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Front wheel hub assembly issues

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Care, Maintenance and Troubleshooting' started by xc_prius, May 20, 2014.

  1. xc_prius

    xc_prius New Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Hey there I just signed up as I have run into some problems removing my front hub assembly and was hoping someone would be able to help. The first problem is that I cannot get the tie rod to separate from the knuckle. This should be fairly easy no? Do I need a separator? If so how do I not damage the boot?

    What is more of an issue is that when I went to remove the 10mm speed sensor bolt the bolt snapped right off and is stuck inside the knuckle! I was able to gently wiggle the sensor out and hang it out of the way but what am i supposed to do about reinstalling it? The corrosion just ate the bolt I'm pretty sure but I'm not sure what to do about it short of buying a whole new knuckle which I'd really rather not do. Superglue it there? Idk.

    Also, when I get the knuckle off what is going to be the easiest way to get that off? Will beating it really work or will I have to get it pressed off?

    Hope someone will be able to help, thanks.
     
  2. Hokie-Dave

    Hokie-Dave Member

    Joined:
    Apr 3, 2005
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    Location:
    Manassas, VA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius
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    Plug-in Base
    Will something like this work to get the broken bolt out? Sears.com ?? You'll still need to buy a new bolt, but hopefully this will help remove what is still in the knuckle.

    I'm getting ready to do this job this Saturday on my 2007 (right front).
     
  3. xc_prius

    xc_prius New Member

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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
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    Ok so I got the tie rod off with a tie rod separator which was easy. Made a loud pop as it came out tho scared the bejesus out of me. So now I am stuck at separating the steering knuckle from the CV drive axle. This thing will not come off it is rusted on. I have a hub puller but not sure if that will even do it i tried cranking on it but it will just not come out of there. Have it soaking in WD-4o rust release to try and pull it away again. Any ideas on what to do at this point? Sorry for the triple thread post earlier idk what happened there.
     
  4. xc_prius

    xc_prius New Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    Ok the hub puller managed to separate the axle out of the knuckle with a lot of cranking and fanangling. Now just have to get the knuckle away from the hub assembly. Hopefully banging at it will work. We'll see.
     
  5. Piano Tech

    Piano Tech New Member

    Joined:
    May 24, 2014
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    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    II
    We had the same issue and finally had to cut the bearing races out in the center in two placs and then we could finally get enough movement and vibration going to get it to separate. Good luck. Even with a torch and some real careful cut work it took 3 1/2 hours to separate the parts.
     
  6. KhaPhoRa

    KhaPhoRa Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
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    II
    I see you've gotten most of the way there but I'll post a few tips that worked for me. Tie rod end.. Lots of people screw the castle nut partway on and hit down, that didn't work for me.. If you pry down a little while hitting the SIDE of the the spindle.. A couple light taps while pulling down on the tie rod and mine popped out. I too broke the bolt on one of my sensors.. As a quick fix I used a small dab of JB weld to hold it while I debated whether to just replace the whole steering knuckle. A year later I'm still debating :) (it's held just fine). To get the hub out of the knuckle was the hardest as the different metals cause some serious corrosion in there. I set up two solid cement blocks on their side, put some 1x3 poplar boards I happened to have on top of those for protection, then placed the knuckle on that and used the 33mm socket as a punch and whacked it with a sledge a couple times and it worked it's way out once I stopped being gingerly about it.
    The first side was a four hour learning experience, the second side I finished in about an hour thirty. Remember to line up the hole in the dust shield and make sure there is no debris stuck to the sensor tip. For what it's worth the second side I did didn't even have the dust shield.. Toyota did the work originally several years back and didn't bother to put it in (and that was the good one of the two that I replaced "just because."