Need advice on front wheel hub replacement

For Your Info FYI//For What Its Worth FWIW (this mechanic is always rock solid on all repairs)

Wheel Bearings and CV joints are a PIA if new to the process.

I did my own wheel bearing . I did one part/ step different than that of using a slide pull or other methods. I removed knuckle … I removed the four retaining bolts for the wheel bearing....sprayed WD40 between bearing race and steering knuckle inner lip. Partially reinstalled 4 retaining bolts. Suspended knuckle of scrap blocks of (4x4) . Took another scrap of wood placed on top of retaining bolts and hit with 3-4 whacks with plastic dead blow hammer. Bearing came loose thereafter.

I have only had partial success with slide pulls. because sometimes they are overkill

 

The nuts are pretty soft. I do try to punch out the dent but, as was said, the hardened axle is way stronger than the nut. I don't use an impact wrench. I loosen it while the car is on the ground with a long breaker bar before I start. The nuts are cheap so I would not risk reusing one. Pretty sure that nut prevents the wheel bearing from ever coming apart. I always wonder about the rear bearings that are not held together with an axle.

 

Every manufacturer's manual I've ever seen has advised to use the brakes to lock the hub against rotation, then loosen the nut with a steady pull on a breaker bar (or, for mild-mannered me, often a breaker bar with a pipe over it). That's easiest if you have an accomplice to sit in the car and mash on the brake.

With an impact wrench, you could probably do without the accomplice, because of enough inertia in the hub and drive axle that the impacts could surprise the nut loose. What's not to like?

Well ...

How do you brinell a bearing? Repeated sharp impact loads are one way. Like from an impact wrench.

Now, in most cases, you're doing this because you're going to throw the old bearing away anyway. So no big deal. As long as you're not planning to use the impact gun to install the nut on your good new bearing. You'll use the torque wrench for that, and a nice steady pull.

On the other hand, you probably weren't planning to also replace the CV joint, which is built out of machined polished rolling elements like a bearing, and is also getting all that nice impact transmitted straight into it by the stub shaft.

Ironically, if you just had your accomplice in the car mashing the brakes, that might be holding the hub still enough to protect the CV joint from the impact wrench. But if you had the accomplice, you could just pull on a pipe and use no impact at all.

Conversely, if you're using the impact wrench so you can skip having somebody hold the brakes, then the impact is traveling straight to the CV joint.

 

There's a gizmo for restraining the hub, using a couple of pieces of flat bar:

 

Yes, since I am doing this work myself I frequently don't have someone to depress the brake pedal; hence use the impact wrench to loosen the nut. However, in his customary thorough and complete manner, Chap pointed out why this is not an optimal repair method.

Mendel provided a potential workaround if the tool shown in his sketch perfectly fits the two lug studs without play.

 

That looks a whole lot like a thing I've had since high school that they sold me at the local friendly auto parts store and just called a "flywheel holder".

Strangely, I've just been through fifteen pages of Google Images for "flywheel holder" and seen a plethora of different ways to build a flywheel holder (many of them for small magneto-y engines) but nothing like the one I've got.

It's fairly versatile. The joint between the two bars can freely pivot, so it'll hold pretty much anything that has a couple of bolts or studs or pins any reasonable distance apart. If you don't tell it the thing's not a flywheel, it won't ask.

 

If I ever have to change the hub, and it's stubborn, I possibly would consider the air hammer or chisel to persuade it out. That would be the bearing I'm going to throw away anyway, and the stub shaft to the CV joint should be removed from it by that stage of the proceedings.

At 24", you'll have to pull at least 80 lbf on the end of the handle to loosen a 160 ft-lbf nut (more if it has been sitting there for a while, and no longer considers itself a 160 ft-lbf nut).

But a nice length of pipe over that handle will make everything nice and civilized. (As long as you don't pull the car off the jackstands.)

 

I downloaded a video, a guy doing second gen bearing replacement, all hand tools. Unfortunately he doesn't have a logo in the video, and I can't find the YouTube link. I'm pretty sure he posted it on PriusChat, that's how I noticed it at one point. Anyway, He uses what looks to be a 24" breaker bar on the axle nut, and it looks to go pretty easy. It could be argued he pre-loosened it, but I don't think so. That leverage really helps.

Good video btw, maybe someone else can find it. The guy has a central European accent of some sort, it looks to be done in a shop parking lot, out in the sun, and there's a fair bit of wind and traffic noise.

 

Trust me, whatever's easy with 2' is twice as easy with 4'.

It also probably does depend somewhat on how long the nut has been there, and whether it still considers the factory torque spec to fairly depict its current disposition.

 

The axle nut comes off pretty easily with a breaker bar. If you loosen the nut while the car is on the ground the parking pawl is all you need to hold the wheel. With a breaker bar you don't really need any strength. You can always put the breaker bar on the nut so it is horizontal and sit on it. 170 foot pounds is not that much. I think my old Saab specified 400 for its axle nuts.
The only things I worry about when doing these is getting the bolts and nut off the ball joint if they are really rusted on, but that has not been a problem.

 

I suggest you consider replacing the ball joint with the broken rubber cover soon, as the grease will eventually leak out and cause the joint to fail.

Yes, it would be good to have the wheels aligned once you are done working on the front suspension. The camber and front toe in are both adjustable.

 

Any tips to get hub out if I don't have an impact gun?

 

The hubs can be swapped without removing the knuckle. Videos are available on YouTube. Use the AutoZone Loan a tool program to borrow a slide hammer kit. You may get lucky and it pops right out, or you may wear yourself out. Roll of the dice...........I wasn't very lucky and wore that slide hammer out, lol.

 

What part of the procedure is resisting you?

 

I watched someone on Tik-Tok use the weight of the vehicle and a floor jack and metal bars to do all kinds of front end work. You literally have a 1000 pound press with the weight of the car that can assist you if you know how to set it up right...

 

Thanks I've got the 4 bolts out, the drive shaft is out, just trying to get the hub out now. I've whacked it a few times, been using liquid wrench, and have a 24" breaker bar. I've got a piston jack and the prius jack so not very confident in trying to use car weight to move it.
I also don't have a tool rental space near buy. Not much rust so I didn't think it would be a problem.
I've no angle grinder to try and use a bolt to force it out. Just a hamer and some hand tools : )
Thanks for help