I already know how to lock the three shafts from turning, but the big nuts on the top of the shaft need to be loosened. They are staked in to prevent the nuts from loosening. To remove them, the manual says to use a cold chisel and cut into the side of the staked area (you can see the area of the nut on the middle shaft). So will the nuts loosen completely off the shaft once this is done??? Or does the punched in area need to be pried away from the shaft to clear the threads on the shafts?

 

The punched in area need to be push back out, so you can turn the nut off. The punched in area isn't on the threads; but, it prevents the nut from being loosened off the threads if it is still punched in.

 

I was thinking the chisel cut is to relieve the pressure in the area so that with a powerful impact wrench, it will spin the nut off, being the steel on the nut is softer than the threads on the hardened shaft, so it will just conform to the threads.

I guess I have to find a 1/4" wide chisel to try to wedge in there and pry out the staked-in area. But better safe than sorry I guess.

 

Similar to axle nuts. I've used a nail & hammer to get it started, then larger tools when there's more room for them.

 

Update now that I'm older and wiser: in a nutshell, it's another ripoff scheme. I got the nuts off, and bought replacement nuts and conical washers from the dealer as Honda recommends in the Helm manual: $70 for 3 of them! And I got them online where the dealer gives a 30% discount.

The reason Honda says to cut them with a chisel is to make it more plausible they need to be replaced. The pros probably just use a chisel/screwdriver to push out the punched area and reuse the nuts and washers. They know you don't know that. Every little bit counts to maximize profits on a $3500 rebuild job!