How do you get the hub nut off without the flippin hub spinning??? Or should I just say loosened??? So far this is turning into a complete and udder disaster...already trashed an axle boot and fixing axles is beyond my ability at the moment..So whats the trick here??

Thanks in Advance..sorry to sound like a psyco bi-polar witch

put the wheel on, put the car on the ground. you should be able to get at it without the center cap on your wheel

 

otherwise...handbrake? or have someone (or a conveniently sized stick) hold the brake pedal down...

Sorry I should have mentioned....there is no caliper on at the moment. Its ok ..help is on the way...I hope

is the axle FUBAR? if so, put a pipe wrench on the axle shaft. Rotate the wheel until the pipewrench comes tight against the body, control arm etc.

still...without a caliper, you should be able to put the wheel on, and set the car down. or are you talking about the 4 bolts that hold the hub to the rotor?

put it in park or put it in gear if you don't have the caliper on. if you have an appropriately sized crow bar or digging bar (works best), you can wedge them in between the lug studs and rotate until it hits the ground so the hub can't move any further. the impact method works best here. and it can rough up the threads on the lug studs, but it's never anything a die can't clean right up.

 

have a 3 foot pipe to put over the end of your socket wrench or wail on the end of your socket with a hammer, it's like a pseudo-impact wrench and comes off every time.

 

what are you working on? if this is all to replace an axle and it's frustrating, then consider leaving it as is. a broken boot is no big deal. i routintely put 50,000 or more miles on axles with broken boots and clicking around turns. if you're not offroading, no biggie.

 

good luck

put it in park or put it in gear if you don't have the caliper on. if you have an appropriately sized crow bar or digging bar (works best), you can wedge them in between the lug studs and rotate until it hits the ground so the hub can't move any further. the impact method works best here. and it can rough up the threads on the lug studs, but it's never anything a die can't clean right up.

 

have a 3 foot pipe to put over the end of your socket wrench or wail on the end of your socket with a hammer, it's like a pseudo-impact wrench and comes off every time.

 

what are you working on? if this is all to replace an axle and it's frustrating, then consider leaving it as is. a broken boot is no big deal. i routintely put 50,000 or more miles on axles with broken boots and clicking around turns. if you're not offroading, no biggie.

 

good luck

 

Gary, she stated before she was replacing her brakes as they were shot.

 

Connie, put the wheel back onto the hub and put the lugnuts back on. Lower the car onto the ground and put the car into gear (or park if its an auto). Then, get a 1/2" breakerbar with your 36mm socket, a large piece of pipe, and brak that sucker loose. It'll be the easiest way to do it while saving yourself some headaches. Granted, it seems like you're taking a step back, but it'll get you two steps forward in the long run. Also tighten the axle back up like this as well.

Connie,was that what you called about?

 

Damned if I wasn't struggling myself with the rear brake drum on a Brighton Legacy P.I.A.

 

Good luck with it.

Connie, put the wheel back onto the hub and put the lugnuts back on. Lower the car onto the ground and put the car into gear (or park if its an auto). Then, get a 1/2" breakerbar with your 36mm socket, a large piece of pipe, and brak that sucker loose. It'll be the easiest way to do it while saving yourself some headaches. Granted, it seems like you're taking a step back, but it'll get you two steps forward in the long run. Also tighten the axle back up like this as well.

 

yup,that's basiclly how you gotta do it when you don't have air power(luckly my mech does)

Rory and Doug came to the rescue...pipe wrench..BFH and pry bar did the trick

glad to see you are not still sleeping, welcome back!!

 

 

Rory and Doug came to the rescue...pipe wrench..BFH and pry bar did the trick

glad to see you are not still sleeping, welcome back!!

 

This wasnt somethign I WANTED to do..it was something that NEEDed done. I didnt actually want to do it but had to..I had no brakes... Rory said from the looks of the pads..my front brakes were not working at all I was stopping soully with backs...not good. Speaking of back brakes....thats another story... I dont do drums

 

Paulyburger...yes thats what i called you about.. OK time to go back to sleep now

I use a steel bar - solid 1/2 x 1" or tube 3/4x1-1/2. Put 2 lug nuts on, just to protect the threads. The bar / tube is about 2-3 feet long, so it hits the ground at a shallow angle, and won't move the car.

 

Dave

Those without the raw muscle (not saying you're a wimp or anything), or those of us who prefer to do things the easy way get one of these:

 

 

It's a "hand impact" of sorts. Works amazingly well, and cost's less than a decent burger (about $10 or so).

 

GD

don't forget the

i told you about using the wheel trick in your brake thread :- )

don't forget the

 

Ya!That stuff works wonders!Especially usefull when at the junkyard and dealing with an old stuck on bolt or nut.I use that all the time.

BTW, sorry for the "i-told-you-already, didnt mean to sound like a jerk.....

 

if you like PB B'Laster, try SeaFoam Deep Creep.

 

it is AT LEAST as MUCH BETTER than PB as PB is better than WD-40. we are talking UberLube here!!!!!! penetrating to the BONE..... and it works WONDERS on old pliers/diagonal cutters etc.. you got a pliers with a tight rusty box, spray a little of this on, work em a little, add a dab of oil and a little more deep creep, work em a little and let em set overnight. you could then leave the pliers outdoors for six months, and pick them up and work them.. and STILL get some oil/deepcreep coming out of the box. GREAT stuff, its worth its weight in gold. I bypass PB anymore. there are VERY few things it works better than deepcreep on.

What size is the hub nut on an e81? 32mm?

What size is the hub nut on an e81? 32mm?

 

36mm.Pretty much any late '70's early 90's had the 36mm.

I've discovered that an impact wrench is a lot easier and a lot more fun than a breaker bar when it comes to axle nuts... But not everyone has a compressor, and most electric impact guns suck lol

Well..the brakes are somewhat fixed...not right but new rotors and stuff...now they grind and crunch and still dont work very well...I have no choice to drive it this way cause I have to get to work and I just dont have the money to give to Rory to fix them ( I refuse to let him work on my car for free).Maybe I will be lucky and it wont stop and drive itself into the river

did you look over the bearings at all when you had the hub apart? if you just replaced your pads and rotors (calipers too? i missed that) then your brakes have absolutely no excuse to make noise.. provided you installed your little shims correctly.

 

You said you have done brakes before, and that was probably everyone here's first job done on a car.. so its something that once you do, you know how to do.. so all i say, is said ASSUMING that the pads and rotors went together properly.

 

if its still grinding and crunching, is it doing that only when you brake? if so, then it might be a wheel bearing, or something incorrect in the front suspension setup. Go ahead and crack your HTKYSA and read up on the suspension, thats the most incredibly useful part of that book ive found so far for the late model SPFI loyale/GLs.... it gives a nice simple walk thru that even a burnedout hippie can understand on how to systematically check all the major components of your suspension/steering. it also describes exactly what youre doing.

 

and NEVER forget that the most important brake tool of all is the State of Brake Zen. If, grasshopper, In changing the brakes, the mechanic gets flustered, then the mechanic must step back and re-achieve his (or her ;-) Chi, the inner balance and peace that lies within.

 

in other words, when you run into issues (especially on brakes) it is ALWAYS a good time for a cigarette break/beer run/watch some TV/ do SOMETHING thats not banging your head against it (i usually just wander around the shop or my yard for a few moments to reachieve the Chi, but it departs frequently.)

 

besides, you know that tomorrow, when you can post a little more data about the grinding and crunching, itll get figured out.

 

in the meantime, is it present when moving, moving forwards, backwards?? only when braking? does turning the steering wheel effect it? its rather odd for new brakes to go together and "still crunch" unless you were hearing something other than the brakes crunch....

 

good luck, it cant be too bad.

The first time I did it, I loosened the nut by putting a 15" crescent wrench on it, wedging that against a rock (the wheel was off, and the hub splines were stripped, so the brakes wouldn't hold it), applying the parking brake full strength, and putting rocks one both sides of both back wheels, putting it in gear, and bumping the starter (after alot of thinking about exactly what direction things were going to turn and move). Came right off, whereas standing and jumping on the end of the wrench had no effect whatsoever.