Front wheel hubs.

D

deadbugdug

Registered
Ah, the joys of owning a 225,000 car.....

This is what I do know: Front hubs cost $85 - $120 apiece, and are sealed units with bearings. Non-greasable.

When you get the dust covers off, there's no cotter pin like the "old" cars. There is, however, some kind of tin cover (keeper?) around the big nut to keep it from unscrewing itself as you drive (must be a special setup for the air suspension) (I'm kidding!).

Ok, so what I don't know is: How does this cover over the nut come off???? I did pry alittle on it, but thought I'd deferr to you's guys, the experts, and not dork up the whole sheebang.

It would be helpful to also know how big of a socket I'm going to need to get the nut off and torqued back on to 189-254 ft-lbs.

Thanks in advance......
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

After removing the plastic dust covers, use 36mm socket to remove that nut. No tin cover needs to come off ...
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

The nut is actually multiple pieces IIRC. It's a bunch of thin (1/16" ir so)nuts stacked on top of eachother.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

I couldn't actually get the outer cover off on mine.

If it's like the rear, it's just a one-time-use nut, and the "tin cover" is part of the nut.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

Hmmmmm... makes you wonder why a typical ny-lok nut was not used. It must be an cost or ease of assembly thing.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

Because Nylon melts when it gets hot? I'd think a nyloc nut wouldn't work so well when it heats up. Actually, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. ;)
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

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Because Nylon melts when it gets hot? I'd think a nyloc nut wouldn't work so well when it heats up. Actually, I'm pretty sure it doesn't. ;)
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You're probably right. If the wheel spindle and hub gets hot enough to melt the nylon in a nyloc nut then you're going to be replacing it anyways, 'cause you've got big problems! :+
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

Definetly a shade tree project. You need to use a new nut and torque to spec in order to get proper bearing loading.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
I'm gonna' go with no... :DBut for the sake of argument, does the new nut come with the new spindle?:7 -Jwww.ivotedblue.comwww.bradleyreport.net
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I think he meant that you can do it easily.

The hub usually comes off easier than the disc does.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

Got mine all done, with a $17 36mm six-point socket and a borrowed torque wrench....

If all Mk8's are the same, you need a 12mm socket to get the caliper off, a 15mm socket to get the caliper "anchor plate" (that's what Ford calls it) off, then the rotor just falls off. Work the dust cover off, 36mm socket to get the BFNut off, and off comes the hub, bub.

Reverse your process (keep track of which brake pad goes on which side of the rotor) and you're in.

And I must confess....I re-used my BFNut (which, BTW, is NOT included if you buy a new hub from Auto Zone), so I guess I'll need to get a new nut. @ least I won't have to take the brakes back off to change it......
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

The 36mm will come in handy more often that you'd expect.

Not sure if all marks are the same, but i've actually found that the caliper bolts on one side of my car are a different size from the other side. I think one side is 12 mm and the other side is 13 or 14 mm, but with the same thread. Maybe a previous owner stripped one and had to get new bolts or something.

You can tell where the brake pads go, usually, by looking at the wear pattern on the back. One side will have a circle worn in it, and the other side will have wear marks from the two tabs on the caliper.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

So where can I get a new 'nut'...?

Is it important to have a new one, or will the old be sufficient?

I'm still debating if I will do this myself, or just bring it to a mechanic...

I think I’ll have everything I need except the 36mm socket.

Thanks for all the good info!!!

:7 -J

www.ivotedblue.com
www.bradleyreport.net
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
So where can I get a new 'nut'...?Is it important to have a new one, or will the old be sufficient?I'm still debating if I will do this myself, or just bring it to a mechanic...I think I’ll have everything I need except the 36mm socket.Thanks for all the good info!!!:7 -Jwww.ivotedblue.comwww.bradleyreport.net
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I think the nut is a dealer item. I hear it's cheap, but I haven't confirmed. I used my old nut, but I'm having second thoughts....I used the old one because I had a front end alignment appointment I had to meet, and didn't have time to go to the dealer. I would suggest to err on the side of caution, so get the new nut. I probably will replace my old one, just to be sure.

P.S.
Maybe it was just me, but it seemed to me that the 36mm socket fit a bit loose. All the data I came across says 36mm, so that must be correct. It did torque just fine.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

If it's the same as the rear it's not a dealer item. i ordered the rear ones from murrays.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

[div class="dcquote"][strong]Quote[/strong]
If it's the same as the rear it's not a dealer item. i ordered the rear ones from murrays.
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FWIW, I ordered nuts for the rear of my '93 from Max @ FiveStarFord when I installed the 4.10s. I only used one. If someone needs it(and I can find it) it's yours for shipping if it's the same as the front.
 
RE: Front wheel hubs.

Ok, so I think I'm going to tackle this job myself... :eek:

Is there anything I should know about removing the caliper?

Also, now that I own a torque wrench, how much squeeze should the nut get when I put it back on? In the first post it looks like around 200lbs, but that seems like maybe a lot? But then again I don't know, so any help would be appreciated!

:7 -J

www.ivotedblue.com
www.bradleyreport.net
 
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