Removing Front Hubs Question

[Xtreme2Pathfinder]

Okay Guys & Gals,

This is the first time for me, I need to repack the front wheel bearing and have never done it on a 4 wheel drive front end! Service manual -study- was no big help on tools needed beside a screw driver and lug wrench. I have heard that there is a special socket that is need to remove the nut that hold the hub on. If so what size is it.. Tool man is coming tomorrow to work, I want to make sure that I can get it if needed. Also is there anything that I should be concerned with other than looking for worn bearing\races and seals? I have done plenty of front brake job just not on a 4x4..

 

One reason that Im doing this is because it probably needs it, 85,000 plus miles and I'm not sure when the last time it was repacked (I got it with 76,000 miles). I'm also going up to Chicago in three weeks (150 miles one way) to pick up my brother and his family and back down to the farm to hunt (110 miles one way) so I don't need the front end failing on me. Plus I have been hearing a couple of weird noises from around that area. One sounds like the pads Squealling while going forward but very faint then tonight while I was backing out of the driveway with the wheel turned, I heard it a little louder grinding noise. Its wasn't the normal noise that you get when hitting the stops. So I figure that I would start there and go inward? any insight, could be the shocks going back too the squeaks when I brake or hit a bump sounds like my pathy just needs a WD40 bath :allclean: to quite the squeaks and squeals! or I could just turn up the stereo to drown out all of the bad noises!

 

 

Thanks for the help,

 

lm

[94extreme]

could be the shocks going back too the squeaks when I brake or hit a bump sounds like my pathy just needs a WD40 bath

 

not really following you there but if it's mysterious squeak that seems untraceble it maybe be your ball joint. those were exact symptoms on one of my cars.. the ball joint actually sheared off one day... if you press on the hood area and it does the squeak check that. if the ball joinst have no grease fittings and have not been repacked then i bet you're due... pretty simple job... upper is cheap. lower way more...

 

some of the other questions can be answered if you look just a bit lower in this forum...

 

also use the search engine to look for cv axles and rotors... related disassembly info...

 

as to repacking itself... i normally put a chunk of grease in the palm of my hand and then press the bearing into the greae till the grease comes out the ends, rotating to another spot when finished. i tend to shove more grease from the end too. then smear a bit on the races and place the bearing in...

[Xtreme2Pathfinder]

mzxtreme,

Thanks for the insight on the ball joints. it just dawn on me that the last time I had the oil changed (1000 miles ago)on the pathy they didn't grease the front end and I didn't get around to it but was planning on greasing the front end before leaving on my trip. Well the squealing was more a grinding noise and I tracked down to the front brake pads so I'll look at the pads to see what wrong with the new pads.

As for the comment:

could be the shocks going back too the squeaks when I brake or hit a bump sounds like my pathy just needs a WD40 bath

Okay that didn't make sense to me either. I guess that I should have looked over my post a little better. it should have read: could be the shocks going bad too because it squeaks when I brake or hit a bump, sounds like my pathy just needs a WD40 bath

 

I figure that some of the squeaking noise that I get when hitting bumps was coming from worn out shocks.. You should see these things, they look pretty shot but don't look like they are leaking and seem to be pretty stiff. I think they are the original shocks.

 

Thanks again for the heads up on the tow straps.. Just in time for winter and it looks like 2" of snow for Thanksgiving. but we'll probably only get a dusting, if that.

 

lm

[Xtreme2Pathfinder]

Well I found the problem with the noises in the front end... It wasn't the ball joints but went ahead and greased the front end... It was the brake pads on the driver's side, the inside pads was shot but the outer one still looked brand new. I did a brake job on it this spring but didn't turn the rotors because the rotor didn't look that bad or didn't feel like they were warped. After inspecting the rotor on the driver's side this thing looked nasty, on the rotor's inner brake pad contact surface you could see that half of the rotor looked pitted (not grooved like the rest of the rotor) and very rusty and the outside surface had one single line going across the surface that was pitted and rusty.. I know that this rotor wasn't this bad when I did the brake job back in the spring but its now shot. I don't think that I can get this thing turned. That's okay, I have a brand new set sitting on the shelve just waiting to go on(got them this spring just in case and never got around to returning them to NAPA). I have pictures of the rotors and pads.. I will post them tomorrow sometime for you all to look at. I think that I can sucker my night foreman into replacing the rotors for me. I tried the get the allen bolts loose on the outer cover and bend the allen wrench end. even after letting the WD40 soak in (probably should have used ROST OFF (by Wurth) or break away).. Plus I think that he has the right socket for the job or knows someone that does. After this is done I will tackle the rear brakes. Didn't get a chance to look at them tonight but they probably need to be replaced too.

I need to grab a 45 or 90 degree grease zerk from work to grease the center link on the driver's side that is near the frame. Why didn't they put this Zerk on the bottom of the joint?

 

Sorry for my terrible writing, I don't know what is going on with me... I think that I have sniffed too much diesel fumes at work and it has killed too many of my brain cells. but thanks for dealing with me.

 

lm

[94extreme]

I tried the get the allen bolts loose on the outer cover and bend the allen wrench end. even after letting the WD40 soak in (probably should have used ROST OFF (by Wurth) or break away).. Plus I think that he has the right socket for the job or knows someone that does.

 

 

BFH... but gently... these bolts sometimes snap and then you have another mess on your hands... PB Blaster...