Rear Wheel Removal, Extremely Tight

[stokes776]

Hello all!

Hoping you guys can help.  I am currently down in my garage trying to remove the rear wheel.  I just received a tire and need to take the tire+wheel to a shop to get it mounted and balanced tomorrow.

I figured removing the rear wheel would be easy, I have the Haynes manual and am not against getting dirty.

I removed the chain guard and cotter pin.  I am at the part where it simply says, remove the Rear Axle Nut. By the illustration this appears to be a 22mm bolt, the thing the cotter pin was going through.

I pull out the 22mm wrench and start going at it, wow its extremely tight.  Tight to the point of putting all of my weight on it, almost throwing the bike off the center stand.  I then discover that the other side of the axle is moving even if I can get it 1/8 of a rotation with all my might.  So I size that side up as a 17mm and put a socket wrench on it.  Holding both wrenches I am unable to get enough strength to make this thing loosen without throwing the bike off the center stand.

Am I doing something wrong here, are these supposed to be this tight? Am I going after the wrong nut?

On this page they call it a 'Castle Nut' http://www.everydayriding.org/2010/05/gs500-rear-tire-replacement.html
But they make no mention of having to hold the other side steady.

Hoping to hear back soon, will be checking on my phone from down in the garage as I try to get this off!

[Janx101]

dont have my manual with me at work.... so for now i will only say ... and it sounds silly.... make sure you trying to rotate it loose and not tighter!.. i dont think its a left hand thread normally? ... but its worth checking for 

apart from that try squirting some 'easy no freeze' stuff in there ... wd40,crc, rp7 kinda thing... in case its just binding due to crud

and yeah having a counter spin spanner on the other end is normal enough i reckon

[stokes776]

Righty Tighty Left Loosey , correct? That applies to this nut correct?

I must have said that to myself 15 times trying to get this thing off, still havent gotten it.

Just watched this video and the castle nut comes off extremely easily it looks like. He doesnt even have to counter wrench it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhmnoKgwGeA

[Janx101]

all depends on how tight, how much crud, who did it before kinda thing... tiny amount of crud can cause big pressures though..

righty tighty lefty loosey is fine... IF its a standard thread .... look closely at the threads ... which way do they angle?

in a lot of heavy truck applications for example .. the right side of vehicle wheel nuts are standard thread .. but those on the left are counter or reverse thread... all to do with rotation and staying that little bit tighter or on a little longer in an emergency...

its just my thoughts though.... over the years i learned from my own mistakes to check the obvious 1st .. then if thats no good go looking for trouble elsewhere...

.. sorry i cant offer any more on this right now 

[gsJack]

You should have to lean on that axle nut a bit to break it loose if it was properly tightened, spec is 40-70 ft/lbs.  It's a right hand thread so counterclockwise to loosen.  Sometimes you have to hold the bolt head on the other side but not most of the time.  If it's going hard all the way it might be a crossed thread but that's unlikely.

I never remove the chain guard and I don't disturb the chain adjustment to pull the wheel.  After the axle nut is removed just pull the axle out and drop the wheel to the floor, roll it forward as far as it will go and take the chain off of the sprocket and hang it outwards over the swing arm ( be sure to cover the swing arm with a rag to avoid scratching it), and then roll the wheel back out usually cocking it a bit to clear the fender if you haven't cut it off.

I find removing the caliper makes it easier to get the wheel back on but don't take the line loose so you don't have to bleed, just remove the two bolts tha hold the caliper to the bracket and remove the bolt from the torque link and let the caliper hang to put back on last.

[stokes776]

Thanks everyone! I finally got it, whew.  Just had to counter wrench it and put a ton of weight on it.  Before I counter wrenched it, the chain adjuster marker thing on the other side was spinning around and scratched up the swing arm.

I will have to get some spray paint perhaps and coat that so it doesn't rust I think.

Got it off and the wheel and new tire in the car to take it in tomorrow.  Thanks again guys!

[weedahoe]

Dont feel bad, I just pulled mine off the other day also so I cold take off the chain and it was biotch to get loose too.

[stokes776]

Wheel and Tire are at the shop getting mounted, said it would take a day as they are busy =(.

Reading through the instructions yesterday of how to remount it, it mentioned applying some grease, and I know I will need a cotter pin (had to rip that sucker apart) and probably a FT-LB Torque Wrench.

Any suggestions on what type of grease I get? I am a newbie at being mechanical, so I want to make sure I get the right type of grease, what type should I look for, a particular name/brand/type/formulation?

The dealer said they didnt have any cotter pins for sale, I figure I can get some at AutoZone? Hopefully?

FT-LB Torque Wrench, I have an In-Lb that goes up to 200, but I think the rear axle nut is 47lb, wont be able to get to that with mine.  I was thinking about just tightening the hell out of it, but I suspect thats where people get into trouble?  Should I invest in a proper ft-lb torque wrench or can I just wing this one?

[RossLH]

I just have a tube of Mobil1 all purpose grease. Seems to get the job done. As for the torque wrench, definitely invest in a proper one. DO NOT just torque the crap out of it. That's bad news bears.

[adidasguy]

#5249

Grease: A good waterproof wheel bearing grease. I think it is either red or green (not the black goop)

I use these spring clips you see here rather than cotter pins. Easier to work with and removable & reusable.
Cotter pins are fine. Any auto store or hardware store should have them. Any motorcycle shop should have them, too.

[gsJack]

I just keep a can of all purpose grease in the garage that's good for wheel bearings, chassis lubeing, etc.  Type is not critical, just grab a couple fingers of it and smear it on the axle before sliding it back in.  Can get cotter pins at hardware store or Lowes.  I never bother with a torque wrench,  I just use an open end wrench about a foot long and tighten it as tight as I can get it.  Now at 80 yo that's probably about half as tight as you can get it.   

PS: They have those spring clips that adidas just posted while I was typing at Lowes too.