I have a 1988 Mercury Tracer and we can not get a brake bolt off as we do not have the correct socket or a breaker bar.
I been looking at Craigslist ads in my area for people offering car repair. Do you think offering $50 to come and get this nut off is a reasonable price as long as they live or work fairly close to us.
We can not drive it to a repair shop in the shape it is in and a tow would cost a lot more than $50.
This is what we can not get off. bolt
That nut has nothing to do with the braking system, it holds the axle shaft tight in the wheel bearing assembly.
If I had the right size tool and the free time, I’d happily drop by and crack it loose for $50.
Two things to make life a bit easier - give the threads a good soak with penetrating oil - eg: Kroil or Liquid Wrench, and be sure you’re turning the nut the right way. If it’s left-hand threads, you’ll just be making it tighter if you turn it in the regular “righty-tighty, lefty-loosey” way.
Why do you need to pull that nut, anyway? Usually, you only have to undo it to remove the entire hub to replace or clean/repack the bearings.
If the problem is brakes, you’d be going after the caliper mounting bolts, and if you need to change the brake disc, that’s usually only held on by being squeezed between the hub and wheel, plus the rust that’s formed on the wheel studs.
It is not the brakes that need repaired. I am sorry I am not car literate. It is the bearings.
Maybe if you go to my other thread you would see what I am trying to get at.
I made two threads because one was a Factual question and this one was more of an opinion.
Thanks for your answer. I figured $50 would be a fair price for some one with the tools.
$50 sounds like plenty to me. Of course, in a situation like this, travel time may be as much, or even more, of a factor than the actual work on the car. Then there’s the question of getting it back on. Might you be better off to buy the needed tools?
This is my first thought. I found a couple of “axle nut sockets” on Sears.com for about $15, they’re specifically designed for this sort of thing, and I saw a 1/2" breaker bar at lowes for $25. Doesn’t save you a lot of money, but you get to keep the stuff when you’re done.
I just assumed they were more expensive than that since he did not suggest we buy the tools. I know he mentioned a two foot breaker bar but maybe he was embellishing a little.
