The reversed rotor is a good method, along with loosening the hub bolts a couple turns and driving a few days like that if you have time. Thats why l save a few old front rotors; they're much heavier than rears to wail on
Thanks for demonstrating exactly why my 3 hour projects turn into 12 hour or several day long projects. Good to know I'm not the only one. Especially when working on older vehicles and everything is rust and corrosion.
That's because the ass holes lay down so much unneeded salt. They even do it when there is hardly any snow. it's ridiculous! that's why i dont buy a new vehicle.
Hit straight in on the hub instead of sideways ! 42 years of freeing stuck castings on railroad cars ,trust me ,it works .The old WW2 guys taught me that when I started on the railroad . When you hit straight in the equal & opposite reaction is outwards. I ve seen guys fighting to get handbrake wheels off of rail cars ,using pullers ,Air hammers ,torches etc .,without anything happening ! I walked up with a 6 lb hammer and smacked straight on on it twice ! It flew off the casting !
@@snatcher420 air hammers are amazing. The air hammer was the only thing that could un-seize the drive shaft from the transfer case to front diff on my Silverado. (Splines were seized in the transfer case....... grease in the boot long time gone)
If you are going to be a great mechanic, you must have the mindset to not quit; dont let the truck beat you. You have got to be creative too, and aggressively persistent; Like this guy. Its a great way to teach kids to not stop until its done. None of that is in any store bought manual. I wish I had UA-cam when I was young , and constantly repairing my old broken rides.
I so appreciate seeing even a professional with lots of special tools have trouble getting something loose. Sometimes the videos where things just fall right apart are very frustrating. Makes me think I'm doing something wrong.
1. With the axle nut and 3 hub bolts removed, bolt the wheel back on and lower the car enough to load the suspension. (Although a bearing this stuck will require the full weight of the vehicle). 2. So, leave the jack in place with an inch or two of space between the jack and the vehicle allowing it to drop just enough to separate the hub without harming the axle. 3. Now sit back and let gravity do the work for you! You only need the hub to move the slightest bit before removing the wheel and continuing where you left off. A couple good whacks with the hammer will now remove the hub as expected. *Sometimes they break free immediately and sometimes they sit over night overnight. Either way you will come back to find the car supported by the jack with the hub slightly broken free from the knuckle... every time!
The hammer is such a versatile tool. I use it for all kinds of jobs - like tuning carburetors, fitting windscreens, aligning body panels, resetting computers, fixing dashboard instruments etc. To save time one should always start with the biggest hammer first.
You have no idea how much joy it brought me watching someone else fight it. In Indiana hub bearings are always a nightmare. Something that should take a couple hours will hold you up ALLL DAY.
As a Metallurgist, you get 5 GOLD Stars for talking about dissimilar metal corrosion causing the frozen steel hub in an aluminum knuckle! Excellent video loaded with all the tricks for when things so south.
Been wanting to ask a metallurgist: is it possible to get the corrosion to break down using the saltwater/ electrical process with a sacrificial piece of metal? If so what kind. I'm looking at having to do this, and I really don't want to pay, but I'll get arrested for the words that come out of my mouth when I hit it with a sledge and it doesn't budge.
If Ford (I'm dealing with the exact same knuckle/wheel hub) had pressed in a steel sleeve into the aluminum knuckle for the wheel hub, we wouldn't have this fantastic video.
I know first hand how creating galvanic potential between 2 dissimilar metals in extreme conditions can be a bad idea. I work in processing plants and some companies try to save money by bolting stainless steel piping together with carbon steel bolts. The stainless gets impregnated with rust but it survives most times. Those poor bolts on the other hand. Lots of times you'll twist or snap a stud off before you ever get the threads to turn. Considering they hold the joint together and keep it from leaking, you'd think that's a poor way to save a bit of money. I have the same issue with my exhaust. Carbon steel welded directly to stainless. Just about more exhaust leaks out of the carbon steel sections than comes out of the tailpipes 🤦♂️
Had to pull the axles from a TJ Rubicon a few days ago. Never in my life have I hit ANY part of a vehicle THAT HARD and for that long. Hitting it on both sides of the hub with a 4lb sledge literally took me over half an hour. Towards the end of that half hour, I had to use caveman strength to hulk smash that thing off. I had to literally wind up like I was swinging a baseball bat to get it to move fractions of millimeters. I'm still amazed the hubs are strong enough to take those repeated hammer blows.
He does not have the proper tool to remove the stuck hub. Two years ago. I encountered the same thing, I did not even used the removal tool, just using a chisel and hammer, and take it out less than a minute.
@@RATEDRHUSTLAS it happens to the best of us. But it doesn't make you smile unless you do the hard one first 😋 you come prepared to fight with the second one and bam🦹♀️ one punch knock out like mike Tyson against glass joe!!!
I didn’t read all the comments but I’m doing the same job. I got the hub bearing out using a chisel around the hub and the steering knuckle. It worked. But I got stuck getting the hub off the axle spline. That’s why I turned to you guys. Every video I’ve seen the hub came right off the axle. Not mine i broke the bolts on a 3 jay 7 ton puller. Still at it.
Now this is the norm for my wheel bearing replacement at least as it applies to my Impala. I'm happy to see you had the same problem and I appreciate your patience, no cursing, throwing things, spitting on the car or floor :)
Banged on the hub until it was malformed, nope. Used heat, nope. Soaked ut with 1/2 can of PB blaster, nope. What ultimately worked was to attach an old rotor, bolted down which gave more area to hammer not to mention more leverage. One the hub was loose it still wouldnt release all the way. A combination of well placed air hammering + reinatalling the old rotor backwards gave me leverage to rock the hub back and forth until it released completely. The manufacturer could have soent $0.25 per hub to coat it with anti-sieze. This was a very helpful video
I really appreciate a realistic automotive repair that was a pain and all the different troubleshooting techniques that was used! I find using a few MF’s really helps getting a little more momentum out of the hammer! Thanks for that video and you calm demeanor on camera! I definitely would have to edit my footage for language! Great stuff!
I had the same problem. I spent 2 and a half hours, using everything from pullers to air hammers and made all kinds of contraptions to get that hub off (I even inadvertently separated the bearing from the hub itself.) I was ready to give up and figured I'd try to get at it from the backside by taking the knuckle off as a last ditch effort. I straddled it upside down over a few pieces of foot long 4x4s standing upright and after only a few hits with 16oz ball peen, sucker popped right out. I woke up hurting today (physically), but I feel pretty great (emotionally) rocking with that new hub in my car after all that work. This video came up in my recommended after and I can totally relate.
Thanks for an excellent video! Some people never learn (husbands that is). I'm in my eighties but try to fix my own car when i can. Great way to bond with the kids and grandkids! They love it when they find out that Grampa swears too! I'm here because I'm currently at the point of do I quit and take it to the garage on my 2011 SRX FWD rear axle bearing. The slide hammer with the towel is not working. I may try the chisel method mentioned in here but was trying to not have to disassemble the parking brake. Wish me luck and thanks to all who commented too!
+Mac B. Thank you! We love empowering our customers and showing how to perform DIY auto repairs with our high-quality auto parts. 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
@@1AAuto I returned my bearing and bought a used knuckle/hub bearing assy on ebay. Now waiting for a cool day to tackle the knuckle/hub bearing assembly removal and reinstallation. Sorry to see that you skipped over the details of doing that in your video. Any tricks I should know about?
Finally a real wheel bearing removal video, not where you unbolt it and it falls right off the knuckle. I live in Michigan and the salt/rust sucks, I'd rather be in Tennesee.
Just spent 4.5 hours trying to get mine off a 98 Jeep TJ to replace a U joint. Used everything to suggested. Finally got it off with a chisel to separate it slightly. One whole can of PB blaster and an entire can of small propane torch. Way too much work, but persistence pays off. Thanks for the video!
Normally that what 90% of the DIY people face 😂. Yeah, $150 12 ton hydraulic press from Harbor Freight is the solution. Me: Sure Honey, I can do it, watched lot of videos, it's easy . Me 2 days later: someone please shoot me. I will never do this again.
Thanks for filming a real life situation and following through with it! I thought this only happened to me! You're the best. I love how you smiled through the whole thing, cause everyone else would be cussing and in tears!😂
I've just freed my rear brake rotors off. I was very close to throwing the towel in and taking it to a repair garage. I put the wheels back on and undid each wheel bolt by about 1/4 turn. I then drove forward and backwards at about 3mph and yanked the handbrake on in each direction. I did this around 4 times. Jacked the car up and both discs are now loose against the hub ! I think this approach would work well with front discs and using the pedal brake. Just keep the speed very low and don't drive far.
Finally a video that shows the kind of luck I usually have when doing a similar job. Some videos make it seem so easy they almost remove it with their bare hands -no tools needed. Lol. This was a refreshing bit of reality. Thank you.
Wow! I have been a mechanic for a long long time and I've never seen this sort of nightmare. Lot's of excellent "pro-tips" on the best practical ways to get it off. It's frustrating though because I'm also a degreed Mechanical Engineer. That's why I went back to school was to understand why some designs were far superior. I could see it when working as a mechanic in my late teens and early 20s. Why is that car's alternator buried and this manufacturer has it out front, etc. So it's really sickening to see those two parts literally corrosion welded together because someone made a terrible design choice. Gee... do ya think the front hub will ever see any salt water!! Great instructional video.
Thanks for demonstrating how frustrating this job can be especially for those of us wrenching in the rust belt. Kudos on your tenacity! The one technique that I’ve had some luck with that you didn’t show involves sliding a couple of cold chisels between the hub an the knuckle and alternating blows with the biggest hammer you can find.
Personally trying to avoid that, as the aluminum surface will be marred easily from that. I did have more success with heating the knuckle rather than the bearing like he showed in the video though.
I congratulate you for your eternal optimism! I wish you had had that "hub buster" tool to try, but I doubt it would have worked either. Anyway, you convinced me to let my local shop tackle this job. At nearly 70 years old, life is too short to risk that kind of frustration. Cheers from the Salt Belt.
Well done, covered everything possible. One thing I found on a number of these impossible situations is soaking everything in a mixture of Acetone and Transmission fluid for at least a 24 hour period, re applying occasionally. An example is one unit i was working on FOR A WEEK would not budge. After soaking in the solution, i could remove it the next day, still not easy but it worked.
Excellent!!!! That was real-life. I've been having good luck by removing the knuckle, heating with a Mapp gas torch, then walking away until it completely cools. Each time I do that it moves out between 1/32 and 1/64 of an inch. I can pound it out after that. I discovered this by accident - I was heating it when my pager went off for an ambulance call. When I returned 4 hours later it had cooled and moved on its own, ever so slightly. That's all I needed!
The “through the stud hole” bolt press would have removed it. You need to use the largest diameter threaded rod available nearby (usually 3/4”). Comes in 2’ or 3’ lengths depending on the retailer. Buy a handful of nuts (3 or 4) and a coupling nut or two ( coupling nut are 2” long and internally threaded and used to join the rods). Thread two nuts onto the rod approximately 6” and 7” and cut the rod between them. Set the longer piece aside for future use- (the nut that is still on it will restore the thread when you remove it). Remove a stud like you did, put the coupling nut behind the wheel flange and thread the rod into it ( it may be necessary to cut the coupling nut down to fit) . Install one nut on the outside of the flange, then a washer, then tighten a nut on the outside trapping the washer between them. Install a third nut against the outside nut and wrench tighten them together. Now take your impact at highest torque setting and go to town. Just keep hammering it, it might take a few minutes, but it’ll come out. Don’t waste penetrating oil on it- it doesn’t penetrate that type of corrosion.
@@henrytoledo4103 water pump labor can get expensive depending on make and model, some older rigs buried their water pump and for a repair you have to take off everything from the radiator sheath to the pulleys, older Ford rangers are a 8 hour tear apart job, let alone replacing the part and putting back together
Excellently awesome. That was the right thing to do by using the press. Excellent and well done. Mine is stuck/seized not coming out and now that’s what I will do open it and take to the press/shop to set wheel baring free from Hub. Thanks for demonetizing this video. Stay blessed and praying for your good health and long life.
I've changed a lot of bolt on wheel bearings from Ford Expeditions to newer Subarus. They were all seized. I use a few skinny cold chisels as wedges between the knuckle and the bearing bolt flange. Start on one side then opposite side. Once it breaks free(makes a separation gap) I hammer the bolt flanges to rotate. Continue wedging until it pops free. I hesitate to use heat because of the abs sensor. Always works with a lot of work. You have to straighten the dust shield and clean up any scarring on the knuckle before installation. Always a fun time!
I feel your pain. I've done several hub bearings and none have been easy. Thanks for showing what it's really like, rather than all the videos that make it look easy. Excellent work!
On my Ram it was suggested to put a mounting bolt part way in the back, add a socket, then put a block of wood between the frame and socket. Start the truck and turn the wheel to use the power steering to push against the bolt. Pushed the hub loose and was able to work it out the rest of the way. Worked for both sides!
I too have faced this problems with more vehicles than I care to remember. I finally broke down and bought a $100 tool (at the time) called a hub buster. Basically it has a 3/4" plate of steel that bolts to the hub studs. Attached to the 3/4 steel plate is a roughly 1 foot long box beam that you hit with a sledge hammer. It puts a large moment arm force on the hub and breaks it free. Similar to the large pipe wrench but it's securely attached so all the energy goes into the hub.
I'm gonna tip my hat to 1A for this one, a demo like this is a brilliant summary. Today I'm welding a home made hub buster for future use. Even so, sometimes these are surprisingly hard. For people who wonder if they are up to the task, you always have the option to take the knuckle to a shop and ask them to press it out for you. And it is possible to buy junk yard knuckles in a worst case scenario. So even if things go terribly wrong, there is always a solution. Even professionals sometimes have difficulty, and if they do you can bet the customer will end up paying the bill.
Fortunately, I watched this video prior to doing a rear wheel bearing on a 2017 Subaru WRX. Had to remove the knuckle from the car. I beat on that hub bearing for a good 3 hrs. from the back side, not counting the time it was on the car. Was about to give up when it finally budged. Good old Pennsylvania rust. Total time was about 7 hrs. to do this job. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for your tips. As a novice I avoided heat but none of the other methods worked for me but you did give me a clue. Instead of a 'hub buster' I used a brake drum fitted in reverse and a hammer. That worked for me on a 12 years old Ford Focus MK2 (UK version with brake drums).
Get yourself a 2” drop receiver hitch that’s bent at a 90 with a 3/4 arbor hole.. put it to the hub assembly by putting it on one of the lug studs fastened with the lug nut use a couple heavy washers if necessary… then get yourself a sledge hammer and WHACK the hitch.. I’ve always struggled with hub assembly’s until I came up with this method since I haven’t had to hit it more that 3 times and it falls right off…
I had one stuck quite badly and finally went with some advice and used a large cold chisel between the hub and knuckle (which was steel). I had my doubts this would work but it did. I admit it probably wasn't as badly stuck as the one in the video, but certainly sledgehammers and slide hammers did not work. The chisel did.
Video was a life saver. Cutting studs and using 2 bolts to push off the knuckle intermittently with the brute force of a 12 lb hammer got it out. New hub fit like a glove. Thank you
I just went through the same thing yesterday. Snapped two 1/2 breaker bars. Put the propane torch on it for 7 minutes, candle wax, penetrating oil, then bought a 3/4 breaker bar with a 5 ft cheater and finally got it to pop loose. Good advice 👍🏻
Thanks much for the possible options to remove a frozen hub/bearing assembly. Looking for these types of hints on a Saturday night late, after working most of the day trying to get the assembly removed. I think I will be removing the arm tomorrow and trying to remove the hub/bearing assembly from the back side tomorrow. Still have a 2nd front assemble also to do...........
You missed the technique I would have used: Sell the frickin' car! 😆. Seriously, this was a great video showing the steady escalation of methods that can be used. To my mind, the design engineer who specified the dissimilar metals should be condemned to disassemble them for the next 10 years!
THANKS FOR THE GREAT VIDEO! I have a 13 year old PA driven Prius that had rusted on wheel bearings. I knocked the hub off one of the bearings trying to knock it off with a hammer. My neighbor who has worked on cars for 40 plus years came to the rescue. We put two bolts about halfway back into the wheel bearing mount. Then put a socket with an extension on it. The extension was positioned to the frame of the car as we turned the steering wheel this setup acted like a press. We went back and forth between the two bolts and using a dead blow to remove the stuck on wheel bearings. This worked very well and we had them out in about 30 minutes.
Thanks for the video. I just finished my 2004 Suburban left front bearing. Of course the hub was frozen badly and your video gave me some good ideas. I tried tapping on the partially loosened bolts, and that did not work and smacked the hub assembly a number of times with a hammer..no good. I was about the grind of the wheel bolts and insert the bolt/nut to put pressure outward on the assembly (as you showed in the video) but before I did I tried something else. I took a steel chisel, good size, about and inch wide, and put that chisel right on the frozen seam, then angled it toward the old hub assembly just a bit so as to not damage the face of the receiving side of where the new assembly would sit. I smacked that chisel a few times and slightly gapped the seam. Then some rust eater squirted in the gap and smacked it again. Did that at a few points around the wheel hub and the gap got wider and wider and finally it popped right off. There was a shield in that gap, the one you had to cut a bit and bend. That shield had only the smallest damage and I was able to reuse it with no problem. Hope this helps. Chris
THIS ALSO WORKED FOR ME AFTER 2 HOURS OF TRYING OTHER TECHNIQUES. GET A -SOLID- METAL WEDGE AND ALTERNATE BETWEEN THIS TECHNIQUE, BEATING WITH A FULL SIZE SLEDGE HAMMER, AND PB BLASTER AND IT WILL COME OFF!! SORRY MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK I HIT MY KEYBOARD WITH THE SLEDGE HAMMER
Just finished one on a Audi q5, same aluminum and steel corrosion. I appreciate your patience and experience. I ended up separating the hub and bearing in the process giving me better access to the seized bearing, i was able to rotate the bearing to break the corrosion. Hard job.
Great video! Too many how to videos show everything going smoothly but when I try to recreate it, there are always problems. There needs to be more videos of how to overcome problems. Just like this video. Again, great content thanks for the video!
Thanks for the ideas. The best idea, which ultimately freed my thoroughly rusted hub from the knuckle, was cutting off ALL the studs and using a bolt through front with nut on back side. Doing this with four of the studs I was getting thousands of pounds of pushing force and it broke free easily. I finished it with hammer only due to limitation of bolt length.
Full length wheel studs DO come out at 9 o'clock ! The long bolt & nut method along with a BFH worked on my Indiana driven 09' T & C with 130k on the clock.
I didn't read the 949 comments below... but while watching your red-hot torch on the IRON, I knew you were expanding the iron. Shouldn't you have heated the surrounding aluminum to expand, thus loosening its grip on the inner iron? I use this technique to heat cast iron brake calipers to loosen the softer brass frozen brake bleeder valve.
Ill tell you what i just did in the same situation. I used a dual piston caliper reset tool to press my bearing out of the knuckle. I put one side of the tool on the backside of the hub, and the other side against the knuckle. Cranked it until my my veins started to pop out and it started to pull out. I switched from side to side until it fell out. I went through almost every single stage you went through and had the same luck. Only I was definately less patient about it than you were in the video. Had it not been for the fact that it was a rear bearing and it had a wheel cylinder mounted to the hub, I probably would have taken it all out and just pressed it out with a hydrauloc press like you did. Because I couldn't remove the whole thing, it caused me to get creative though. It worked for me, and I hope it works for whoever else gets stuck in the same boat.
Thank you for an actual worst case scenario and the different processes to try this is by far the most informative video I have ever seen because I can almost promise you that if we ever tried to remove one it will be the same for us thank you again 😀.. please make more videos like this ..
I watch your videos often, and this was by far the best :-) I love how real it is. Some people don’t realize how insane it is sometimes to get out a wheel, bearing or other things that might be rusted.
+@joshuag2522 Thank you! We love empowering our customers and showing how to perform DIY auto repairs with our high-quality auto parts. 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
Excellent video man. It`s nice to see real world auto repair techniques. I stopped working on cars in 2000 because they were getting more and more out of control to repair. I don`t understand why auto makers are allowed to design this junk. It adds cost for everyone else. The owners and mechanics are footing the bill for these d class designs.
Thank-you for posting all the steps you took. Reassured me that parts can be this seized from corrosion after many years and salt… Ended up using a combination of techniques to get it off including using a bolt and nut through the brake bracket mount to apply pressure from behind and hitting it with an 8lb maul. What finally worked was a combination of these as well as using a metal wedge between the rotor and steering knuckle (my quick rotor replacement job turned into many hours as the rotor is mounted from behind the hub assembly on my truck…). I used one wedge at the top and one at bottom and evenly pounded them in with a maul until the hub popped out. Be sure to keep the axle nut on slightly to prevent the assembly from falling and ripping the abs cord although if you need a maul to get this out, I suspect you’ll need a new hub assembly anyways (as it’s pretty corroded) which comes with the abs sensor and wire.
Was that a Ford Hub? This is what my projects normally look like. Nice to see that I'm not the only one who struggles with these projects. F Salt on the road.
@@prestonwilliams985 This is what I am working on now, and stuck in the same place. I was doing great until this part. Great video. You gave me a few great ideas.
glad you showed the worse case scenario. We got some good tips prior to removing parts. I don't know why the factory doesn't apply anti seize. Seems like that would help. Of course, they don't care, and they really don't like seeing us do our own work. Like your channel.
You got more patience than I do. I would have just ordered the whole enchilada and been done with it. That sledge hammer would have went many other places in my temporary insanity. 😂
So I took an old rotor and kind of used it as a press with the lug nuts and put metal between the rotor and three points on the knuckle and then tighten the lug nuts down to pull out the bearing. Sockets work pretty good as spacers between the rotor and the knuckle surfaces.
I have run into issues removing hubs the last few times because they get rust-welded onto the knuckle. It's really not fun on the rear of the vehicle because the whole e-brake drum assembly is in the way and I hate taking that apart. But wasting hours of trying all the tricks has left me frustrated. Last time I ended up requiring 20 ton press and plenty of the torch. Right now I have our 2012 Subaru Impreza in my driveway on jack stands. Both rear bearings make noise. I can't even break the first one loose and the upper ball joint is seized in the knuckle. I broke the rubber seal on that ball joint trying to get it to separate. The ball joint seems unavailable as a press-in component so I bought another control arm with ball joint. When it gets here I am going to remove all of it with the control arm and the it to the press. What a pain. And if it won't press out, the whole knuckle assembly with a hub and backing plate is as low as $194 and I will be ready to just open my wallet at that point. There has to be a better way to design this system for easy maintenance. Whenever I put one in, I use anti-seize liberally inside the knuckle. I have no idea if that helps since the replacement hubs have lasted.
Gonna try the bolt method now I have 2 Malibu's and am on my 3rd bearing in the past month the first one came out no problem the second took a bit of persuasion and now the 3rd seems like it's welded on
Excellent video. True experience of what we deal with in old cars. I also tried putting hub close to ground and using an old tire jack to jack up hub with weight of car lifted about 1/4 inch off jack stands, then hammered, with no luck. Then tried wiggling steering wheel while weight of car on the jack under the hub (still only lifted 1/4 “ above jack stands), with no luck. Then used the old jack fully closed an wedged between hub and aluminum body and extended it which finally broke it loose. Sorry, but I don’t have all the air tools. Success, finally.
I have had success using two or three chisels as wedges between the spindle and the bearing. Scrape away as much of the corrosion as possible and then use penetrating oil around the perimeter. Most hubs I've worked on have bumps in the casting that you can use as fulcrum points to place the chisels at. Tap the chisels sideways at those places to wedge the hub out with minimal damage, rather than punching straight in.
That pipe wrench trick saved me. Tried it first with a 14" and a 10 pound sledge and that took quite a few hits. Tried it next time with a 24" and it came out in 3 hits. Using some channel locks to tighten down the pipe wrench drastically helped as well.
As soon as I saw aluminum knuckle I knew galvanic corrosion. Only chance was penetrative oil for about a week before. DO NOT TRY TO HEAT ALUMINUM! It goes from hot to melted faster than you can stop. New knuckle and hub bearing is the way to do the job. Even pressing out bearing will probably distort knuckle
Yup. Don't. If you think you have enough time, you don't. These professional mechanics can do it in a few hours. Average Joe with average tools, this job definitely takes 2 days.
Great job and great ideas, I ran into one just as bad once, I ended up putting a puller on it because the cv axle was rusted in the splines, I kept adding pressure and using a hammer, I would put pressure on and walk away for awhile and then keep hammering, a few hours later it let go, what a bugger, thanks for the great videos
A slide-hammer whipped by a twisted towl has worked for me every time on tough hub/bearings. It's not hard on your hands either. However, the race usually separates before the bearing comes out.
Excellent video. You showed many methods and great patience. I have been there many times. For those that have not, never assume that it will be a quick job. It is sometimes not. The tool helps but most people do not have access to one. Good penetrating fluid is key. Some are better than others. PBblaster is good. Spray the backside from the beginning. These hubs can be tough. Same goes for gimbal bearings on boats, only they are harder to get at.
I’m going through this exact problem right now with my Polaris Ranger. The RR hub is stuck on hard. I may end up having to take it to work and pressing it out. Thanks for all the tips and all your videos.
OMG great video. 2012 Ford Explorer with 179,000 miles. The Gilligan's Island of hub repair (three hour tour). Nothing worked, I mean nothing). Ended up having to take the knuckle and had to get it pressed out. Fortunately I have a friend who works in a municipal garage that service fire trucks and police cars. Mother of all bearing presses.
I'm about to do this exact job. I've been screwed every time I do this. I was just looking for pro tips. I feel a sense of relief and dread. Relief I'm not the only one with these problems, because nobody shows this side of the job, and dread knowing I'm about to go through it again.
Great job on this video. This was the prime example of why at my age, and just an occasional driveway mechanic with limited tools and no hoist, I leave this job up to the professionals. 😁 I don’t have the patience nor can I afford a torn rotator cuff. 😳
One method that I use is a large pipe wrench on the top and smacking that. The 2 foot pipe wrench gives good sheer and will usually break it loose. At least here in New York it works for me.
It’s like every time I tell my wife cot will only take me 30 min to replace X... and two hours later come in and say I can’t take the kids to school in the morning.
First time I did the front wheel bearing on my wife's Saturn vue I got the old one off and new one on just in time to pick up the kids. Beat the hell out of that old bearing with a sledge but it came off. Fast forward a couple of years and I had to do that same bearing again. Came off slightly easier than the last but it still had to get hit with the sledge.
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Olooopppooooooooopooooopopp
I Baught a 10 tone gear puller dude
I would have bought the knuckle with bearing as one
By m
The reversed rotor is a good method, along with loosening the hub bolts a couple turns and driving a few days like that if you have time. Thats why l save a few old front rotors; they're much heavier than rears to wail on
Thanks for demonstrating exactly why my 3 hour projects turn into 12 hour or several day long projects. Good to know I'm not the only one. Especially when working on older vehicles and everything is rust and corrosion.
You said it! My wife always says "I thought you knew how to do this."
"I do, it's the machine that's not cooperating!"
That's because the ass holes lay down so much unneeded salt. They even do it when there is hardly any snow. it's ridiculous! that's why i dont buy a new vehicle.
Story of my life!
@@Tomas.X LOL, that was my wife's reaction.
Hit straight in on the hub instead of sideways ! 42 years of freeing stuck castings on railroad cars ,trust me ,it works .The old WW2 guys taught me that when I started on the railroad . When you hit straight in the equal & opposite reaction is outwards. I ve seen guys fighting to get handbrake wheels off of rail cars ,using pullers ,Air hammers ,torches etc .,without anything happening ! I walked up with a 6 lb hammer and smacked straight on on it twice ! It flew off the casting !
Thanks to 1A Auto for sharing a worst-case scenario. Most videos show smooth sailing during the repairs.
I hand to find this 2 days before my parts get here. Time to head out and find an inexpensive air hammer and wrench. Just in case.
You're right. I'm doing one now and it's a bit**😤😡🤬
@@snatcher420 air hammers are amazing.
The air hammer was the only thing that could un-seize the drive shaft from the transfer case to front diff on my Silverado. (Splines were seized in the transfer case....... grease in the boot long time gone)
If you are going to be a great mechanic, you must have the mindset to not quit; dont let the truck beat you. You have got to be creative too, and aggressively persistent; Like this guy. Its a great way to teach kids to not stop until its done. None of that is in any store bought manual. I wish I had UA-cam when I was young , and constantly repairing my old broken rides.
You nailed it.Thats exactly how it is
I so appreciate seeing even a professional with lots of special tools have trouble getting something loose. Sometimes the videos where things just fall right apart are very frustrating. Makes me think I'm doing something wrong.
1. With the axle nut and 3 hub bolts removed, bolt the wheel back on and lower the car enough to load the suspension. (Although a bearing this stuck will require the full weight of the vehicle).
2. So, leave the jack in place with an inch or two of space between the jack and the vehicle allowing it to drop just enough to separate the hub without harming the axle.
3. Now sit back and let gravity do the work for you! You only need the hub to move the slightest bit before removing the wheel and continuing where you left off. A couple good whacks with the hammer will now remove the hub as expected.
*Sometimes they break free immediately and sometimes they sit over night overnight. Either way you will come back to find the car supported by the jack with the hub slightly broken free from the knuckle... every time!
Finally an accurate video of how often these kind of jobs go down if you're working on cars in a place where there's a lot of salt the snow.
The hammer is such a versatile tool. I use it for all kinds of jobs - like tuning carburetors, fitting windscreens, aligning body panels, resetting computers, fixing dashboard instruments etc. To save time one should always start with the biggest hammer first.
Didn’t swear once.
You have no idea how much joy it brought me watching someone else fight it. In Indiana hub bearings are always a nightmare. Something that should take a couple hours will hold you up ALLL DAY.
As a Metallurgist, you get 5 GOLD Stars for talking about dissimilar metal corrosion causing the frozen steel hub in an aluminum knuckle! Excellent video loaded with all the tricks for when things so south.
can you imagine how much a little dab of never seize at assembly would make our unappreciated miserable lives just a tad better.....
Do you think the compound used for aluminum wiring, to copper wiring would help prevent the oxidation? Add in addition to anti-seize?
Been wanting to ask a metallurgist: is it possible to get the corrosion to break down using the saltwater/ electrical process with a sacrificial piece of metal? If so what kind. I'm looking at having to do this, and I really don't want to pay, but I'll get arrested for the words that come out of my mouth when I hit it with a sledge and it doesn't budge.
If Ford (I'm dealing with the exact same knuckle/wheel hub) had pressed in a steel sleeve into the aluminum knuckle for the wheel hub, we wouldn't have this fantastic video.
I know first hand how creating galvanic potential between 2 dissimilar metals in extreme conditions can be a bad idea. I work in processing plants and some companies try to save money by bolting stainless steel piping together with carbon steel bolts. The stainless gets impregnated with rust but it survives most times. Those poor bolts on the other hand. Lots of times you'll twist or snap a stud off before you ever get the threads to turn. Considering they hold the joint together and keep it from leaking, you'd think that's a poor way to save a bit of money. I have the same issue with my exhaust. Carbon steel welded directly to stainless. Just about more exhaust leaks out of the carbon steel sections than comes out of the tailpipes 🤦♂️
Had to pull the axles from a TJ Rubicon a few days ago. Never in my life have I hit ANY part of a vehicle THAT HARD and for that long. Hitting it on both sides of the hub with a 4lb sledge literally took me over half an hour. Towards the end of that half hour, I had to use caveman strength to hulk smash that thing off. I had to literally wind up like I was swinging a baseball bat to get it to move fractions of millimeters. I'm still amazed the hubs are strong enough to take those repeated hammer blows.
That's something I would encounter when telling a friend "it's easy I've done many of them." 🤣😂
He does not have the proper tool to remove the stuck hub. Two years ago. I encountered the same thing, I did not even used the removal tool, just using a chisel and hammer, and take it out less than a minute.
Me today lol. Changed my friends drivers side Hub a month ago.. no problems. Passenger today. All day event
@@港多隨影 wasn't really stuck. You're obviously not a full time mechanic. Tell the truth... It was just your car 🚗
@@RATEDRHUSTLAS it happens to the best of us. But it doesn't make you smile unless you do the hard one first 😋 you come prepared to fight with the second one and bam🦹♀️ one punch knock out like mike Tyson against glass joe!!!
Frl
I didn’t read all the comments but I’m doing the same job. I got the hub bearing out using a chisel around the hub and the steering knuckle. It worked. But I got stuck getting the hub off the axle spline. That’s why I turned to you guys. Every video I’ve seen the hub came right off the axle. Not mine i broke the bolts on a 3 jay 7 ton puller. Still at it.
This guy is so polite, he could teach a mechanical shop class to a group of nuns!!!! Nice job man.
Yea I'd b cussing already lmfao 😂
Don't be diss'n nuns man, they can take some sh*t!
Yea i would cussing like a sailor cuz of that damn hub.
Didn't even cuss at the hub even 1 time! Out in my driveway, I'd have made a sailor take vows for priesthood!
I know, right? I would be inventing new curse words that whole time
Now this is the norm for my wheel bearing replacement at least as it applies to my Impala. I'm happy to see you had the same problem and I appreciate your patience, no cursing, throwing things, spitting on the car or floor :)
Banged on the hub until it was malformed, nope. Used heat, nope. Soaked ut with 1/2 can of PB blaster, nope. What ultimately worked was to attach an old rotor, bolted down which gave more area to hammer not to mention more leverage. One the hub was loose it still wouldnt release all the way. A combination of well placed air hammering + reinatalling the old rotor backwards gave me leverage to rock the hub back and forth until it released completely. The manufacturer could have soent $0.25 per hub to coat it with anti-sieze. This was a very helpful video
I really appreciate a realistic automotive repair that was a pain and all the different troubleshooting techniques that was used!
I find using a few MF’s really helps getting a little more momentum out of the hammer!
Thanks for that video and you calm demeanor on camera!
I definitely would have to edit my footage for language!
Great stuff!
I had the same problem. I spent 2 and a half hours, using everything from pullers to air hammers and made all kinds of contraptions to get that hub off (I even inadvertently separated the bearing from the hub itself.) I was ready to give up and figured I'd try to get at it from the backside by taking the knuckle off as a last ditch effort. I straddled it upside down over a few pieces of foot long 4x4s standing upright and after only a few hits with 16oz ball peen, sucker popped right out. I woke up hurting today (physically), but I feel pretty great (emotionally) rocking with that new hub in my car after all that work. This video came up in my recommended after and I can totally relate.
I found a great method 2 years ago.
1. Spray penetrating oil
2. Move away from the rust belt and work on rust free everything.
3. Hub falls out
Thanks for an excellent video! Some people never learn (husbands that is). I'm in my eighties but try to fix my own car when i can. Great way to bond with the kids and grandkids! They love it when they find out that Grampa swears too! I'm here because I'm currently at the point of do I quit and take it to the garage on my 2011 SRX FWD rear axle bearing. The slide hammer with the towel is not working. I may try the chisel method mentioned in here but was trying to not have to disassemble the parking brake. Wish me luck and thanks to all who commented too!
+Mac B. Thank you! We love empowering our customers and showing how to perform DIY auto repairs with our high-quality auto parts. 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
@@1AAuto I returned my bearing and bought a used knuckle/hub bearing assy on ebay. Now waiting for a cool day to tackle the knuckle/hub bearing assembly removal and reinstallation. Sorry to see that you skipped over the details of doing that in your video. Any tricks I should know about?
Finally a real wheel bearing removal video, not where you unbolt it and it falls right off the knuckle. I live in Michigan and the salt/rust sucks, I'd rather be in Tennesee.
Just spent 4.5 hours trying to get mine off a 98 Jeep TJ to replace a U joint. Used everything to suggested. Finally got it off with a chisel to separate it slightly. One whole can of PB blaster and an entire can of small propane torch. Way too much work, but persistence pays off. Thanks for the video!
That's a great honest video. All of us appreciate you showing that everything is not easy and even the pros get stuck
Normally that what 90% of the DIY people face 😂. Yeah, $150 12 ton hydraulic press from Harbor Freight is the solution.
Me: Sure Honey, I can do it, watched lot of videos, it's easy .
Me 2 days later: someone please shoot me. I will never do this again.
Facts
Well. Actually 80% of the work is dealing with rusted parts.
Dude...this is me
That was me a couple years ago with my wife’s impala ss
Oh Ahmad, that did make me laugh!! Gave up on doing this with my 2004 MR2 today. I'm just taking it to a garage. No skin left on my hands....
Thanks for filming a real life situation and following through with it! I thought this only happened to me! You're the best. I love how you smiled through the whole thing, cause everyone else would be cussing and in tears!😂
I've just freed my rear brake rotors off.
I was very close to throwing the towel in and taking it to a repair garage.
I put the wheels back on and undid each wheel bolt by about 1/4 turn. I then drove forward and backwards at about 3mph and yanked the handbrake on in each direction.
I did this around 4 times.
Jacked the car up and both discs are now loose against the hub !
I think this approach would work well with front discs and using the pedal brake.
Just keep the speed very low and don't drive far.
Finally a video that shows the kind of luck I usually have when doing a similar job.
Some videos make it seem so easy they almost remove it with their bare hands -no tools needed. Lol.
This was a refreshing bit of reality. Thank you.
Wow! I have been a mechanic for a long long time and I've never seen this sort of nightmare. Lot's of excellent "pro-tips" on the best practical ways to get it off. It's frustrating though because I'm also a degreed Mechanical Engineer. That's why I went back to school was to understand why some designs were far superior. I could see it when working as a mechanic in my late teens and early 20s. Why is that car's alternator buried and this manufacturer has it out front, etc. So it's really sickening to see those two parts literally corrosion welded together because someone made a terrible design choice. Gee... do ya think the front hub will ever see any salt water!! Great instructional video.
You remained calm throughout the whole process. Kudos to you. So frustrating
Thanks for demonstrating how frustrating this job can be especially for those of us wrenching in the rust belt. Kudos on your tenacity!
The one technique that I’ve had some luck with that you didn’t show involves sliding a couple of cold chisels between the hub an the knuckle and alternating blows with the biggest hammer you can find.
Personally trying to avoid that, as the aluminum surface will be marred easily from that. I did have more success with heating the knuckle rather than the bearing like he showed in the video though.
@@Sevalecan Exactly!!
Wisconsin here ,just done exactly that. It can be done with vehicles with aluminum knuckles, you just have to pay a little more attention.
Yes and yes , that one works, I seen a few fly off when you do that, this one in video was tough one😲👀
@@Sevalecan been at it for hours ima try your way, thank you for posting a real idea
I congratulate you for your eternal optimism! I wish you had had that "hub buster" tool to try, but I doubt it would have worked either. Anyway, you convinced me to let my local shop tackle this job. At nearly 70 years old, life is too short to risk that kind of frustration. Cheers from the Salt Belt.
Well done, covered everything possible. One thing I found on a number of these impossible situations is soaking everything in a mixture of Acetone and Transmission fluid for at least a 24 hour period, re applying occasionally. An example is one unit i was working on FOR A WEEK would not budge. After soaking in the solution, i could remove it the next day, still not easy but it worked.
Excellent!!!! That was real-life. I've been having good luck by removing the knuckle, heating with a Mapp gas torch, then walking away until it completely cools. Each time I do that it moves out between 1/32 and 1/64 of an inch. I can pound it out after that. I discovered this by accident - I was heating it when my pager went off for an ambulance call. When I returned 4 hours later it had cooled and moved on its own, ever so slightly. That's all I needed!
The “through the stud hole” bolt press would have removed it. You need to use the largest diameter threaded rod available nearby (usually 3/4”). Comes in 2’ or 3’ lengths depending on the retailer. Buy a handful of nuts (3 or 4) and a coupling nut or two ( coupling nut are 2” long and internally threaded and used to join the rods). Thread two nuts onto the rod approximately 6” and 7” and cut the rod between them. Set the longer piece aside for future use- (the nut that is still on it will restore the thread when you remove it). Remove a stud like you did, put the coupling nut behind the wheel flange and thread the rod into it ( it may be necessary to cut the coupling nut down to fit) . Install one nut on the outside of the flange, then a washer, then tighten a nut on the outside trapping the washer between them. Install a third nut against the outside nut and wrench tighten them together. Now take your impact at highest torque setting and go to town. Just keep hammering it, it might take a few minutes, but it’ll come out. Don’t waste penetrating oil on it- it doesn’t penetrate that type of corrosion.
I am a bit unclear on how this works. Could you send a picture of what it looks like assembled.
To deal with all that and not throw a hissy fit is a feat in and of itself. Awesome
Here u go that'll be 4000$ in labor and 80$ for the part
I charge by how dirty it gets.
@@jennifurzoe1302 So does Mr. Poopybutthole (although his definition of dirty may be different from yours).
@Mr. Poopybutthole don't forget lunch
My son needed a water pump and the dealer labor was $1,700 for a $40 part. Did it myself
@@henrytoledo4103 water pump labor can get expensive depending on make and model, some older rigs buried their water pump and for a repair you have to take off everything from the radiator sheath to the pulleys, older Ford rangers are a 8 hour tear apart job, let alone replacing the part and putting back together
Excellently awesome. That was the right thing to do by using the press. Excellent and well done. Mine is stuck/seized not coming out and now that’s what I will do open it and take to the press/shop to set wheel baring free from Hub. Thanks for demonetizing this video. Stay blessed and praying for your good health and long life.
I've changed a lot of bolt on wheel bearings from Ford Expeditions to newer Subarus. They were all seized. I use a few skinny cold chisels as wedges between the knuckle and the bearing bolt flange. Start on one side then opposite side. Once it breaks free(makes a separation gap) I hammer the bolt flanges to rotate. Continue wedging until it pops free. I hesitate to use heat because of the abs sensor. Always works with a lot of work. You have to straighten the dust shield and clean up any scarring on the knuckle before installation. Always a fun time!
No no. This guy says slide hammer first thing lol.
@@incredulousd9408 hahahahaha
Bunch of chisels continuously stacked is the way to go.
Did you hit hard or hard enough to loosen, I saw this and many that use huge hammers and go downtown
I feel your pain. I've done several hub bearings and none have been easy. Thanks for showing what it's really like, rather than all the videos that make it look easy. Excellent work!
On my Ram it was suggested to put a mounting bolt part way in the back, add a socket, then put a block of wood between the frame and socket. Start the truck and turn the wheel to use the power steering to push against the bolt. Pushed the hub loose and was able to work it out the rest of the way. Worked for both sides!
+Bill Trefts Thanks for the feedback!
I too have faced this problems with more vehicles than I care to remember. I finally broke down and bought a $100 tool (at the time) called a hub buster. Basically it has a 3/4" plate of steel that bolts to the hub studs. Attached to the 3/4 steel plate is a roughly 1 foot long box beam that you hit with a sledge hammer. It puts a large moment arm force on the hub and breaks it free. Similar to the large pipe wrench but it's securely attached so all the energy goes into the hub.
I'm gonna tip my hat to 1A for this one, a demo like this is a brilliant summary. Today I'm welding a home made hub buster for future use. Even so, sometimes these are surprisingly hard. For people who wonder if they are up to the task, you always have the option to take the knuckle to a shop and ask them to press it out for you. And it is possible to buy junk yard knuckles in a worst case scenario. So even if things go terribly wrong, there is always a solution. Even professionals sometimes have difficulty, and if they do you can bet the customer will end up paying the bill.
+spelunkerd Thanks for the feedback!
Fortunately, I watched this video prior to doing a rear wheel bearing on a 2017 Subaru WRX. Had to remove the knuckle from the car. I beat on that hub bearing for a good 3 hrs. from the back side, not counting the time it was on the car. Was about to give up when it finally budged. Good old Pennsylvania rust. Total time was about 7 hrs. to do this job. Thanks for the video!
Thank you for your tips. As a novice I avoided heat but none of the other methods worked for me but you did give me a clue. Instead of a 'hub buster' I used a brake drum fitted in reverse and a hammer. That worked for me on a 12 years old Ford Focus MK2 (UK version with brake drums).
Get yourself a 2” drop receiver hitch that’s bent at a 90 with a 3/4 arbor hole.. put it to the hub assembly by putting it on one of the lug studs fastened with the lug nut use a couple heavy washers if necessary… then get yourself a sledge hammer and WHACK the hitch.. I’ve always struggled with hub assembly’s until I came up with this method since I haven’t had to hit it more that 3 times and it falls right off…
I had one stuck quite badly and finally went with some advice and used a large cold chisel between the hub and knuckle (which was steel). I had my doubts this would work but it did. I admit it probably wasn't as badly stuck as the one in the video, but certainly sledgehammers and slide hammers did not work. The chisel did.
I'm going to show this video to my wife and explain this is why my projects take so long. LOL thanks for the validation.
Much respect for your many approaches and effort to reduce possible damage. There really is no replacement for the correct tool.
Two correct tools costing a grand to replace a $50 part
Video was a life saver. Cutting studs and using 2 bolts to push off the knuckle intermittently with the brute force of a 12 lb hammer got it out. New hub fit like a glove. Thank you
I just went through the same thing yesterday. Snapped two 1/2 breaker bars. Put the propane torch on it for 7 minutes, candle wax, penetrating oil, then bought a 3/4 breaker bar with a 5 ft cheater and finally got it to pop loose. Good advice 👍🏻
Thanks much for the possible options to remove a frozen hub/bearing assembly. Looking for these types of hints on a Saturday night late, after working most of the day trying to get the assembly removed. I think I will be removing the arm tomorrow and trying to remove the hub/bearing assembly from the back side tomorrow. Still have a 2nd front assemble also to do...........
You missed the technique I would have used: Sell the frickin' car! 😆. Seriously, this was a great video showing the steady escalation of methods that can be used. To my mind, the design engineer who specified the dissimilar metals should be condemned to disassemble them for the next 10 years!
THANKS FOR THE GREAT VIDEO! I have a 13 year old PA driven Prius that had rusted on wheel bearings. I knocked the hub off one of the bearings trying to knock it off with a hammer. My neighbor who has worked on cars for 40 plus years came to the rescue. We put two bolts about halfway back into the wheel bearing mount. Then put a socket with an extension on it. The extension was positioned to the frame of the car as we turned the steering wheel this setup acted like a press. We went back and forth between the two bolts and using a dead blow to remove the stuck on wheel bearings. This worked very well and we had them out in about 30 minutes.
Thanks for the video. I just finished my 2004 Suburban left front bearing. Of course the hub was frozen badly and your video gave me some good ideas. I tried tapping on the partially loosened bolts, and that did not work and smacked the hub assembly a number of times with a hammer..no good. I was about the grind of the wheel bolts and insert the bolt/nut to put pressure outward on the assembly (as you showed in the video) but before I did I tried something else. I took a steel chisel, good size, about and inch wide, and put that chisel right on the frozen seam, then angled it toward the old hub assembly just a bit so as to not damage the face of the receiving side of where the new assembly would sit. I smacked that chisel a few times and slightly gapped the seam. Then some rust eater squirted in the gap and smacked it again. Did that at a few points around the wheel hub and the gap got wider and wider and finally it popped right off. There was a shield in that gap, the one you had to cut a bit and bend. That shield had only the smallest damage and I was able to reuse it with no problem. Hope this helps.
Chris
THIS ALSO WORKED FOR ME AFTER 2 HOURS OF TRYING OTHER TECHNIQUES. GET A -SOLID- METAL WEDGE AND ALTERNATE BETWEEN THIS TECHNIQUE, BEATING WITH A FULL SIZE SLEDGE HAMMER, AND PB BLASTER AND IT WILL COME OFF!! SORRY MY CAPS LOCK IS STUCK I HIT MY KEYBOARD WITH THE SLEDGE HAMMER
Just finished one on a Audi q5, same aluminum and steel corrosion. I appreciate your patience and experience.
I ended up separating the hub and bearing in the process giving me better access to the seized bearing, i was able to rotate the bearing to break the corrosion.
Hard job.
+@donmahon4150 Thanks for checking us out! 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
Great video! Too many how to videos show everything going smoothly but when I try to recreate it, there are always problems. There needs to be more videos of how to overcome problems. Just like this video. Again, great content thanks for the video!
This is by far the best 1A Auto video I've seen so far
Thanks for the ideas. The best idea, which ultimately freed my thoroughly rusted hub from the knuckle, was cutting off ALL the studs and using a bolt through front with nut on back side. Doing this with four of the studs I was getting thousands of pounds of pushing force and it broke free easily. I finished it with hammer only due to limitation of bolt length.
+robpowers27 Thanks for checking us out! 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
That will be the tactic I may resort to instead of using grinders and popping bearing balls out. Those bearing balls work great in a wrist rocket!
Full length wheel studs DO come out at 9 o'clock ! The long bolt & nut method along with a BFH worked on my Indiana driven 09' T & C with 130k on the clock.
I didn't read the 949 comments below... but while watching your red-hot torch on the IRON, I knew you were expanding the iron. Shouldn't you have heated the surrounding aluminum to expand, thus loosening its grip on the inner iron?
I use this technique to heat cast iron brake calipers to loosen the softer brass frozen brake bleeder valve.
Ill tell you what i just did in the same situation. I used a dual piston caliper reset tool to press my bearing out of the knuckle. I put one side of the tool on the backside of the hub, and the other side against the knuckle. Cranked it until my my veins started to pop out and it started to pull out. I switched from side to side until it fell out. I went through almost every single stage you went through and had the same luck. Only I was definately less patient about it than you were in the video. Had it not been for the fact that it was a rear bearing and it had a wheel cylinder mounted to the hub, I probably would have taken it all out and just pressed it out with a hydrauloc press like you did. Because I couldn't remove the whole thing, it caused me to get creative though. It worked for me, and I hope it works for whoever else gets stuck in the same boat.
Thank you for an actual worst case scenario and the different processes to try this is by far the most informative video I have ever seen because I can almost promise you that if we ever tried to remove one it will be the same for us thank you again 😀.. please make more videos like this ..
+Tony Sin Thanks for the feedback, we're glad you liked it!
Wedge a socket in-between the bearing and suspension then turn the steering wheel pops it right off
I watch your videos often, and this was by far the best :-) I love how real it is. Some people don’t realize how insane it is sometimes to get out a wheel, bearing or other things that might be rusted.
+@joshuag2522 Thank you! We love empowering our customers and showing how to perform DIY auto repairs with our high-quality auto parts. 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
Excellent video man. It`s nice to see real world auto repair techniques. I stopped working on cars in 2000 because they were getting more and more out of control to repair. I don`t understand why auto makers are allowed to design this junk. It adds cost for everyone else. The owners and mechanics are footing the bill for these d class designs.
Thank-you for posting all the steps you took. Reassured me that parts can be this seized from corrosion after many years and salt… Ended up using a combination of techniques to get it off including using a bolt and nut through the brake bracket mount to apply pressure from behind and hitting it with an 8lb maul. What finally worked was a combination of these as well as using a metal wedge between the rotor and steering knuckle (my quick rotor replacement job turned into many hours as the rotor is mounted from behind the hub assembly on my truck…). I used one wedge at the top and one at bottom and evenly pounded them in with a maul until the hub popped out. Be sure to keep the axle nut on slightly to prevent the assembly from falling and ripping the abs cord although if you need a maul to get this out, I suspect you’ll need a new hub assembly anyways (as it’s pretty corroded) which comes with the abs sensor and wire.
Was that a Ford Hub? This is what my projects normally look like. Nice to see that I'm not the only one who struggles with these projects. F Salt on the road.
Rear ford Explorer
@@prestonwilliams985 This is what I am working on now, and stuck in the same place. I was doing great until this part. Great video. You gave me a few great ideas.
Watch "VEHCOR",he calls them exploders.
@@jennifurzoe1302 so do i ... lol
MUST BE GM
glad you showed the worse case scenario. We got some good tips prior to removing parts. I don't know why the factory doesn't apply anti seize. Seems like that would help. Of course, they don't care, and they really don't like seeing us do our own work. Like your channel.
You got more patience than I do. I would have just ordered the whole enchilada and been done with it. That sledge hammer would have went many other places in my temporary insanity. 😂
🤣😂
So I took an old rotor and kind of used it as a press with the lug nuts and put metal between the rotor and three points on the knuckle and then tighten the lug nuts down to pull out the bearing. Sockets work pretty good as spacers between the rotor and the knuckle surfaces.
“I’m just going to try a bigger hammer” yeah that’s me right now
I have run into issues removing hubs the last few times because they get rust-welded onto the knuckle. It's really not fun on the rear of the vehicle because the whole e-brake drum assembly is in the way and I hate taking that apart. But wasting hours of trying all the tricks has left me frustrated. Last time I ended up requiring 20 ton press and plenty of the torch.
Right now I have our 2012 Subaru Impreza in my driveway on jack stands. Both rear bearings make noise. I can't even break the first one loose and the upper ball joint is seized in the knuckle. I broke the rubber seal on that ball joint trying to get it to separate. The ball joint seems unavailable as a press-in component so I bought another control arm with ball joint. When it gets here I am going to remove all of it with the control arm and the it to the press. What a pain. And if it won't press out, the whole knuckle assembly with a hub and backing plate is as low as $194 and I will be ready to just open my wallet at that point.
There has to be a better way to design this system for easy maintenance. Whenever I put one in, I use anti-seize liberally inside the knuckle. I have no idea if that helps since the replacement hubs have lasted.
Gonna try the bolt method now I have 2 Malibu's and am on my 3rd bearing in the past month the first one came out no problem the second took a bit of persuasion and now the 3rd seems like it's welded on
Excellent video. True experience of what we deal with in old cars. I also tried putting hub close to ground and using an old tire jack to jack up hub with weight of car lifted about 1/4 inch off jack stands, then hammered, with no luck. Then tried wiggling steering wheel while weight of car on the jack under the hub (still only lifted 1/4 “ above jack stands), with no luck. Then used the old jack fully closed an wedged between hub and aluminum body and extended it which finally broke it loose. Sorry, but I don’t have all the air tools. Success, finally.
This would be me right before finding out there was 1 bolt left
Hahahaha this joke made my day.
I was thinking the same thing, I hope he removed all the nuts first :)
I have had success using two or three chisels as wedges between the spindle and the bearing. Scrape away as much of the corrosion as possible and then use penetrating oil around the perimeter. Most hubs I've worked on have bumps in the casting that you can use as fulcrum points to place the chisels at. Tap the chisels sideways at those places to wedge the hub out with minimal damage, rather than punching straight in.
Good job on a real life situation. Respect!
That pipe wrench trick saved me. Tried it first with a 14" and a 10 pound sledge and that took quite a few hits. Tried it next time with a 24" and it came out in 3 hits. Using some channel locks to tighten down the pipe wrench drastically helped as well.
normal day in the rust belt! Aluminum knuckles are always extra fun!
OMG ! Now I am terrified to try changing the bearing myself. Hopefully being a southern car I have a much easier time. That man is a saint !
That was a 2011 -2018 Explorer . Rear. They are a nightmare!
As soon as I saw aluminum knuckle I knew galvanic corrosion. Only chance was penetrative oil for about a week before. DO NOT TRY TO HEAT ALUMINUM! It goes from hot to melted faster than you can stop. New knuckle and hub bearing is the way to do the job. Even pressing out bearing will probably distort knuckle
This tells me never to start this job on a car I’m going to need the next day
Right on brother.
Yup. Don't. If you think you have enough time, you don't. These professional mechanics can do it in a few hours. Average Joe with average tools, this job definitely takes 2 days.
Great job and great ideas, I ran into one just as bad once, I ended up putting a puller on it because the cv axle was rusted in the splines, I kept adding pressure and using a hammer, I would put pressure on and walk away for awhile and then keep hammering, a few hours later it let go, what a bugger, thanks for the great videos
I ended up just like you pulling every single hair I had after doing that job 😎
😂
1A Auto has been most excellent so far with cost and help.. God Bless 1A Auto 🇺🇲👊
A slide-hammer whipped by a twisted towl has worked for me every time on tough hub/bearings. It's not hard on your hands either. However, the race usually separates before the bearing comes out.
Excellent video. You showed many methods and great patience. I have been there many times. For those that have not, never assume that it will be a quick job. It is sometimes not. The tool helps but most people do not have access to one. Good penetrating fluid is key. Some are better than others. PBblaster is good. Spray the backside from the beginning. These hubs can be tough. Same goes for gimbal bearings on boats, only they are harder to get at.
+Kevin Ogorman Thanks for checking us out! 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
Thanks for the video, but for some of us it seems a lot easier to just replace the knuckle so where do I find a replacement knuckle at this point?
HOLY COW!!!! I've never seen a hub that frozen! Good job getting it off.
Man! That looked like a nightmare -__-
I’m going through this exact problem right now with my Polaris Ranger. The RR hub is stuck on hard. I may end up having to take it to work and pressing it out. Thanks for all the tips and all your videos.
What great control, not one sweat word ;-)
Was totally expecting an explitive on the third or forth failed try.
Edited?
Yeah! I would have spend full half an hour cursing..
Swearing and tool throwing was removed in post production editing.
This was the easy side of the vehicle.
OMG great video. 2012 Ford Explorer with 179,000 miles. The Gilligan's Island of hub repair (three hour tour). Nothing worked, I mean nothing). Ended up having to take the knuckle and had to get it pressed out. Fortunately I have a friend who works in a municipal garage that service fire trucks and police cars. Mother of all bearing presses.
All I learned is that I’m screwed 🙃
🤣
I'm about to do this exact job. I've been screwed every time I do this. I was just looking for pro tips. I feel a sense of relief and dread. Relief I'm not the only one with these problems, because nobody shows this side of the job, and dread knowing I'm about to go through it again.
Great job on this video. This was the prime example of why at my age, and just an occasional driveway mechanic with limited tools and no hoist, I leave this job up to the professionals. 😁 I don’t have the patience nor can I afford a torn rotator cuff. 😳
+Bruce Campbell Thanks for checking us out! 1aau.to/m/Shop-1AAuto-c
One method that I use is a large pipe wrench on the top and smacking that. The 2 foot pipe wrench gives good sheer and will usually break it loose. At least here in New York it works for me.
It’s like every time I tell my wife cot will only take me 30 min to replace X... and two hours later come in and say I can’t take the kids to school in the morning.
Been there :-)
Me too
But eventually we get it done and smile all the way to pick the kids up from school. Plus a free emergency day off work to do it.
First time I did the front wheel bearing on my wife's Saturn vue I got the old one off and new one on just in time to pick up the kids. Beat the hell out of that old bearing with a sledge but it came off. Fast forward a couple of years and I had to do that same bearing again. Came off slightly easier than the last but it still had to get hit with the sledge.
That's why I never start a job on a Sunday.