Fred McKenzie hath wroth:
I bought a used Hustler stainless steel ball mount with a spring at a
recent hamfest. I installed it with a stainless steel Quick-Disconnect
(QD2) screwed into the top of the spring. I found that the spring was
extremely weak, and suspect it is not the original spring from Hustler.
I removed the spring and attempted to screw the bottom piece of the QD2
into the ball mount. It started OK, but wouldn't quite screw all the
way in. Then when trying to remove it, it came out about half way and
seized-up. I'm sure it wasn't cross-threaded to begin with, since it
went in several turns without using the wrench.
Although it was hard to turn, I persisted until the QD2 started to turn
more easily. Then I realized that the piece it was screwed into was
also turning!
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to undo the seized parts?
(Penetrating oil and freezing the parts didn't make any difference.)
Congratulations and welcome to galling. What you've done is
inadvertently scrape off the protective oxide coatings from both
pieces and welded them together. Next time, try some anti-seize goop
in the threads. Incidentally, you can have the same galling problem
with aluminum and titanium.
You're correct that oil won't do anything useful. However, freezing
should work. Clean off as much oil as you can remove with some
solvent. Find someone that has liquid nitrogen. If that's difficult,
some dry ice. Freeze only the bolt, not the ball mount. A bolt that
size will take some time to shrink, so you may need to freeze it for
some time. My guess(tm) is about 2 hours. You could also warm up the
ball mount end, but it's probably not necessary. When the bolt is
nice and cold, do the brute force trick again. Don't beat on it with
a hammer or impact wrench as you're likely to shatter the bolt.
Another way is simple brute force. Build some custom vice jaws and
lock the ball mount in place. Flatten the sides of the bolt and
attack it with a big wrench and "torque amplifier" (steel pipe over
wrench handle). Beat on it with a hammer if necessary.
Another alternative is to just leave it as is. It's now a permanent
part of the ball mount. If it's sticking out too far, cut it back to
a usable length or install a threaded sleeve between the ball mount
and QD2 disconnect.
--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558