Stuck Hub Bearing

[CarbonSteel]

Bring the damn thing down here, take the family to Disney, when you get back it’ll be done….I can’t stand to see a grown man cry…..?

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[roaniecowpony]

You're tossing them anyway, so heat em with a rosebud till they smoke. The aluminum will expand much faster than the steel hub. Then give the BAM!

 

[tjeeper]

Poor man's slide hammer. Take disk, flip it around, thread the lug nuts on until the threads on the end are covered, pull hard.

 

[Rubiconasaurus]

Mission accomplished with lots of swearing brute force and blaster. Glad I was replacing the knuckles because they looked like crap after all was said and done.

Death wobble appears solved!

Thanks so much for all who contributed positively

 

[CarbonSteel]

Mission accomplished with lots of swearing brute force and blaster. Glad I was replacing the knuckles because they looked like crap after all was said and done.

Death wobble appears solved!

Thanks so much for all who contributed positively

I meant to tell you to be sure to add some graphite based anti-seize around the hub snout and inside the steering knuckle to make it easier next time.

Glad you got it sorted!

 

[roaniecowpony]

I meant to tell you to be sure to add some graphite based anti-seize around the hub snout and inside the steering knuckle to make it easier next time.

Glad you got it sorted!

I grease them up. But I'm in CA where there is no road salt and all.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I grease them up. But I'm in CA where there is no road salt and all.

Yep; I'll bet the steel hub rusting inside that aluminum hub was a good time, but it will be worse with steel on steel + salt.

 

[Rubiconasaurus]

I put a healthy dose of the loctite brand pure nickel anti-seize on both Reids when I re-assembled. I'm genuinely curious how they could've been removed without damaging the knuckles.

 

[Midwestjeepguy]

Looks like you got this taken care of, but if others see this the easiest/quickest solution is to put a socket extension or large enough socket between the knuckle and hub then turn the wheel. I had this same issue and they popped loose no problem as I turned the wheel. Couldn’t believe how simple it is. Here’s a pic of where to place it…

 

[roaniecowpony]

While getting a stuck hub out of a knuckle may have many solutions, I think your nickel anti-seize is not the answer. My guess is that the corrosion happened after some water, contaminated with road salt, got in there. Salt and aluminum are bad. Not sure about nickel. But some type of long storage grease or coating like LPS 3 or a modern version may be better than anti-seize. Nickel is slightly reactive to aluminum and therefore it's adds no value, while adding some risk of galvanic reaction.

 

[CarbonSteel]

While getting a stuck hub out of a knuckle may have many solutions, I think your nickel anti-seize is not the answer. My guess is that the corrosion happened after some water, contaminated with road salt, got in there. Salt and aluminum are bad. Not sure about nickel. But some type of long storage grease or coating like LPS 3 or a modern version may be better than anti-seize. Nickel is slightly reactive to aluminum and therefore it's adds no value, while adding some risk of galvanic reaction.

Agree, it needs to be graphite based, but depending on time between tear downs and how much salt attacks the metal, it may be an exercise in futility anyway.

 

[wcjeep]

On older Jeeps it's possible to use vehicle hydraulic steering power with engine running to pop off the unit bearing. However, no idea if feasible or safe for electric steering. Severely stuck unit bearings are removed in under 5minutes with hydraulic power.

On older Jeeps I use lots of antiseize on unit bearings to aid future teardown.

 

[mwilk012]

3 pages and nobody told you to just buy a new wheel bearing? They're cheap and the odds of damaging it are high if you had to beat on it real hard.

 

[roaniecowpony]

3 pages and nobody told you to just buy a new wheel bearing? They're cheap and the odds of damaging it are high if you had to beat on it real hard.

Best answer.

 

[JustSendItDude]

Looks like you got this taken care of, but if others see this the easiest/quickest solution is to put a socket extension or large enough socket between the knuckle and hub then turn the wheel. I had this same issue and they popped loose no problem as I turned the wheel. Couldn’t believe how simple it is. Here’s a pic of where to place it…

This worked like a champ! Appreciate the tip.

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