Garage heads advice needed

[MacFromOK]

If you've already soaked it with a penetrating oil, impact is king.

Whack the wrench steadily with a small hammer while someone holds it steady, or hold it between your knees etc. (using impact, the main part doesn't have to be secured rock-solid).

Also, make sure you're going the right direction. Looking at the threads will tell you whether they're right or left-handed. Don't assume tech support knows.

Just my two cents.

 

[HiredHand]

I’ve got an extra can or two of Kroil around if you want to give it a go. How large is your strap wrench?

 

[Perplexed]

Thanks for the additional advice, folks. I did try some Kroil, but I’d read of a test where PB Blaster did better for penetration, so I went with that afterward. I forgot to mention that I also tried tapping first with a hammer, then with an impact hammer set to a low PSI and using a folded cloth in between. When my gf is in town this weekend, I’ll have her try the tapping while I haul on the strap wrench.

As for soaking in brake fluid, I would need a lot, since the bottom of the base to the threaded portion is about five inches high. Also, I can’t see the threads, so I can’t tell which way they run. But how common would LH threads be, anyway? I’ve run into a LH thread only two or three times in my life.

HH, the Klein wrench has a 1” wide ribbed vinyl strap and a metal handle about 14” long. It’s pretty beefy.

 

[Tanis143]

I know you tried heat, but have you tried freezing it? Stick the whole thing in the freezer for a while, might get it to shrink up enough to break it loose. I've used this method on small metal parts that have bonded together.

 

[NightShade]

The freezing gives me an idea..... In high school they had a deal where you would heat a ring and freeze a ball and get the ball to pass through the ring without that it wouldn't happen. So maybe put the whole thing in the freezer overnight and then get boiling hot water, soak some towels and wrap them around one part to heat it up and expand it a little while hopefully the other part stays cold just long enough to break it free.

The risk is a stress crack due to the temp change though but it could be worth a shot.

 

[Perplexed]

The freeze/heat trick is also used to get a stuck stator out of a desktop fan housing. I’ve employed it several times with success in that regard. I tried it with this light by leaving it outside overnight , but with no success. It didn’t get that cold the other night though, so I may make space in the freezer and try again.

 

[stick4]

I use the freeze technique to separate parts about every week here and those walmart air duster cans they sell in the electronics dept will flat out freeze the balls off a brass monkey if inverted when you spray.

 

[Perplexed]

An update: I found a container just big enough for the fixture to sit in, and poured in enough silicon brake fluid to cover the internal threads. I left it to sit for more than 24 hours, and just now tried using the strap wrench on it while it was in the vise.

It didn’t budge. Not an iota, even with whacking on the wrench handle with the mallet. The threads must have seized up but good!

I’ll wait till my gf is available to tap the housing while I apply the wrench. Might freeze it first, then a quick application of a MAPP torch before using the wrench. If all that fails, I’ll say fooey and just cut or drill into the housing.

 

[SlugSlinger]

What size socket would fit on the hexed end? Did you try a 6 point impact socket and an impact wrench?

 

[Perplexed]

It’s an odd-shaped hex - two sides are longer, two are shorter, so a socket wouldn’t fit. But now you have me wondering about using my plasma cutter on a piece of bar stock...