I began to strip out my rear actuator yesterday. First thing I did was clean off the whole unit and the mounting bolts with a wire brush. Having studied the shape and condition of the bolts I decided that a good ring spanner was better than a socket because the 10mm bolts are so low profile and as they have the concave washer incorporated it didn't look good for a high torque removal. I then heated the bolts with a small gas torch and tapped the spanner home with a hammer while releasing the bolts and eveything came out ok.
For the top two I found that the forward bolt was more difficult than the rear one because of the shape of the motor housing. additionally I removed the axle stablizer bar that sits direct above the upper bolts as this prevents getting a square mounting of the spanner on the bolts. I did cheat with an extra pair of hands for the top bolts to tap the spanner on via a socket extension bar and with the rear wheel removed.
I'm not really sure how other people get around this because none of my socket ratchets fit in the space between the top bolts and motor housing-even the 1/4" bar wouldn't clear it to fit with a low profile socket and I think that possibly this were the problem of ringing the bolts arises? Taking the upper bar out only took about 20min so think it was the quicker solution overall.
I also did not use any 4D40 or anti corrosion sprays because I wanted the spanner to have maximum grip. If you have a corroded bolt that it horizontal with the incorporated flange like these ones, then the lubricant is never going to get into where its needed anyway.
The heat works better and I just put a small piece of tin under the cables just in case
Bad news is that the bolts holding the cover plate on the cog wheel have sheared off so need to progress slowly to stand a chance of salvaging it
For the top two I found that the forward bolt was more difficult than the rear one because of the shape of the motor housing. additionally I removed the axle stablizer bar that sits direct above the upper bolts as this prevents getting a square mounting of the spanner on the bolts. I did cheat with an extra pair of hands for the top bolts to tap the spanner on via a socket extension bar and with the rear wheel removed.
I'm not really sure how other people get around this because none of my socket ratchets fit in the space between the top bolts and motor housing-even the 1/4" bar wouldn't clear it to fit with a low profile socket and I think that possibly this were the problem of ringing the bolts arises? Taking the upper bar out only took about 20min so think it was the quicker solution overall.
I also did not use any 4D40 or anti corrosion sprays because I wanted the spanner to have maximum grip. If you have a corroded bolt that it horizontal with the incorporated flange like these ones, then the lubricant is never going to get into where its needed anyway.
The heat works better and I just put a small piece of tin under the cables just in case
Bad news is that the bolts holding the cover plate on the cog wheel have sheared off so need to progress slowly to stand a chance of salvaging it