front axle stuck. 250es

[BIGREDFREAKE250]

today went to take the front wheel off.

and it wouldnt move at all.


losen the 4 bolts on the cap.and then tryed to turn it and nothing.

can anyone give me some tips to get it out?

[coolpool]

Yea they can be a pain. I've heard of using a little heat(paint stripper, not torch) and a quality penetrating oil like Kroil or PB Blaster. If you are just trying to remove the hub/wheel assembly, you should be able to rotate the whole thing and swing it away once the four bolts and saddle are removed. At least I think that can be done?

[BIGREDFREAKE250]

ill have to give those a try

[RPMRestorations]

Yeah 3 of our 4 are stuck. It's a pita trying to change the tire

[captainweezy]

Pretty common to be froze. I have an extra if you end up needing the axle.

[sleeplessknight]

Mine was stuck on my 87 Big Red. I put it on a stand, took the front fender loose, took out the two bolts for that hold the strut in, removed the cradle and dropped the fork out, then took the tire off, fixed it, and put it all back together. Was much esier than trying to get the front axle loose lol.

[RPMRestorations]

Mine was stuck on my 87 Big Red. I put it on a stand, took the front fender loose, took out the two bolts for that hold the strut in, removed the cradle and dropped the fork out, then took the tire off, fixed it, and put it all back together. Was much esier than trying to get the front axle loose lol.

A lot of times you can get the tire off without doing that, but we had to replace the wheel bearings and I think you're basically screwed then right? Or is there a way you can slide the hub off the axle without removing it?

[Scootertrash]

Heat,Kroil, then try an impact gun. Patience is the key.

Hopefully once you get the axle loose from the fork the wheel won't be rust locked onto the axle like the one I did last year:

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/168136-Here-s-why-periodic-maintainance-is-improtant (http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/168136-Here-s-why-periodic-maintainance-is-improtanthttp://)

[redsox]

heat, kroil, beer, impact, repeat.

[fabiodriven]

Try CRC Freeze-Off. It works better than any penetrating oil on the market, hands down. I've even seen it work where a torch didn't, very impressive product!

[Jmoozy27]

Heat, hammer, bad additude

[tri again]

B careful.
I have been thru 2 like that and bought one with a busted open fork thread aluminum.
That axle seem to run through an inch or more of cast aluminum threads on the left fork.
Heat, cold etc etc.
They say nail polish remover aka acetone and atf are the best penetrant.
IF you get it to move, go back and forth, sometimes, well, el camexican did a great writeup on thread stuckness.
Sometimes better to try a LITTLE tighter to release whatever is in the threads that makes space for corrosion.
Ane we're talking LESS than a couple degrees of a rotation tighter. Just enuf to get corrosion in threads to loosen.
Impact set on super low rattle....NOT to try and power it off.
May take a few weeks of rattle, heat etc etc.
Ice the axle (dry ice?) to shrink and then heat the aluminum so it expands?
Also had one (or 2) where the collar sleeve spacers hidden inside the front hub wouldn't move but I was able to
spread the forks about 25 thousandths, just enuf to get the whole assembly out.
Then walk around everything you own with penetrant and hit every suspicious bolt and nut you see
while you're waiting for this to resolve, dissolve and fix itself.

[roostin atc]

Heat it up then spray with water. Repeat till it moves. Then hammer and use penetrated oil. You'll get it just be patient is the biggest thing.

[BIGREDFREAKE250]

thanks for all the help we broke it lose the other last night.

[MJKH_BIGRED]

I just had to do this. What a B!TCH. We tried hooking an autotron to it to heat it up, but we ended up applying heat with a torch to the threaded end of the fork and even after it broke free, every turn was excruciatingly hard. I figured the threads in the fork were going to be doomed, but alas, they were fine. I ended up replacing the shaft because it was bent slightly, but you better believe every couple months I am going to loosen that axle just to make sure it will come free when I need it to.