My car (90 loyale 4wd) has been making some crazy noises lately and today after work I found out what it was... the hub assembly is stripped, so it makes this horrible noise and everything moves but the tire. I can get this part at a junkyard easily, but can anyone tell me why or how this happens? I've heard allot of stories of front wheels flying off of subarus...so thank god all this mess happened as I was parking! What should I look for to determine what caused the excessive wear? The bearing on this wheel was replaced twice in the past 8 years and it seems that the wheel tilts out at the bottom. Any input would be appreciated!!

do you mean the big 32mm castle nut in the center? that's the axle nut, and if it's stripped, then you will likely need to replace the axle, or take the axle apart and replace that outer section with one with undamaged threads. the castle nut should have a cotter pin locking it in place (the pin goes thru the axle thru two of the notches on the nut) and under the nut are two washers, one is a little concave but mostly flat, and the other is distinctly conical; those will probably both need to be replaced if the axle nut has been loose.

 

if the cotter pin was gone or if the axle nut was not torqued tightly enough, those could have caused this. if the wheel tilts out at the bottom, i'd wonder if the control arm bushing is worn. good luck.

the nut seemed to be ok, but the grooves that are on the inside of the hub assembly? are worn nearly smooth....I'm looking through the haynes book but can't find anything on my problem......although the fact that i have pretty much no idea of what i'm looking for might hold me up a bit

 

oh yea, the castle nut had been tightened up and the cotter pin put in, but as soon as the car was engaged in drive the thing that it's on (axl? outer cv? have no clue) starts spinning and the castle nut becomes loose, while hub stays still.

 

whatever it is...i'll have fun getting dirty in the morning while i'm ripping it apart and heading to the junkyard.

 

do you mean the big 32mm castle nut in the center? that's the axle nut, and if it's stripped, then you will likely need to replace the axle, or take the axle apart and replace that outer section with one with undamaged threads. the castle nut should have a cotter pin locking it in place (the pin goes thru the axle thru two of the notches on the nut) and under the nut are two washers, one is a little concave but mostly flat, and the other is distinctly conical; those will probably both need to be replaced if the axle nut has been loose.

 

if the cotter pin was gone or if the axle nut was not torqued tightly enough, those could have caused this. if the wheel tilts out at the bottom, i'd wonder if the control arm bushing is worn. good luck.