Slightly off Topic - Wrench Types and Techniques- Removing Stubborn Nuts

[tq60]

Share some photos.

You may need to make a custom wrench.

What is this in?

Unless this is a one of a kind installation someone else has done this.

Contact Cat service, they may have the plan and the tool.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk

 

[mac1911]

I have 15" Crescent with a black oxide finish, made in USA. I managed to round over a nut on a 2-5/16" hitch ball with it although I apparently broke the rules by using a 4' extension. We had to cut the nut off with a torch. From the Crescent site, "Never attempt to increase the leverage of a crescent wrench by lengthening the handle with a pipe. If you cannot open a fastener with a crescent wrench, do not hammer the handle; use a longer wrench or a box-wrench of the proper size."

Phhf what do they know…..

 

[mac1911]

Just be careful with heat and stainless. Stainless loves to gall
You really just want to kiss the nut with heat and break it free. The bees wax method will help , honestly any lube will help with the Psychological support.
I like to give everything a delicate rattle with a blunt ended air hanmer bit. Just enough to send some frequency through the parts and help break up any corrosion.

 

[dansawyer]

Attached is a photo of the area in question. The nuts are not visible; the mid section of the manifold is in the center. The top section collects 1 - 3 and the bottom collects 4 - 6. Where they join the manifold points down at about 45 degrees and ends in a flat section with 4 studs. The turbo connects via a corresponding flat plate, the joint is just visible.
Good news: As a test I heated the nut that would be at about 4 o-clock on the joint, looking down in the pix, and tested with a crows foot and a breaker bar. I was able to loosen that nut. Yea!!
The next steps are to remove the oil feeder line partially visible left to right and just above the top of the joint, and remove the exhaust brake, also partially visible in the lower right corner and just below the v-band. This should allow access to the remaining nuts. I will follow the same procedure, heat the nut with propane and then attempt to loosen.
With care I believe I am on the right track.

 

[mac1911]

Attached is a photo of the area in question. The nuts are not visible; the mid section of the manifold is in the center. The top section collects 1 - 3 and the bottom collects 4 - 6. Where they join the manifold points down at about 45 degrees and ends in a flat section with 4 studs. The turbo connects via a corresponding flat plate, the joint is just visible.
Good news: As a test I heated the nut that would be at about 4 o-clock on the joint, looking down in the pix, and tested with a crows foot and a breaker bar. I was able to loosen that nut. Yea!!
The next steps are to remove the oil feeder line partially visible left to right and just above the top of the joint, and remove the exhaust brake, also partially visible in the lower right corner and just below the v-band. This should allow access to the remaining nuts. I will follow the same procedure, heat the nut with propane and then attempt to loosen.
With care I believe I am on the right track.

**** like that is prime example of
“Long way short way”
Take everything off thats in the way of a good square clean shot so you dont strip and break **** and end up needing to take it all apart.
If your good with a cutting torch sometimes just blasting the offending fastener will get things done

 

[mac1911]

Attached is a photo of the area in question. The nuts are not visible; the mid section of the manifold is in the center. The top section collects 1 - 3 and the bottom collects 4 - 6. Where they join the manifold points down at about 45 degrees and ends in a flat section with 4 studs. The turbo connects via a corresponding flat plate, the joint is just visible.
Good news: As a test I heated the nut that would be at about 4 o-clock on the joint, looking down in the pix, and tested with a crows foot and a breaker bar. I was able to loosen that nut. Yea!!
The next steps are to remove the oil feeder line partially visible left to right and just above the top of the joint, and remove the exhaust brake, also partially visible in the lower right corner and just below the v-band. This should allow access to the remaining nuts. I will follow the same procedure, heat the nut with propane and then attempt to loosen.
With care I believe I am on the right track.

Propane is seldom good enough, but if its what you have.

 

[dansawyer]

I lied then, it's not 8mm, it's 10...... Whoops?

That DOES use the fancy locking nuts, and they are one time use. No guarantees on how a previous owner put it back together. Especially one prone to putting in air filters cheap enough to shred when they plug..... Fancy nuts that are reused, and "standard" nuts that are used off spec, either way they can be quite stuck. If the previous owner used new nuts, they usually "crack" with a good snap (and lots of effort) but they just about (not quite) spin off with your fingers after that.

Anyhow, my memory of those, aside from anger and frustration, is that three of those bolts could be done with a box wrench, and one of them, from the bottom, I used to get with a socket wrench, extension, and a deep socket, with the actual ratchet handle being awkwardly positioned inside the frame rail. Take a look at your configuration and see if you can make a socket and extension fit in there. I'm thinking (it's been ten years since the last one went away, and way longer since I had a turbo off...) I'm thinking there's no direct line of sight, you've got to put your head where you can see the nut, and feed the socket/extension in from over by the frame, and kind of "feel" for straight by how the socket fits the nut. Again, it's been years, so grain of salt, I kind of remember using a swivel socket on that job, but I can't remember if it was the Cats or the Cumminzes.

Snap-on Store

shop.snapon.com

While you're waiting for the new nuts to come in , take a peek and see if that method might fit your configuration. They're not all the same, but the ones we had were pretty much standard unless they were specialized for something specific.

Thank you for the detailed response and experience. I have to get underneath to finish one of the v-band clamps, it appears to be cross threaded. While I am under there I will inspect an alternative route for the remaining nut. I can get a crows foot on both nuts furthest from the head, one is loose. I am waiting on a tool to remove the oil feed line flare to get at the second. Once the exhaust brake is removed there will be clearance to remove the rear nut with a box end. That leaves only the front nut closest to the front in question. I will look to see if it is reachable from below.

 

[Jake M]

That was an odd angle for your photo..... Are you fixing this engine in the master bedroom?

 

[dansawyer]

That was an odd angle for your photo..... Are you fixing this engine in the master bedroom?

Yes. The bedroom engine opening runs from half way between #1 and #2 to half way between #5 and #6. I was trying to have the shot center on the manifold to turbo flang.
I am doing this in increments, trying to measure twice and cut once. I have just successfully loosened the 2 v-band clamps that hold the exhaust brake to the turbo and the exhaust pipe. I was hoping that would allow the muffler section to be moved back an inch or so to allow the exhaust brake to be removed. That is not the case, the exhaust pipe is relatively solid and does not move easily.
I am able to rotate the exhaust brake, that rotation opens up enough space to get a wrench on the flange nut closest the the head and transmission. I am not able to get a socket on it. I am able to get a thinner box end wrench, however it is too short and does not support sufficient purchase. I am shopping for a long box end; I hope about 12 inches would be enough. The nut is 15mm, 15s are not a very common size.

 

[Jake M]

Yes.

The good news about that is that the difficulty multiplier is gonna greatly increase your experience points once all is said and done.

Outside of that, hats off to ya. Working from those angles (and to that cleanlyness degree) is NOT the easy way to do things.....