Topic: I want to ............

[snaponbob]

Kill the rat bastard that put the top bolt where it is on an LNF started motor !!!!!!!!!!!!   

Who has yanked the gearbox on their GXP/Redline and has some suggestions? After 2 hours I am three bolts away from dropping the tranny, but that  bolt is KILLING me !!!!!!!!!!!

[Critterman]

multi extentions with a flex joint from the bottom.

[snaponbob]

MORE !!!!!!!! I have extensions, u-joints, and all that stuff. No matter where I come in from SOMETHING is in the way. And WHERE from the bottom?

[Sol Asylum]

Am I the only one that see some irony here?  A former Snap-on dealer having a problem finding the right tool for the job.  Sorry SOB I just couldn't resist.

[Carbon Sky]

I'm guessing you've already tried things like these based on your forum name, but just to cover all bases, have you tried a flex drive of this type?



If not that, how bout wobble extensions?



I have these in 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2", and I'm so thankful I've had them for many of these annoying instances.

[snaponbob]

Actually, I do NOT have wobbles, just lots of straight extensions and u-joints. THAT will be resolved tomorrow !!!!!! I know a guy.

That said, I am still waiting for instructions that removed an LNF starter.

Oh, and I STILL want to  the designer.

[Critterman]

Deep blue and Randy from DDM pulled mine.  Maybe the will remember exactly where you need to come from.  Joe do you remember?  I will call Randy.

Left him a voice mail to come here and give you a step by step.  best i can do at the moment

[snaponbob]

Deep blue and Randy from DDM pulled mine.  Maybe the will remember exactly where you need to come from.  Joe do you remember?  I will call Randy.

Left him a voice mail to come here and give you a step by step.  best i can do at the moment

They told me "you will need about 73 extensions". No  , that's what they said !!!!!!

[Critterman]

Are you on your back or is the car on a lift?  I don't know that you can get at it on your back.  73 is an exaggeration you only need 13

[snaponbob]

Are you on your back or is the car on a lift?  I don't know that you can get at it on your back.  73 is an exaggeration you only need 13

Oh PERFECT !!!!!! Thirteen. And I only have TWELVE.    The car is on stands, but well up off the floor. I can get my hands all up around the starter, I can feel the bolt head, but I clearly NOT holding my mouth right. I WILL have a set of 3/8" locking wobble extensions by 9AM.

As for the flex extension shown above, I warrantied then SO often, I started giving credit towards other extension solutions. They SO sucked at anything above VERY little torque.

[Divingsolo (formely Randy@DDM)]

start with the battery disconnected, as it hurts to find out the hard way.  

18mm deepwell to a 3" ext(locking prefered), Universal, 6" extention and a flexhead ratchet.

also a curved 18mm box in wrench

If you can use the 18mm curved to reach around the starter thats great, it will help break loose the bolt.

otherwise, insert the socket assmebly on top of the starter motor from front to back, from underneath the car.the shaft should be near the batt cable going to the starter. Slide you other hand up the seam of the bellhousing/engine seam until you can feel the bolt head(between the starter selenoid and the block.  use this hand to position the 18mm socket onto the bell housing bolt and keep it on the bolt as you loosen the most aggravating bolt on these cars....I cursed this bolt many times, now it takes me about 15 min to get it out.

[Go-N Def]

And don't stick your tongue out too far while your trying....

[snaponbob]

start with the battery disconnected, as it hurts to find out the hard way.  

18mm deepwell to a 3" ext(locking prefered), Universal, 6" extention and a flexhead ratchet.

also a curved 18mm box in wrench

If you can use the 18mm curved to reach around the starter thats great, it will help break loose the bolt.

otherwise, insert the socket assmebly on top of the starter motor from front to back, from underneath the car.the shaft should be near the batt cable going to the starter. Slide you other hand up the seam of the bellhousing/engine seam until you can feel the bolt head(between the starter selenoid and the block.  use this hand to position the 18mm socket onto the bell housing bolt and keep it on the bolt as you loosen the most aggravating bolt on these cars....I cursed this bolt many times, now it takes me about 15 min to get it out.

DID pull the neg cable right from jump street. Had EVERYTHING off, and the diff on the floor all in about 2 hours. Almost all the bellhousing bolts are out, too. The 15mm upper starter bolt is the one killing me. It feels like the starter MUST be out of the way to get to the bellhousing bolt, so did you mean a curved 15mm wrench for the starter bolt?

BTW, anybody that thinks that not too much is happening at the rear (ProBeam) and front (tower brace), they are WRONG. When they were installed they were well tightened. They were not too tight when I pulled them. No "knock" on the products as they DO work, just showing how much flex and loading IS happening. There were other fasteners that I NEVER touched that were way too loose, but considering the flailing this car has received, I guess that is to be expected. An ANNUAL "nut and bolt" session will now be done.

Now, to sleep, and then a starter motor in the morning.

[snaponbob]

And don't stick your tongue out too far while your trying....

Much more important when plasma cutting and welding.   

[Carbon Sky]

Actually, I do NOT have wobbles, just lots of straight extensions and u-joints. THAT will be resolved tomorrow !!!!!! I know a guy.

That said, I am still waiting for instructions that removed an LNF starter.

Oh, and I STILL want to  the designer.

Yah the flex drives won't break anything loose, but once you get the nut/bolt broken loose, or just threaded, they can really speed up the process until you do have to finish the tighten.

When my pops first got the wobble extensions, I wasn't a huge fan of them.  But now that I've had them a few years, I must say he was 100% correct.  The wobble they have is not extreme, but it's quite fair, and when you link a bunch of them together, you can even tailor the radius/curvature by where you put the longer or shorter extensions.

Between wobble extensions and flex drives, I basically never use the universal joint anymore.  For example, I used to use a universal joint to do the oil filter.  The wobble extension does this so much better than the u-joint in that you can easily position the socket directly over the cap.

[snaponbob]

The locking wobble extensions that Snap On came up with had a lot of dealers worried about the strength, but they proved to be almost as tough as the straight end ones. THE most amazing thing about them is HOW they are produced. Utterly stunning to see a metal rod spinning thousands of rpms in a CNC machine, a half a dozen different cutters working on the ends at even HIGH speeds, and those ends machined ends come into view when the liquid stops flowing and the extension stop spinning. 

[snaponbob]

BTW, my comment about DDM telling me I needed 73 extensions was NOT meant to be critical, as I could tell Dave was sharing HIS frustration with HIS learning curve on this bugger bolt. We both sort of chuckled at the comment. And, as always, he there to help last night with the detailed explanation.

[kennysabarese]

Designed for manufacture, not service.

[ChopTop]

I never even heard the term wobble extension before, btw, why you pulling the starter?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bcpjf6_vCk&NR=1

[snaponbob]

To get to the last couple of bolts to yank the transmission.

[snaponbob]

Designed for manufacture, not service.

Man makes the tools, tools don't make the man. This true whether it's the person using them or selling them. 

[Divingsolo (formely Randy@DDM)]

The 15mm upper starter bolt is the one killing me. It feels like the starter MUST be out of the way to get to the bellhousing bolt, so did you mean a curved 15mm wrench for the starter bolt?

I do not remove the starter...you can remove the bellhousing bolt without pulling it

[GXPinKC]

Thanks Bob for the 10/4 on the rear Pro Beam and the front tower brace.  I will proceed to check mine to see if they are tight.  Miss Red Eagle cannot fly with loose nuts, uh, same as any male upright creature!  That's a big 10/4 for sure!!!

[Carbon Sky]

The locking wobble extensions that Snap On came up with had a lot of dealers worried about the strength, but they proved to be almost as tough as the straight end ones. THE most amazing thing about them is HOW they are produced. Utterly stunning to see a metal rod spinning thousands of rpms in a CNC machine, a half a dozen different cutters working on the ends at even HIGH speeds, and those ends machined ends come into view when the liquid stops flowing and the extension stop spinning. 

An amazing design if you ask me.  You will never appreciate them until you've used them a few times.  I have applied enough torque through these on a 3/8" drive wobble, that the socket ate into the flat edges of the bolt noticeably, and there was no discernible flex.  Simply amazing.

[snaponbob]

I do not remove the starter...you can remove the bellhousing bolt without pulling it

REALLY ?!?!?!? Great. Now I have extensions that I might not need.  JK, They WILL come in handy.