Wheel bearing removal tip
Posted: April 19th, 2005, 2:33 pm
I've seen several posts about this, wanted to post a helpful hint...
Several people have had problems removing the wheel bearing locknut (as did I)... I've seen posts of people jumping on breaker bars, not safe and probably not good for the suspension.
Better idea, guaranteed to help in nearly all cases....
1. Soak with penetrating oil (JB works well), maybe apply twice over 1/2 hour period and let sit.
2. Use a large 1/2" drive minimum driver with a long (2ft) bar, or a breaker bar extension.
3. Try to remove by strength first, if that doesn't work...
4. Use a floor jack, much safer and more reliable than jumping or other methods....
- simply align the end of the wrench/bar so that it's a few inches above the ground (but angled down) when lifting in the upward direction.
- Place the floor jack under the end of the bar, and carefully apply pressure to the end until it is securely seated on the jack.
- Slowly and carefully jack the wrench "up", applying pressure to the bar (watch for slippage or lateral movement, back off and adjust as need be).
Using this technique takes all the "work" out of the equation, my rear locknuts lifted the suspension about 4" before finally snapping loose, and the breaker bar had about 1" of bend in it at the time (a bit scary, use a bigger bar than I used, safety goggles, and stand clear of possibly breakage). Impact wrench did nothing to these bolts, although that's worth a shot first (once I cracked them loose, I used the IW to remove them the rest of the way). Reinstall to 230ft/lbs (my torque wrench topped out at 150, but was rapidly increasing about 20ft/lb per 1/16 revolution, so I cranked it another maybe 3/16 rotation around (could feel it getting much stiffer, put my full body weight onto the end (230, coincidentally, but at about 1.5ft, so more than enough) and pinned the slot in with a chisel, good to go.
Unless your nuts are so tight they are strong enough to pickup the car itself, this should guarantee a good, easy removal. (I'd probably get a new axle assembly in that case).
Several people have had problems removing the wheel bearing locknut (as did I)... I've seen posts of people jumping on breaker bars, not safe and probably not good for the suspension.
Better idea, guaranteed to help in nearly all cases....
1. Soak with penetrating oil (JB works well), maybe apply twice over 1/2 hour period and let sit.
2. Use a large 1/2" drive minimum driver with a long (2ft) bar, or a breaker bar extension.
3. Try to remove by strength first, if that doesn't work...
4. Use a floor jack, much safer and more reliable than jumping or other methods....
- simply align the end of the wrench/bar so that it's a few inches above the ground (but angled down) when lifting in the upward direction.
- Place the floor jack under the end of the bar, and carefully apply pressure to the end until it is securely seated on the jack.
- Slowly and carefully jack the wrench "up", applying pressure to the bar (watch for slippage or lateral movement, back off and adjust as need be).
Using this technique takes all the "work" out of the equation, my rear locknuts lifted the suspension about 4" before finally snapping loose, and the breaker bar had about 1" of bend in it at the time (a bit scary, use a bigger bar than I used, safety goggles, and stand clear of possibly breakage). Impact wrench did nothing to these bolts, although that's worth a shot first (once I cracked them loose, I used the IW to remove them the rest of the way). Reinstall to 230ft/lbs (my torque wrench topped out at 150, but was rapidly increasing about 20ft/lb per 1/16 revolution, so I cranked it another maybe 3/16 rotation around (could feel it getting much stiffer, put my full body weight onto the end (230, coincidentally, but at about 1.5ft, so more than enough) and pinned the slot in with a chisel, good to go.
Unless your nuts are so tight they are strong enough to pickup the car itself, this should guarantee a good, easy removal. (I'd probably get a new axle assembly in that case).
THe boot on the other side is starting to crack 
Not only does this give you additional strength & torque.. but it also protects your breaker bar at its weakest points. Give it a shot if you have a chance.