Thread: Axle U-Bolts - steel hardness?

I have to recover some axles from derelict vehicles in the quickest and easiest method. Because of the long dry grass in the area I'd rather not use oxy or a grinder (+generator). Does anybody know if LandRover u-bolts are mild steel or high tensile? If they are mild steel I can use a demolition saw with a hacksaw blade.......

Originally Posted by JDNSW

Yes as indicated, but it would be quicker to either undo the nuts or twist them off - from experience I know this is quite easy. The nuts may be either UNF or BSF so you will need either AF or Whitworth spanners.

I'll be taking some appropriate tools with me, and will give it a try. But something tells me the saw will be quicker, given the rusty and bent state of the u-bolts, not to mention the lack of access (probably tipped up on my front end loader!). It depends on what steel the bolts are made of.

A few years ago I had to dismantle a rather large area of ironbark post and railhorse yards, and by far the easiest way was the demolition saw. It cuts through a mild steel 3/8 or 10mm bolt in about 4 seconds! On the other hand a star picket (high tensile) just rips the teeth off the blade with almost no impact on the picket.....