4wd Hub Replacement

[Schurkey]

If you need rotors, and a wheel sensor, (or two) it would be mighty tempting to buy new hub/bearing assemblies and some lug studs.

Put the new rotor on the new hub (some are sold with the sensor included) using the new lug studs, bolt the whole new assembly onto the cleaned-up knuckle with four new hub-to-knuckle bolts.

You still have the issue of getting those four original bolts out on each side, though.

 

[Schurkey]

Not directly related, but my cousin's husband just replaced a failed hub on his 2010 Avalanche K1500.

Most of the operation was the same as on a K1500 GMT400, except the three hub bolts go in from the back side instead of the rotor side. The bolts came out with damage to the heads from the impact-wrench and impact socket hammering on them. So new hub bolts needed on that vehicle, too.

The rotor was held to the hub with a single Torx-head screw. T27, I think, but not entirely sure.

There's no rubber seal between the steering knuckle and the outer CV joint. I was really surprised. They must have a lot of faith in the "sealed hub bearing" to not seal the CV joint/steering knuckle.

The hub that came out of his truck had NO roller elements left in it. The wheel flopped around like a wounded guppy. It had been noisy/grinding for about three days before it totally failed.

 

[Schurkey]

Again, working on a '97 K2500 7.4L 8600 GVW, 8-lug pickup.

Just finished popping eight lug studs out of my RF hub; with the intention of changing the RF brake rotor. As you know, the 8-lug GMT400 vehicles have the rotors "riveted" to the hubs with the lug studs. The hub has to come off to get the lug studs popped free; and the rotor is behind the hub flange much like some 8-lug rear drums are behind the hub flange on the rear axle.

I knew the rotor was scored, I did not know that it had already worn past the "Discard" thickness. The 8-lug rotor starts out at 1.260. The discard thickness varies depending on the source, what I found in an older manual is 30.88mm which is 1.215 inches--.045 thinner than new. Conventional wisdom is that you're allowed to machine the rotor to .030-under, which then allows another .015 wear before it's so worn as to be at it's limit. My rotor measured 1.195", so clearly it's days were over.

UNLIKE the other side, where I had a difficult time removing the four bolts that hold the hub to the steering knuckle, the hub on this side came right out with (relatively) no trouble and no drama. It did take a heap o' torque to rattle the bolts free.

The two things that were different were
1. I bought a "special tool", a very short 15mm swivel impact socket in 1/2" drive; Snap-On p/n RIPLM15C . This provides better clearance to the CV joint than the swivels I was using on the other side; and
2. I used the full 185 psi from my compressor, bypassing the pressure regulator. Therefore, the 3/4" impact wrench had better-than-rated power.

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Between these two changes, the bolts that came out didn't have ruined heads like on the other side. It's still telling that a regular 1/2" impact wouldn't take the bolts out, given that the assembly torque is only 133 ft/lbs. Because of having the "special" swivel impact socket that allowed me to work around the outer CV joint, I even managed to get the hub free without removing the steering knuckle from the vehicle.

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I did take the knuckle off in order to get the lower ball joint squeezed out, and the new one squeezed back in.The ball joint went out/in nicely; just like the other side. No photos 'cause they'd just be repeats from my earlier post in this thread. Just like last time, the steering knuckle was cleaned-up including the grease seal for the outer CV joint, which was lubed and re-used. Also, like last time, the CV shaft did not come "out", it just laid on the control arm, disconnected on both ends. MAYBE I could have left the CV shaft bolted to the differential flange--I don't know for sure; I didn't try it that way.

Separating the rotor from the hub, on the other hand, was a disaster. I did get all eight lug studs popped out of the hub, so that the rotor could be removed. However, it took every bit of my 20-ton press to do it. I'd pump up the hydraulic jack on the press, the whole press would kinda distort under the force, and then BANG! the lug stud would pop free. As the press sprang back to "normal", it'd jiggle the whole frame, and scare the crap out of me.

This repeated about five times, each time getting the hydraulics pumped up to near-capacity, and then releasing with a bang and the press-frame and the rotor/hub moving around. The next time, my hub/rotor/press plates got jiggled far-enough out-of-position (which I didn't notice) and when I got enough pressure on the assembly, it broke the rotor. Now, the rotor was garbage even before it broke, but I wasn't expecting to throw it away in two big pieces, with multiple cracks. This was my fault, I should have been watching my press-plates. I knew they were getting jostled.

Anyway, I re-positioned my press plates, and the rotor/hub assembly. Removed the remaining lug studs, each one letting go with the familiar "BANG!".

I had been considering trying to remove the lug studs with a 1-ton arbor press. No way in heck was that going to work.

The point of all this is: I'm gonna buy a new hub tomorrow. I'll put the new rotor on the new hub using new lug-studs. Replacing rotors on these hubs is just too much of a pain in the asp; the old hub seems to work just fine--but it does have 180K miles, and I do expect the pair to carry a bigass Vee-Plow for months at a time. I'd be REALLY angry if I'd gone to all the work of replacing a rotor on the hub, and then had the hub fail.

Also tomorrow, I'll install inner and outer tie rod ends on this side, and a new adjuster sleeve.

 

[Schurkey]

WORDS were uttered. Adult beverages consumed. Shiit did not go as planned. Yesterday was projected to be The Last Nice Day Before Winter, thus the push to get this crap d-o-n-e.

Which is why I bought a hub assembly locally rather than ordering one via The Internet. Too bad that didn't work out. I wound up poking new lug studs through the new rotor into the original hub assembly. I don't know how to feel about that. On the one hand, I saved $180. On the other...If that hub fails anytime soon, I'm gonna be peeved.

But first, Schurkey's Screwup. This is what happens when you put a hub/rotor assembly into a twenty-ton press and don't support it properly.

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But as you can see, there wasn't much left of this rotor anyway. The inboard braking surface had worn pretty thin. This is the broken piece of the rotor, on-end next to the rest of the rotor. The heads of the lug-studs visible in this photo and the one above, was just dropped into the holes in the rotor for safe-keeping on the way to the scrap-metal bin.

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The hub assembly that O'Reillys claims is a match for my '97, has the wrong ABS cable. I flew it back to O'Reillys on my temper.

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So instead, I crammed the rotor onto the original hub. I expected the new lug studs to go into the hub assembly much easier than the old ones came out. I was wrong. Had to squeeze 'em for all I was worth. I don't get it. Kinda wondering if my press is somehow messed-up, or something. It shouldn't be this difficult. But it was. I supported the hub on three "deep" impact sockets, with the loose studs hanging into the hollow sockets. Then I'd press those three studs using another impact socket as a spacer between press ram and the head of the stud. When the three studs were pressed, I'd move the sockets to the next group of three loose ones; and then the final two. The hub remained nicely supported against the force of the press.

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Since I've never done this before, I figured I'd better check the rotor (and hub flange) run-out. I haven't used this dial indicator system in years. Discovered that the foam these tools rest on in the little metal case had totally crumbled into dust. The tools themselves were OK other than some surface rust on the vice-grip and the flexy holder. Total Indicated Runout (TIR) was about 0.0015. I can live with that. In fact, I'm thrilled.

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CV shaft to hub nut torque is 165 ft/lbs.

My advice for "most" Do-It-Yourselfers is to either take this entire job to a professional; or to remove the old hub/rotor yourself, and put the thing in the scrap bin. Buy a new rotor, a new hub, the new lug-studs, and maybe the four new bolts that hold the hub to the steering knuckle, and have a pro squeeze the rotor and hub together for you to install.

Continued, at the limit for photos.

 

[Schurkey]

The Dorman lug studs are Made in USA; although you can't read that on the box due to the focus being set for the lug studs.

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As long as I had the front end up in the air and was dicking with the suspension, I decided to replace the tie rod ends on this side. The outer tie rod end is definitely worn, the inner wasn't so bad...but they were both replaced along with the adjuster sleeve. I figured it would be easier to get the toe correct--or closer to correct--if I could remove the entire tie rod assembly and match the length to the new parts before they were installed. Thus I bought a "MasterPro ES2004S" tie rod adjuster sleeve from O'Reillys that I wouldn't have normally replaced. The new sleeve is a cheap-junk approximation of a proper part, and NOT what is pictured on the O'Reilly's web site as of today. Very disappointed--thin steel, no provision for wrenching on it once it gets rusty; and no formed-in "flange" to hold the clamps in place. Yeah, it'll work, but it's not at all confidence inspiring, and if I were an alignment tech, I'd be mad as hell that junk like this produced. The SINGLE good thing I can say about it is that it's made in India instead of Communist China.

Because there's no way to put typical tie-rod adjuster tools on this disaster, I made sure that both tie rod ends were anti-seized where they thread inside the sleeve. Hopefully, that makes things easier to turn as the years go by.

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This truck is going to stagnate for awhile. Still needs the tie rods on the other side, the front brake cable and adjustment, and--hopefully--the Truetrac differential. But I gotta dick with relative's vehicles first. I haven't even test-abused it to see if I screwed-up the ABS cable while doing all this work.

 

[454cid]

I too put a new rotor on an old hub.... had to do it twice because the runout was too great. It was fine after I recleaned the surfaces.

I used a hammer instead of a press for the studs. I simply put a sacrificial lug nut on the end to protect the stud. I also used some washers, grease and a lugnut to pull them back in, but it does eat up the washers and nut. I've also gotten them started with a hammer from the back. I finish the job when I put the wheel back on, carefully torquing them. It's not ideal, but thankfully it's not an often done job.

For some reason the ABS wire with the metal brackets is not as common. I'm not sure what vehicle used the plastic. When I bought a new hub for the passenger side, I carefully removed the plastic and rubber pieces, and transferred the metal brackets to it. I was able to open up the metal bracket and close it well enough that it was not obviously bent up.

 

[missouritig]

Any thoughts on inexpensive hubs for a 2000 k3500? I have always used Timken in the past and they are the best. I have used autozone / duralast which seemed like OK budget but that was over 10-12 years ago and supply chains have changed.

This is a "farm truck" and will not be used overall as the family trucker.

 

[Caman96]

These are on RockAuto Closeout ($49.79)currently. I can’t vouch for the personally.

More Information for WJB / INMOTION PARTS WA515048

www.rockauto.com

Although this one is even cheaper.

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[xXxPARAGONxXx]

I bought Timken for mine (K2500) through Rock Auto. The Timkens come with new wheel studs.

 

[454cid]

I bought Timken for mine (K2500) through Rock Auto. The Timkens come with new wheel studs.

6 or 8 lugs? When I bought new 8-lug Timkens from Autozone in 2007 (It think), they came with studs. When I've looked them up on Rockauto they always say they don't. New studs are nice.

When I had to replace a hub last time, I didn't have a lot of spare $$$ so I bought a Advance Auto house brand.