[RESOLVED] Need help! -> Wheel hub / bearing removal

[knochgoon24]

So, I'm trying to get my wheel hub and axle off. The axle has a tear in it (go figure) so I'm wondering where I need to go from here.

I have the wheel nut back on. I saw somewhere mention to then put a board over it and hit it. But I'm wondering, won't that just push the axle back into the tranny? What bolts do I need to remove from here (the four are out of the back of the hub). I did the rear one before, but this one is presenting me with a whole new set of problems.

I need any input on where to go from here.

 

[interex]

these (in red) need to be removed, you'll probably need a ball-joint seperater "pickle fork"
If you're just needing to remove the CV-Shaft you can just undo the bottom one and seperate it then pull it back out of the way and push the CV Shaft inward till it passes out of the splines in the hub.

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[ArticNemesis]

I usually unbolt the lower control arm from the frame, giving the suspension enough flex to slide the axle out of the hub. Then I pop the axle out of the transmission.

 

[TrboANTsi]

Just undo the upper bolt holding the arm and the tie rod end for the steering. and itll pop out if you pull on it. I just did my fronts the other day. Your gonna need a pry bar to seperate the axle from the intermidiate axle. Its a male/female type of deal.

edit: unbolt the bottom of the shock too from the arm so you can drop the arm.

 

[scorpio87m1]

hey i have a 1995 and when i go over so bump i hear nose from the front area. It only happen whe i hit one really hit please help what could it be

 

[knochgoon24]

Thanks a lot. I'll go bash on it some more and see what comes apart. Thank God for impact wrenches.

 

[knochgoon24]

Where does the axle separate at, and does anyone have any tricks. I almost have it out of the hub and I need to know what's next. I need to replace the inner CV Boot.

 

[luv2rallye]

Ok with this trick you don't have to remove ANY ball joints!
Just unbolt the 2 lower arms at the chassis end and remove the damper fork bolt and the entire assembly will swing out far enough to pull the axles out of the tranny (pry axle out the first inch with a flat blade screwdriver between the inner CV housing and tranny on each side of that housing 180 apart). Move tranny axle end out of tranny and down where it won't bump into anything. Then slide the axle splined shaft out of the hub. If it's stuck, temporarily reattach the lower arms and damper fork bolt (to hold the knuckle arm solid while you pound) and hammer on the axle end (keep castle nut on backwards flush with end to keep threads from mushrooming) with a piece of hardwood in between. If it still won't budge after using PBblast, torches, and prayer, go rent this heavy duty truck puller shown in post 10 here: https://www.dsmtuners.com/threads/need-help.235884/post-50449790 (which is what I ended up doing - I broke standard pullers).

Here is what the hub looks like that fits into the knuckle arm and which the axle splines into: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=78775&d=1198915698.

After getting axles out, you can replace the rubber boot although I would advise bringing them to a clutch & U-joint place to have them do it properly. You might also have them replace/recondition the CV joints while you're there since you've done all this work to get them out (you don't want to be doing all this again 6 months from now do you?). Or you can exchange them for rebuilts or buy new ones.

Remember to put lots of anti-sieze on the axle and hub splines when reassembling to help the next poor bastard (which might be you)!!!

Here you see the lower control arms disconnected at the chassis and damper fork: http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=142961&d=1343792826

 

[wret]

Ok with this trick you don't have to remove ANY ball joints!
Just unbolt the 2 lower arms at the chassis end and remove the damper fork bolt and the entire assembly will swing out far enough to pull the axles out of the tranny.

It's even easier than that: Just remove the two bolts on the chassis end of the lower latereral control arm (the short straight one) and you can swing the hub out to remove the axle. It doesn't give you quite as much free-play as removing both arms but enough.

 

[knochgoon24]

It's all apart. Thanks for the help. I got it all apart down to the point of getting the outer race out of the hub. It's stuck, really badly. I've used every trick. After I gave up, I took a dremel to it to see if I could even get a 1/2 inch square piece of the race to chip off. No luck there either.

When I washed off the bearings, curious to see how bad they were worn, and there are 2 different colors of balls. The one set got so hot that they have a blueish-purpleish tint to them. I guess that they heated up when I drove 100 miles at 70mph on my way home from school. That heat must have baked the race to the hub.

I guess that's what I get for driving 1200 miles on a grinding wheel bearing.

New parts from Rockauto.com are on the way.

(Rockauto.com was actually cheaper than Ebay for the wheel bearing/hub.)

Thanks all for the help.

(Oh, the race of the bearing didn't look that bad when I took it out. I used heat and ice to try to shock it enough to crack. (Like I said, tried everything.) It started to rust from that water.)