forth a little bit and work it off..
You have to also remember you don't want to just always try to remove something. Sometimes it speeds up the process by trying to push it on a little bit further before you try to pull it out and then if it does move respray it and work it back in a little bit more spraying each end every time it moves in so there's some exposed shaft and then pulling it over that part that you just put fresh lubricating oil on.

 

[The Maintenance Guy]

Is there any way you can get a puller on it? I've always been partial to pulling instead of pounding when it comes to this sort of thing, along with some heat applied.

 

[bertsmobile1]

I had this same problem about two years ago. I tried all the options mentioned. I finally drilled out a hole as close as I could get to the wheel hub and used a sawsall to cut the wheel
from the hub. I then used the sawsall to cut the hub away from the axle. I then used a chisel to spread the hub and remove the hub from the axle. I went to the junk dealer and bought a
nearly complete (no engine) Murry with the same size wheels for about the same money that a new wheel would have cost. If you continue to beat on the wheel you will damage the seals, retainers, gears and housing of the transmission. Mine is a MTD Legacy GT1846 1991 Model. Lately I had a flat tire on the same wheel and tried to remove it; but it was stuck
tight again. Note that I did all the necessary stuff to reduce the possibility of this wheel ever getting stuck; I cleaned and buffed the axle, cleaned an buffed the key and keyway, used
antiseeze compound for assembly. Good luck.

This is why you put the jacks behind the wheel so they take the impact load , not the gearbox
IT is the same theory as putting a pry bar under the flywheel the striking the crankshaft to remove the flywheel
in the 11 years I have been fixing mowers there has never been a wheel I could not remove without so much as chipping the paint with the exception of one that needed red heat on the wheel to break the rust seal.
It is just a matter of time & patience
The jack & air hammer method can only shift the axel 1/8" to 1/4" at a time, this is the free play in the axel that Wrenchit mentioned earlier and trying to go past the free play will usually cause the clip he mentioned to pop out then an annoying minor job becomes a full transmission strip which as Wrenchit mentioned often ends up in a transmission replacement .

IT is all about time & Patience
Penetrant , time attempt to walk off , more penetrant more time another walking attempt , tighten the clamps when they get loose and do them up with your fingers not a wrench as 2' cheater bar then air hammer, more penetrant tighten the clamps more penetrant, more time , air hammer again.
IT can take hours, it can take days & some have taken better than a week .
Rushing and impatience is what causes disasters like bent wheels & broken gearboxes .

 

[mcspeed]

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

That Taryl dude knows his shit …….oxy amphetamine torch LOL.

 

[jimhustler]

If you have an air chisel with a point use a punch to make a divit in the center of the axel then use the chisel on the axel while applying outward pressure on the wheel. Good luck.

 

[johniii]

You have a picture of the actual wheel?

 

[Curtisun]

Speaking of rust if you really want to completely remove rust a low cost and very effective way is to use White Vinegar and baking soda. I had a rusted inside of a metal gas tank. It was rust and flaked up bad. I could not buy another tank because this was an antique tiller. I tried using Blaster and wd40 from a gallon can and it just rinsed it out but did not remove the rust. I looked online for a solution and found out how to use it fill area over with white vinegar then add 1/3 of the amount of you added of the vinegar of baking soda. In my case it was to add 3/4 gal of white vinegar and about a box of baking soda. 4 applications of white vinegar/baking soda and let set for about 3 or 4 hrs. each cleaned all the flakes and rust out. Beware though it will boil and foam out when you add the baking soda. It makes some type of low acid that eats rust. I got it all over my hands with no effect, so it does not appear to harm a person.