RTH, hub flange loose but wont slide off, cone washers off, snap ring off...

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S

skshepherd

Joined
Jan 10, 2010
Threads
38
Messages
203
Location
New London, NH
Hi all,

My truck would not pass inspection due to loose passenger wheel/bearings. Every year my local shop has to tighten them. Anyway, having done this myself a long time ago I thought I'd revisit the writeups.

The cone washers came off no problem, snap ring is off. The hub is loose but it wont slide off past where the edge of the splines hold the snap ring in place. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance. I'm hoping to get the wheel tightened so I can go to work and get the truck passed tomorrow.
 
How hard do you pull on the hub? I wonder if the loose bearing may have worn a bit of a groove what will require some extra effort to get past? I assume you've removed both the nuts (2) and the washer with the little tang on it? Do you have the outer bearing out? Do you have the brake caliper removed so the hub/caliper can come off. Here's a thread from the FAQ that may help:

https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/front-bearing-replacement.35431/
 
Thanks for the reply,

I can't even get the hub part off the spline in order to get to the large nuts holding the bearings in. All the nuts and cone washers are off the flange, the dust cap and snap ring that goes around the spline is off. The flange is not stuck to the rotor but slides loosely up to the very end of the spline and stops. I've tried wiggling/turning things to see if that helps, if perhaps something isnt lined up but no dice. Very frustrating as I thought I would be home free once I got the cone washers off.
 
You're close. I'll bet there's a slight burr or ding on the splines at the end, maybe near the snap ring groove that's holding back the hub. Can you feel anything rough on the splines in that area? There's no clearance to speak of on the splines, so even a tiny nick can stop the hub. From where you are in the process, that should just slide off.
 
I'd try to push it back down the spline, slightly pull it back to where there is resistance and then apply an accelerating force around the hub to see if it will break loose.

Rubber mallets work good to start and move to chunks of wood plus a dead blow hammer if needed.

It's a little concerning that your bearings were that loose and were tightened instead of disassembly and re-pack. It will be interesting to see what you find in there.
 
Thanks for the help guys. A local shop had done them twice. I noticed a slight burr which I gently filed smooth. I ended up hammering a pry bar between the flange and rotor to get it started over that bit of silliness on the outside edge of the snap rung gap. Then pried by tailing the bar with the hammer. Lock nut and other nut were both hand tight. Star washer had bent tabs on it. The two nuts had gouges on them like the shop didn't have the 5 mm socket. It was like when you use a screw driver or chisel to turn a nut.

Anyway bearings were intact. So I tightened everything back per mud write ups.
Thanks for all the help. I just needed encouragement to put a little muscle to it. I think pressure was put up against the snap ring with flared or butted some of the splines on the end or the last mechanic nicked then up somehow.

Thanks again.!
 
First things...find another "mechanic" or diy.

Neither of the big nuts should be "finger tight".

Steve
 
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