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Removing rear hub (Axle stuck)

14K views 32 replies 11 participants last post by  TomatoSoup 
#1 ·
I am in the process of attempting to remove the rear hub assemblies to replace the wheel studs with some ARP studs. I was able to get the front hubs done pretty easily but am running into issues on the rear of the car. Long story short; I cannot get the hub to come off the axle.

The first thing attempted was to just push the axle through by hand, followed by a rubber mallet. Neither of these worked so I picked up a puller from Autozone. All this did was indent itself in the tip of the axle as it was tightened. I have searched this forum and others for tips and suggestions on how to get the axle free but have not come up with anything.

Anybody have any tips for the Solstice? How hard should it be to get the axle to come free?

I have only attempted the passenger's side so far. And yes, the axle nut has been removed.
 
#2 · (Edited)
there are 3 bolts from the back; I can't post a pick; pm me your email and I'll send it to you that way
 
#6 ·
Here's a pic pf the end of the axle. One "watch out" I came across was the wheel speed sensor rubbing on the back of the spindle. Once the hub bolts are loose the hub comes out just enough to catch this and start rubbing the connection. Fortunatley, I noticed this before any damage was done but it is something to be aware of for anyone else doing the work.

 
#7 ·
Facing the same problem myself.
Havn't found a puller to get the hub off the axle.
I need to replace the bearing hub under the lug hub because I have a bad ABS wheel sensor, and it's part of the bearing hub.
(sensor is integurl with the bearing hub)

Thx

Jeffers
 
#8 ·
The assy corrodes and sticks to the upright. Autozone has a rent a tool combo puller and slide hammer. Use the puller to break the splines loose from the hub, then the slide hammer to yank the hub assy out of the upright, Not easy but it works. Then clean up the opening in the upright so the new one slides easily in.
 
#9 ·
For me there's no problem sliding the bearing hub out of the upright (that's loose)
It's getting the splinded axle out of the bearing hub.
Today I rented a hub puller and slide hammer.
OEM brand 27037 hub puller won't fit over the flange in the center of the wheel lugs.
OEM brand 27037 hub puller is the same one both O'Rileys and Autozone rents.
Also tried a air hammer in the center of the axle with no effect.

(Need to replace bearing hub for bad ABS sensor)

~Jeffers
 
#10 ·
Sorry, I said Autozone. I got mine from Advance and it was a tight fit but I did get it over the flange. After putting pressure on the large bolt, a couple whacks w/ a large hammer did it. Be careful not to drive the half shaft into the diff.
 
#14 ·
I came across this thread looking for something else, here is my experience with stuck hubs in case someone is trying to do this, as I removed 4 stuck Solstice hubs front and rear:

Rear Hub replacement (after you remove brake caliper and rotor):

1) Remove the axle nut, it's a 36mm nut, I'm sure you can rent these from the auto parts store. My trusty Snap-on impact with a 30 gal compressor removed it no problem (high quality impact gun makes a big difference with crap air supply, got to pulse the trigger though)
2) You screw the axle nut back onto the shaft so the end of the nut is flush with the end of the axle shaft threads (this is to protect the threads for the next step
3) With your steel headed heavy BFH large hammer, beat the axle in until it just moves, stop beating it in. You don't want to bind the CV, so make sure you don't keep beating it in after you initially break it loose
4) Remove the three 15mm bolts holding the hub in
5) With a flat chisel and chisel holder (or vise grip), use your BFH at each ear of the hub. You're prying it between the metal hub and the brake shield. You must equally move around chiseling the 3 ears of the hub, if one ear moves a hair go to the next ear.

*As the hub comes out, beat on the axle nut again to push the splines through a little more. So you're alternating between chiseling the hub off and beating the axle inward.

*Grind / file down the damage from chiseling if you're re-installing the hub

Front hub removal
1) Same thing as rear, except you don't have to deal with the axle.

The axle nuts are 1-time use, I think the P/N is 10289657 as this is what I was initially searching for
 
#16 ·
Are you referring to a puller that uses a screw to jack it out or a slide hammer? I am not sure where a the screw type would react against with these hubs.

I most certainly tried the slide hammer puller tool, with a 2ft section of strap on the weighted part. With the strap method you can get in some serious slams.

I think the problem is corrosion between the steel and the aluminum knuckle.
 
#17 ·
I am talking about using a screw-type puller to get the hub off of the half-shaft. I have had no issue whatsoever getting a hub out of an upright, so I haven't had to use anything for that part of the operation. If I did, I would dismount the upright from the a-arms and press the hub out before I would use a chisel to drive it out.
 
#18 ·
Taking the knuckle off completely and doing it on a bench is probably the text book way to remove stuck hubs.

"ain't no body got time for dat" =P

I don't think slamming the hub bearings with a slide hammer is any better than using a flat chisel to wedge between the hub and the knuckle either. My only concern wedging the hub off like I did was deforming the hub bolt ears, all the hub bolts went in completely by hand, so this indicates to me that wedging on the weakest portion of the hub did not even deform it.
 
#19 ·
Right. No time to do it right, but plenty of time to fix the damage caused by doing it the other way.
We have techs that think that way for a while. Then they either change or leave.

I would never use a slide hammer - or any impact tool - on a bearing that I was planning to re-use.
If the bearing is scrap anyway the slide hammer isn't going to hurt it, and at least avoids damage to the upright.

I am certain that your method is perfectly adequate, and it seems to work well for you. I'm just not going to use it.
 
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#20 ·
Removal tool

Use this and it's off in 30 seconds. Not sure why you would use a chisel and a hammer and potentially damage a $400 part? :surprise:

Also, there is a very sensitive speed sensor in behind that hub (if you have ABS that is).

Tile


Auto part
 
#21 · (Edited)
Use this and it's off in 30 seconds. Not sure why you would use a chisel and a hammer and potentially damage a $400 part? :surprise:

Also, there is a very sensitive speed sensor in behind that hub (if you have ABS that is).

View attachment 59929

View attachment 59937
Can you please help show me I am an idiot so I can learn something here:

How is that puller deployed? Where does the screw jack touch and what does the horseshoe part touch?

GENERIC PICTURE FOUND ON GOOGLE Back side Front Knuckle:


GENERIC PICTURE FOUND ON GOOGLE Front side hub:
 
#22 ·
The puller is used to separate the rear hub from the driveshaft.
If the hub won't slide out of the upright, and can't be pried out, the procedure may depend on what you are trying to save.
First choice, if you have one, would be a press.
Second choice, again if you have one, would be a large puller plus a block to span the hole in the hub.
If the hub is bad, my next choice would be to drive it out of the upright from the back.
If the hub is good and I was planning to re-use it I wouldn't have to worry about it, because a good hub wouldn't be that badly rusted.

No one has called you an idiot, only disagreed with your technique. If what you do works for you, no one else's opinion about it should matter.
 
#25 · (Edited)
For everyone reading this, please note that JohnWR and GXP-Coupe1 both did not call me an idiot, hint that I was an idiot, or indicate I'm an idiot. JohnWR and GXP-Coupe1 have nothing to do with my comment about an idiot. I called myself an idiot because I jumped to the conclusion that I missed something completely. They, being gentlemen, made after remarks to ensure they let me know they didn't call me an idiot, which is 100% true.


GXP-Coupe1 reply included an image of a removed hub and an image of a puller tool, so I jumped to the conclusion that he removed the hub from the knuckle with that puller tool. I still do not understand how that puller tool pulled the hub off the knuckle; so this feeling of not understanding indicates to me I am ignorant, so I felt okay with calling myself an idiot.

JohnWR pointed out there are better ways to remove a stuck hub from the knuckle that has minimal risk. I agree 1,000,000% with his suggestion IF I were to service another person's vehicle that is not my property. There is a huge massive difference in the way I do stuff for customers versus the way I do stuff for myself. For my personal vehicle, I will use my own discretion and experience on how to deal with challenges, it is of my opinion that the cave man method will work and I fully understand the risks involved and I also access how will I affect other's around me. I used my judgement and determined I am not risking anyone's safety, the chances of a hub breaking off because i smacked it with a hammer is unlikely, again it's my opinion based on my experience and knowledge.

GXP-Coupe1, I believe, has pointed out that you should use a puller tool to press out the AXLE shaft from the hub.



There are two elements we're discussing here:

1) Removing the AXLE SHAFT from the HUB

Service method 1: As GXP-Couple1 explained above, use the puller tool to press out the axle

Service method 2: Ghetto slam hammer the end of the axle with the axle nut sitting flush at the end of the axle threads to protect the threads explained in Steelmesh post from 6-13-2016

2) Removing the HUB from the KNUCKLE

Service method 1: Use slide hammer to pull out, DO NOT REUSE HUB

Service method 2: Create custom tooling to press out the hub on the vehicle, see JohnWR post above

Service method 3: Use a hammer and wedge/chisel, from Steelmesh post from 6-13-2016



Sketch of Steelmesh CAVE MAN method to remove stuck hub (Michigan Car):

I have extensive hands on experience and took extra care to ensure the hub was wedged off as evenly as possible. This method is likely "stretching" the knuckle hub bore (probably not permanent deformation). I have experience working at a company called Hayes-Lemmerz and worked as a suspension fatigue test technician. I kept test up by replacing broken knuckles, control arms and fixtures in the test facility, where we used large servo hydraulic cylinders (MTS) to stress the living crap out of these parts.
 
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