Bolted the center link to the pitman arm and idler arm today. Looked at the wrong line in the Hayne's Manual and tried to torque the castellated nut to 85 ft/lbs! graemlins/clonk.gif Was supposed to be 35 ft/lbs. Needless to say, I stripped something(nut or stud?) and now can't get it off. graemlins/angry.gif

What's the best way to get it off of there? Had my wife stand on a pry bar(she's not real heavy!) putting pressure down on the center link while I tried to turn it off but it won't catch. I've heard of things called "nut busters" or something. Do they work? Is the castellated nut hardened?

Didn't think I could get away with just letting it on there and putting the cotter pin through to keep it on there. Figure it's an important part to be on properly since it holds the steering together but I'm allowed a few dumb questions.

Any help is appreciated.

A nut splitter will crack the nut so you can get it off, I used one to get a castle nut off a JD tractor tie rod end once. Worked great, no problem. Tool was pricey around $40 if I remember right.

Would a pickle fork do the trick?
Or is it the nut that's toast?

If it's the nut, what about an angle grinder to cut the nut? (But not the shaft!)

Got it off with a nut splitter I purchased at Advanced Auto for $10.63. The nut was toast!