D1 - Removing flange behind E-Drum

[tanabnd]

Hello all,

On one of my '96 Discos I have removed the rear prop shaft and the 4 nuts on the bolts that sit behind a flange that retains them through the e-brake drum. The problem is that these bolts are locked in place by the head of the bolt by design and those have all been rounded off. I have new bolts I bought from the dealer, now I am just wondering if all I need to do is remove the large flange nut and then the flange will come out so I can release the old bolts?
I found this post below from mikemeyer0 and it looks like he had some of the same questions I do. I have the new bolts, I just need to know if taking the large flange nut off requires a special tool or if there is any other special handling I need to be aware of here.
In the attached pic the bolts I purchased are circled and the large flange nut is at the front.

http://discoweb.org/forums/showthread.php?t=34142

Thanks.

 

[agbuckle98]

just take off the big nut marked #8, slide the flange off, and replace your bolts. It's easy to do. There might be a dust shield on the back of the flange that you will need to remove and then reinstall, but its really easy to do. maybe mark the nut on the shaft before removing it so you can return it to it's original position when you put it all back together.

 

[tanabnd]

OK, thanks for the response. That large nut looks like it is 29mm, so I will need to go get a socket that size for my impact wrench. A large Cresent isn't doing the job as the nut is pretty deeply seated. The output shaft turns while I try to twist the nut off so that isn't helping much either. There also is a blue sealant of some sort around the thread from the factory.

 

[alex]

lock the transfer case and it won't turn on you. and the blue stuff is just locktite.

 

[tanabnd]

Excellent advice by all here. The job is done and was much easier with the comments, thanks. Some notes in addition to the others in this thread in case anyone else is doing this for the first time. The large nut holding th flange takes a 30mm socket. It came off with no impact, just a half inch drive wrench and some leverage. Once that is off the flange comes off, but be careful of the felt washer behind it, it is fragile. A circlip holds the flange bolts in place, which was a pain for me to get taken off and put back on over the flange housing after replacing the bolts, but would have been real easy with a bench vice.