axle joint help

First time doing this, sounded like a pain, and now I'm finding out just how much. Got a claw puller - 2 ton - from autozone hoping to use that to pull the hub/carrier assembly. Well, the hub came off; how on earth does the rusted-to-the-backing-plate carrier come off. Yes, I removed all 3 bolts
By the way, when I do get it off, I'm going to need another one, because I've beat this one oblong.
Oh and it's an 87 MJ 4x4
Any hints/tricks/tips?

Thanks.

There may be a better way, but my methode is to use a few sacrificial bolts in the three bolt holes in the back and beat on them some. Soak the whole works in Break Free or something like it. Got to pound on the bolts with feeling, the hub is cast, cast doesn´t bend much, it breaks. On really bad ones, I´ve sharpened a chisel and used it to wedge between the brake backing plate the knuckle and the hub and pounded it on it some with a hammer, penetrating oil will start to migrate as you are pounding, so keep adding a few squirts every now and then. If you use the wedge methode, you have to change spots or it´s possible to jam things. Haven´t permanantly messed one up yet, but kind of held my breatha few times.
If you use a sharpened chisel as a wedge, be carefull what spots you use,don´t wedge over the bolt holes or between the hub, brake backing plate and air or your gonna seriously bend something. A few small dings can be cleaned up with a file and don´t really mean much.
When you put it back together, a good coat fo lithium grease, makes next time much easier.
Some of the other guys may have a better methode.
Another little tip (I learned the hard way) is to tie the brake piston up out of the way with a piece of wire, if you let it hang on the brake line, the line will/might crack.
I´ve never used a puller, have heard stories about guys pulling the hub apart.

It sounds from the initial description as if you've already pulled the hub apart. What exactly is off, and what still on? If the flange of the hub (with the wheel studs on it) is off, but the part that seats in the spindle is still on, then it's apart, and the sacrificial bolts are probably your best bet, because there isn't much else to grab onto. But be careful because if it's really rusted in, you could bend the sacrificial bolts in the holes or strip the threads. For the first pounding, screw them almost all the way in, and try for only a little bit of movement. Don't expect to hammer it out in one try. Use the heaviest hammer you can fit in there, and try to hit the heads straight on.

What you need to do is get any movement at all, no matter how small. Once you have broken the hub loose from the spindle, the rest is a matter of patience. What I usually do in this kind of situation is, as soon as I get a little movement, reverse it. Repeat this process, out and in, and each time you do it, it will move out a little more, until it's eventually free. This is also the best way to get rusty nuts and bolts off without shearing them. Be patient, and whether you use the bolts, or wedges, or both, try your best to keep it from coming out crooked. If you get it jammed crooked, hammer it back. If there's any separation at all, a cold chisel/wedge will finish the job if you're patient.

By the way, I did accidentally pull a hub apart with a slide hammer, but I caught it before it dropped into the dirt, and just added a little grease and put it back together. That was about a hundred thousand miles ago, and the hub is still smooth and tight at 221 thousand miles. If you have already pulled the hub apart by accident, it might be worthwhile to put it back together, along with axle shaft (nut on but not torqued), and try pulling it with a slide hammer.

Good stuff; thanks guys. Matt, the hub is apart at this point, after the puller unseated it from the carrier, so just the triangular carrier is left attached. The bearings and seals looked pretty beat, and after 160K I'm probably going to replace all of them, they were jangling around in there. Don't they need to be pressed in with an "arbor press?" (quoting the FSM).

I encountered the same problem when I did one of my front axles. Hub came completely apart by the end of the ordeal. What's weird is that I've read these are non-serviceable. Is this true? I took the hub parts and new races and bearings to a machine shop and they pressed everything in/out for me. Axle hub has been fine ever since. No problems with it.

When they say non-serviceable does that mean non-serviceable for Average Joes like me? Ot are they truly not meant to be tampered with and taken apart?

XJade I have a similar question at the end of this post.

Thanks to all those with good advice. I used sacrificial bolts - the originals - to get the one side off. I knew I needed a carrier already, and was going to have to go to the junkyard, so now I'll just pick up 3 bolts too. The other side - I was feeling lucky - came off ridiculously easy. I took out the 3 bolts, gave the hub a few taps with the 48oz hammer, and it slid right out, in one piece.

Couple of follow up questions:

In putting the hub back together that I pulled apart, should I take it to a machine shop to press new bearings in? One of the balls fell out of the bearing pack, and the grease is old and black in there. I don't know if I should just grease it up and put it back together, or put all new seals/bearings in. Ditto for the other side, which is still in one piece. The truck has 160K on it.

Also, in putting the axles back in, what sort of grease should I put on the splines/shaft? What is that silvery stuff on the outer shaft?

Thanks again, getting somewheres!

Now, to press out the ball joints! :O

MjTjNJ said:

XJade I have a similar question at the end of this post.

Thanks to all those with good advice. I used sacrificial bolts - the originals - to get the one side off. I knew I needed a carrier already, and was going to have to go to the junkyard, so now I'll just pick up 3 bolts too. The other side - I was feeling lucky - came off ridiculously easy. I took out the 3 bolts, gave the hub a few taps with the 48oz hammer, and it slid right out, in one piece.

Couple of follow up questions:

In putting the hub back together that I pulled apart, should I take it to a machine shop to press new bearings in? One of the balls fell out of the bearing pack, and the grease is old and black in there. I don't know if I should just grease it up and put it back together, or put all new seals/bearings in. Ditto for the other side, which is still in one piece. The truck has 160K on it.

Also, in putting the axles back in, what sort of grease should I put on the splines/shaft? What is that silvery stuff on the outer shaft?

Thanks again, getting somewheres!

Now, to press out the ball joints! :O

Click to expand...

If the bearings were already bad, you have the choice, now that it's apart, of trying to find the bearings and seals, and having a machine shop do it, or just buying a new hub assembly. When I accidentally pulled mine apart, I just kind of banged it back together with a lead hammer, then let the axle nut press it together the rest of the way, and it was fine, but this would not be sufficient if you're actually rebuilding it. If one of the bearings fell apart, I'd expect it to be toast, and wouldn't try just putting it back together. For the one that is still together, if it turns smoothly and has no play, keep it. They can last a long time, and since you've "sofetened up" the mounting, and will (of course) put it back nice and clean with anti-seize on the mating surfaces, it will be really easy to get out next time if you ever need to replace it.

I don't think the grease on the shaft is really critical. Any grease, or perhaps anti-seize, should be fine. The shaft does not slide in its splines when it's together, so the grease is only to keep it from rusting together. I always put a little clean grease on the part of the shaft that contacts the inner seals, too, just to help prevent damage when reinstalling, but make sure the greased part doesn't come in contact with the crud that lives at the end of the axle tube, or it might damage the (hard-to-replace!) inner seals.