oh great, new guy coming in with a problem.. lol

i'm attempting to refresh the d44 front axle on a 71 blazer project, and i've run into an issue that has me stuck for a moment. so far i've disassembled the old hub lock and have gotten the first spindle nut removed. i know there's a second spindle nut underneath a spacer that keys into it via small studs on the nut itself. everything i've seen shows me i'm supposed to be able to just slide it off to proceed. problem is that the washer isn't indexed correctly with the little slot, instead it seems to have turned so that the tab is jammed into the threads. and of course since it's aligned with spindle nut under it, the little pegs prevent me from being able to spin it freely.
does anyone know if there's a seperate socket out there that would interface with the holes in the spacer, like the spindle nut's tabs line up to its notches? i can't for the life of me get this thing apart as is.

i've included a pic so you guys can hopefully see what i mean. any help/advice you could give me would be greatly appreciated here. thanks!

 

I always use snap ring pliers to grab that washer, but I don't know if you'll be able to apply enough torque with them to rotate it if the key is buggered up. You might be able to put the pliers in, then rotate them with a wrench or something.

When you put it back together (with new lock washers), make sure you lube the outsides of them, and don't use an impact wrench to tighten the outer one.

 

If you can get a long straight pick into one of the holes on the washer, could you try tapping it gently at an angle to rotate the washer back so the key is in the groove again? That might allow you to extract it.

 

tried a few different things to no avail. ended up getting another nut/spacer set and welding little chunks of allen wrench thru a few of the holes. after that i welded the spacer onto a couple of random scrap pipes. drilled a hole thru the opposite end of the pipe to turn it with a long 3/8" extension, and popped those suckers right off. not the prettiest solution, but got the job done.

 

Nice work! I'm impressed with your solution. Thanks for letting us know how you solved the issue.

 

I'm really interested in seeing this home made tool!!

 

fugly, but did the job it needed to do

 

You know... I've seen worst... that almost patentable... I would buy it for that "specific tool" job lol...

Glad you got it figured out!

 

Nice work. I'm sure when you submit your patent you can splash some paint on it or something.