Axle End Cap

[Greg Esres]

My local garbage collectors left a trail of destruction on last collection day. They apparently dropped my container from a great height, knocking off the axle with attached plastic wheels. In order to reattach the axle, it appears that I must remove a wheel and slide the axle in the plastic groove and reattach the wheel.

I cannot see how to remove the endcap which holds the wheel on the axle. It resembles man's hat, with a wide brim, and pliers won't budge it. Could it be welded on? Any suggestions appreciated.

[Nate Nagel]

I'm guessing this is a solid steel axle that slides through a channel in the plastic garbage can? And the axle and wheels are still assembled, but the whole assembly has come off the garbage can? Just press it hard into the channel it came out of, it will snap in.

nate

[Edwin Pawlowski]

Pry it or big assed pliers will get it off. Then it may be ruined so that means a trip to the hardware store. They are just push on, but they do hold well.

[Bob F]

Grab it with pliers and twist it back and forth as you pull. It will come off a tiny bit at a time.

Bob

[Oren]

As suggested, try to force the axle back into the groove. If this fails and you damage the cap later I would suggest drilling a hole in the axle and use a washer and cotter pin to hold the wheel on.

Those caps have little tabs inside to hold the cap on.

-- Oren

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Thomas A. Edison

[<aemeijers]

If it is like the one that came with this house, you can make the notch bigger by putting the can on its side, and applying weight near the top, with the slot paralle to the ground. Good job for the nearest kid. Then, a wood block and BFH should do the trick. A couple hours inside, or in bright sunlight, will likely make a difference this time of year- that poly gets stiff when cold.

aem sends...

[DanG]

These things are sometimes called pal nuts (there are other things called pal nuts also) or push-on axle nuts, pretty standard on kids toys and lawn stuff. They are hard to get off, and will probably be ruined in the process. They are definitely meant for one time usage.

You should be able to get them at Ace hardware or you can drill the axle and install a washer and cotter pin to keep the wheel on.

If the wheel/axle assembly came out without taking it apart, it should be able to go back together without disassembly, unless you fear that forcing into position will jeopardize the assembly.

[Deke]

No, it is just pressed on and can be forced off, but add a littlle adhesive because it is designed to be a one shot deal.

[HeyBub]

Don&#39;t jack with the garbage can.

Call the company. They&#39;ll zip right out with a replacement.

Or not.

[Greg Esres]

Tried that, even hit it with Thor&#39;s hammer....no go. :-(

[Greg Esres]

Ok, thanks. I assumed since finesse wasn&#39;t working, there was an easier way. Guess brute force is the answer.

Thank you

[Greg Esres]

That never occurred to me. I&#39;ll try that. Thanks.

[Greg Esres]

I&#39;m sure I can get it off, I just figured I was doing it wrong. I gather there&#39;s no little tab I can press and have it fall into my hand.

Thanks

[Greg Esres]

Now that I know that, I&#39;ll just replace it. Thanks

[Greg Esres]

It was apparently dropped from a large height, which is tough to duplicate in reverse. I&#39;ll probably just replace the pal nut. (Thanks for the name).

[Bob F]

You&#39;ve got that right.

Bob

[ak]

The exact same thing happened to me, except in my case it was because the wheels were stuck in the frozen snow and the axle came off clean when I yanked on the barrel. After trying a whole bunch of stuff, I gave up and duct-taped the axle to the barrel. So far so good. Let's see how long that holds.

[DerbyDad03]

Hopefully, Greg has fixed the wheels on his garbage can by now. Dragging a broken garbage can out to the street every week for 8 1/2 years could sure get tiresome. ;-)

That said, since you (ak) need to fix your garbage can now, do what I did:

Twist/pull/cut/hammer on the cap until you get it off the axle. Don't worry about ruining the cap because you won't be using it again.

Once the cap is off, take that wheel off and drill a hole for a cotter pin near the end of the axle. Slide the axle into the grooves of the garbage can, put the wheel back on, insert the cotter pin and bend the tabs open.

The next time the axle pops out of the grooves, it's as simple as pulling the cotter pin to reinstall the axle.

[micky]

I would take the time to answer but I figure this is from years ago. Not being a googler, I only know what shows on my screen, but that's my guess.

[DerbyDad03]

Yep, the OP was from 07, but ak appears to have the same problem now. Offer ing advice would probably not be a wasted effort.

I have no problem with old threads being revived. Many discussion groups an d forums* actually encourage the continuation of the original thread when t he same problem rears it's ugly head, even years later. However, when someo ne responds _directly_ to a many-years-old OP that's a bit worrisome. ;-)

*I know that a.h.r is not a forum. Please don't let my use of that word mas k the point I am trying to make.