08 x5 rear wheel hub assembly stuck

[Caleb1563]

Title says it, im trying to remove the old flange and bearing to replace but I can't get it off. It's stuck worse then an old man in a loveless marriage. I've soaked it in pb blaster for 2 days I don't think it's budged at all. Everything is disconnected (axle nut, bearing bolts, parking break) I'm using a 7 ton 3 jaw puller and it actually snapped a jaw. Am I missing something? Is this common? I've done hubs before and usually a few taps on the back from a hammer will do the trick or even on the axle itself, but nothing. Can I heat the old hub or will that ruin the axle by softening the splines? Should I just pull the axle all together? If I do will it all fit through the knuckle or will it get stuck and I'll have to cut/fight it? Any help is greatly appreciated!

[andrewwynn]

Uncommon but I've been three. Stripped the bolt on my slide hammer then bent the crap out of a bearing splitter.

So I built a special axle press out of an old front rotor and a 1" grade 8 bolt.

Pretension the bolt to about 230 ft·lb of memory serves: that was 25,000# didn't do shit. Then hit the end of the bolt adding 10-15,000# and it started moving. Toughest axle I ever got out without flame-wrench.

[andrewwynn]

My first stuck axle. I pounded for 90 minutes until the axle was mushroomed (was replacing anyhow). With this setup it was comically fast to remove. Not one minute.

Then I got the struck one described above. I shattered the rotor hat in three pieces at an estimated 25,000#.

When I rebuilt the press plate I cut it twice as thick and preloaded to about the same force (with math and a torque wrench). But this time I hit the bolt with a 5# hammer. That worked great. I had to hammer, torque, hammer, torque a few times before I could just ratchet the bolt.

The bolt is good for about 31T. The plate only 15T or so.

I'm using a bearing press plate inside the rotor hat plate. A large adjustable wrench and I used an impact gun the first time but it was much looser.

[andrewwynn]

The exploded press plate and making the new one


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[ard]

You guys must live where things rust.....

[andrewwynn]

That's awesome and they literally call it "the rust belt".


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[Caleb1563]

Thanks for the info. That looks like it would work, and I wish I could do it, unfortunately I'm 1000 miles from any of my tools so I wouldn't be able to do that unless I bought a whole bunch but then I don't even have a good shop here either. Will the axle slide through the knuckle? If it does I could just pull it all and replace the axle or take the old one in and have a shop separate it.

[ard]

Where are you?

[Caleb1563]

Tehachapi California, I'm from Denver Colorado

[andrewwynn]

To pull the hub you first must push the CV axle out. You can makeshift a push tool using things like pipe flange and 3/4" bolt. If you find the right size flange your can hold it to the hub with the lug bolts and washers.

Once the CV is out you can use a slide hammer rental to knock off the hub. (or some longer 14-1.5 bolts and a piece of scrap behind the hub to push against the knuckle but that will destroy the dust cover. (Which I usually replaced when doing getting bearings).