MAC Posted June 11, 2006 Report Share Posted June 11, 2006 I just finished installing the new hub assembly. To begin, there was no way I was going to get the hub nut off as it was pretty much fused on. Not even a good dose of PB Blaster was able to break the bond enough to allow me to remove it with muscle power (though I was a bit cautious because I didn't want to go full out and end up wrenching my back). So I rested the end of the breaker bar on the tire jack with the breaker bar slightly less than parallel to the ground. This gave me the ability to apply tremendous torque to the nut. Eventually, the nut loosened, but only after enough torque was applied to cause the breaker bar to noticeably flex upward. I secured the breaker bar to the jack with a rubber strap in case there was a sudden release—I was not sure what to expect with all the torque being applied. It worked, and the nut came loose. Then came the hard part—getting the hub assembly off. There was no way I was going to be able to pull the hub off using my run of the mill gear puller. While I was able to get the gear puller on, the problem was the hub was fused to the knuckle. Even after applying a good dose of PB Blaster, propane heat, and several whacks with a small sledgehammer, the hub assembly still wouldn’t budge. So I disassembled my gear puller and shoved the screw through the large hole in the hub, which is used to remove the three hub bolts. I then placed the gear puller’s wing nut behind the hub flange. This allowed the bolt to be screwed directly against the knuckle itself and with the wing nut behind the flange I was able to apply direct pressure to the hub assembly. Instead of pulling the hub apart, I was pushing it apart. After rotating the screw/wing nut to each side of the hub it eventually came loose. The bond broke with a pop. I continued to move the screw/puller wing nut around until the hub was sufficiently out where I could tap it out with the sledge—it took quite a while and I continued to apply PB Blaster. However, with all the pressure being applied the hub eventually broke apart exposing the bearings. This was actually a gook thing because it provided the room needed to whack the hub with the sledgehammer. After getting it apart I cleaned the knuckle surface which was glazed with hardened rust and whatever else created the bond. I used PB Blaster and a small wire brush to clean the surfaces and installed the new hub, which was the easy part. Anyway, I'm happy its finished. The hub was in bad condition. I think I pretty much ran it into the ground. I doubt if it would have lasted another week since the bearing was dry and broke apart, and the metal showed signs of heat damage. This was a learning experience. If not for taking the gear puller apart I would not have been able to get the job done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeal1892 Posted June 11, 2006 Report Share Posted June 11, 2006 What a job ! half the job was just getting that nut of there! Michael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted June 11, 2006 Report Share Posted June 11, 2006 Glad you got it done. I have heard nightmares like this even at the dealer. I was hoping you would not have the same difficulty. I need to do mine tomorrow, will advise. I am sick and tired of the moan. How does she ride now? Good Job, Mike Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAC Posted June 11, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2006 Glad you got it done. I have heard nightmares like this even at the dealer. I was hoping you would not have the same difficulty. I need to do mine tomorrow, will advise. I am sick and tired of the moan. How does she ride now? Good Job, Mike I appreciate the good thought! I hope you don't run into any of the problems I did. I was out there 3 to 4 hours. I thought this was supposed to be an easy job. My mother used to say that I have patience of a saint; this was one occasion where my patience was tested. I knew I would get it done but I must say for a moment I paused and the thought crossed my mind that it might not get done today. I test drove it and everything is good. No more noise. To top it all off, I have a few extra bucks in my pocket since I didn't have to bring it to a stealership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dadillac Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 It reminds me of when I replaced the hubs on my Seville. The driver side went smooth, took about 45 minutes. The passenger side tested me to my last bit of patience. I got the three bolts out (my hub is installed a little different than yours), but couldn't get the axle shaft to seperate from the hub. It seemed welded to it. I had a very large gear puller, which when turning it, actually was boring itself into the end of the axle shaft. It took a good nights sleep, a ball peen hammer (thanks Ranger), and a large sledge hammer to get them seperated. After the seperation, it took about 20 minutes to finish it up. I spent at least 4-5 hours fighting with it. Just thought I would share. Don "Modern warriors saddle iron horses of chrome." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted June 12, 2006 Report Share Posted June 12, 2006 MAC, you see how things go? I did my RF hub today in about an hour! It was a cake walk.....When I removed the three hub bolts I had to hold the hub bearing so it wouldn't fall out, ! (I told you it was EASY, )... Needless to say, I was Lucky! I was thinking about you while I was doing it.... Here is a link to my final front end component.. See last page. The only thing I didnt replace was the lower control arm bushings, tie rods and links, but they were fine. http://caddyinfo.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=9357&st=60 Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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