Rant: That 767 brake job gone wrong in Phoenix

I was out on the line in Phoenix last Tuesday and had a 767 come in with a brake wear pin showing past the limit. No big deal right, just a wheel and brake change. But one of the lug nuts was seized so bad I snapped my 3/4 inch drive breaker bar trying to break it loose. Then I grab the impact gun and it won't even budge. I ended up having to use a torch to heat it up for about 5 minutes and then beat a socket on with a hammer. Took me over 3 hours to finish a job that should have been maybe 90 minutes, and I was sweating my tail off in the Arizona sun. Who else has had a simple job turn into a nightmare because of one rusted fastener?

2 comments

2 Comments

jade4714d ago

Jeez, you snapped a 3/4 inch breaker bar? That's crazy, those things are supposed to be tanks. I've had my share of rusted fasteners but never had one that tough. The heat and hammer combo sounds like a real last resort, makes you wonder how much time we waste on stuff like that.

cameron77012d ago

Hold on, @jade47, I see it a little different. Snapping a 3/4 breaker bar doesn't always mean the fastener is impossible, it can mean the tool was old or you weren't hitting it square. I've had seized bolts laugh at a 1-inch drive and then pop free with a sharp crack from a six-foot cheater pipe. Those 767 lug nuts in Phoenix get baked so dry by the heat and brake dust that they basically weld themselves on. But a torch and a good hammer swing is just part of the job sometimes, not a last resort. Three hours sounds about right for a fight like that.