Installing front wheel hub [IN PROGRESS] 5/25/06 6PM

[Langning]

I picked my new front wheel hub ordered from Rich today. First thing I arrived home is to jack up my car. Inserted a large screw driver onto the rotor at the caliper, used a 1/2-drive 36MM axle socket (BTW, $18 from Autozone) and a 20' breaker bar to remove the axle nut. Really not effort at all with the nut.

Next, I attempted to place the "axel puller 3.75/4.5" loaner-tool (from Autozone) on the studs... The axel puller (see picture) happens to be just a little smaller than the hub ring and the studs are not long enough to go thru the holes to secure it.

http://www.autozone.com/images/in_ou...zed/27037L.jpg

What should I use to push the axle in? Here are my options.
http://www.autozone.com/in_our_store..._universal.htm

The 3-jar puller is 2-ton and look awfully large. The 2-jar puller is 5-ton and probably better a better fit. I never use 2/3-jar puller before, what is the better one?

[Langning]

[8PM now]... Had supper and returned axle puller to Autozone and got both small 3-jar 2-ton and the larger 2-jar 5-ton universal puller...

Removed Caliper Bracket and rotor, the small puller barely clamped on the hub but I was able to push the axel out with it. Getting the 3 13mm hub bolts out were easy as well, I used a 4" extenstion and tilted the wheel a little to reach the top bolt. Everything is out now and I am ready to put the new hub on.

I am taking a break right now.

[Langning]

Just one question. The instruction I have is to orient the new hub so that ABS pigtail at the bottom. But based on the length of my old & new pigtail, it should be put at 2-o'clock position. Should it matter?

I think I can put them back before 9PM. I am taking tomorrow off and plus the long weekend, I will have plenty time to finish it.

[Langning]

Before 10PM, eveything was completed and the car was test-driven and no more noise from front. Subtracting out the time doing household chores and going to Autozone. The total time is less than 2 hours. Should I need to replace my other front wheel hub (and I bet it will be very soon) I can cut the time down to 1 hour.

I am too tired to type tonight. Next time anyone who want instruction on how to replace front wheel hub on Grand Prix. I can tell you down to detail on what size of tool(s)/socket(s) to use. Overall, if you are knowledgeable to replace rotors, you are 4 more bolts away from wheel hub. It is an easy job!!!

Personally I thank Rich (aka richtazz here) who sold me the ACDelco wheel hub and shipped it to me same day I called him...

[richtazz]

Glad it went well for you Langning, and it was my pleasure to help you out. You didn't mention if you used a torque wrench on everything during reassembly, but I assume you did. I've mentioned before that anyone capable of doing their own brakes can do a hub, it just takes a couple of tools that some don't have. It's nice to know A-Z has them available for loan for someone that doesn't want to buy a tool they may only use once.

[jwardl]

Originally Posted by Langning

Before 10PM, eveything was completed and the car was test-driven and no more noise from front. Subtracting out the time doing household chores and going to Autozone. The total time is less than 2 hours. Should I need to replace my other front wheel hub (and I bet it will be very soon) I can cut the time down to 1 hour.

I am too tired to type tonight. Next time anyone who want instruction on how to replace front wheel hub on Grand Prix. I can tell you down to detail on what size of tool(s)/socket(s) to use. Overall, if you are knowledgeable to replace rotors, you are 4 more bolts away from wheel hub. It is an easy job!!!

Personally I thank Rich (aka richtazz here) who sold me the ACDelco wheel hub and shipped it to me same day I called him...

Looks like I'll be needing to do this. I'll take your instructions. Hope you're still subscribed to this thread!

[wlkjr]

Originally Posted by jwardl

Looks like I'll be needing to do this. I'll take your instructions. Hope you're still subscribed to this thread!

Seems to be a common malady with these cars. There's plenty of threads detailing how to do it.

[Langning]

Originally Posted by jwardl

You did a post about a year ago regarding your GP hub replacement. Looks like I'll have to tackle this soon, so would appreciate your help. Never done a hun nefore, and my mech skills suck -- but I've done my own brakes and rotors a few times.


Thanks in advance.

Actually I did a front hub replacement for my 2001 GT 2-3 weeks ago. Pretty easy if you have all the right tools.

Special Tools:
36mm axle socket ($18 at Autozone)
2/5 ton 3-jar universal puller (loaner from Autozone)
1/2-drive 20" or longer breaker bar

Remove 5 lug nut caps.
Lossen 5 19mm lug nuts (with bad hub).
(Use 1/2-drive breaker bar w/19mm socket.)
Jack up your car and put on jack stand.
Remove 5 19mm lug nuts.
(Use 1/2-drive ratchet w/ 19mm socket.)
Remove tire/wheel; If stuck, sit down and kick it with your heel.
Put back 2 lug nuts.

Insert a long screw-driver into the rotor vane thru the caliper.
Use 1/2-drive breaker bar and 36mm axle socket to unscrew the axle nut.
Unbolt 2 15mm caliper bracket bolts.
(I used a 15" 1/2-drive breaker bar to break it loss and then switched to ratchet)
Carefully slip the caliper out and hang it on strut/spring.
(I used a metal wire and an extra plastic strap to secure it)
Remove remaing 2 lug nuts.
Remove Rotor.

Spray the hub/axle with plenty of PB Blaster.
Use 2/5 ton 3-jar universal puller to push the axle back.
(Take you time to adjust it so that the jars are on the hub ring and puller shaft in pointed at the center)
(I also grease the puller screw)
(I used a 13mm box wrench to turn the screw on the puller and my axle was pushed back slowly)
(Important! the axle won't come out completely)

Disconnect the ABS speed sensor.
Dislodge the clip of speed sensor from bracket.
Now use a 1/2-drive 13mm socket, 2-in and 4-inch extension to remove 3 13mm hub bolts.
(I used a 15-in breaker bar and all 3 bolts come loss easily)
(The top bolt you may need to tilt the steering wheel slight to give you the clearance)

Once the 3 13mm bolts are out. The old wheel hub should just fall off.
If not, give the puller a couple more turns.
With the old hub off the axle but holding on your hands, push the axle in with your thumbs and pull the ABS pigtail out of strut knutggle (?sp).
Use wire brush and rag to clean the area thoroughly to be free of rust and debris.
Clean the sheet metal bracket too.

Apply enough hi-temp wheel hub grease on the spline of new hub and axle.
Hold the black sheet metal braket.
Hold your new hub and insert the ABS pigtail thru the metal brakcet and strut knutggle.
Hand tight the 36mm axle hut to keep new hub from falling.
Use ratchet with entension to tighten (loosely) 3 13mm hub bolts
(Your hub should come with 3 new 13mm bolts)
Connect ABS pigtail.
Use a torque wrench to tighten the 3 13mm bolts to 100ft/lb (or whatever spec you get)

Put back rotor and use 2 lug nuts to secure it.
Take out 2 brake pads from Caliper.
Compress the caliper with 6-in C-Clamp.
Re-insert the 2 brake pads.
Pull caliper back and re-insert the 2 15mm caliper baracket bolts.

Insert your long screw driver into rotor vane thru caliper.
Use torque wrench with 36mm axle nut to tighten it to 150ft/lb.
Remove the 2 lug nuts.
Put tire/wheel back.
Put back 5 lug nuts and tighten them to 100ft/lb.

Lower your car.
Pump your brake pedal until it is tight.

You have done rotor/pad before and hub wheel is no more difficult. Pick a friday night or saturday morning to start your project so that you will have a full 2 days to tackle it. Ask a buddy and sometimes you will need an extra pair of hands. If you run into any problem, post back your problem and someone here will give you direction.

It is so simple after you do it once!!!

Good Luck!!!

[johnb232323]

Does it make a huge difference if you dont torque the bolts down and if so what could be the negative?

[richtazz]

Not torquing the bolts down to spec could be catastrophic. At best, it could lead to premature bearing failure. At worst, it could cause a wheel to fall off, causing an accident and/or severe damage to the car. The two most critical to torque properly are the CV axle nut and the wheel lug nuts. The Axle nut pre-loads the hub bearing, and if it's too loose, it will allow too much free play, causing the hub to get noisy. If it's too tight, it will cause excessive heat build up, and premature failure. The lug nuts hold not only the wheel on, but the brake rotor to the hub. If they are torqued unevenly, it will allow uneven expansion of the metal of the rotor, which will cause warpage and brake pulsation.

[johnb232323]

Thanks for the info. I did torque the axle nut 157 lb/ft. Is that the right torque? I did not torque the rear three bolts that hold the hub to the knuckle because I have a 1/2 inch head torque wrench and only had a 3/8 socket. Is that something I need to correct right away? Thanks for the info...

[richtazz]

As long as you tightened them down pretty tight, and used threadlock on the bolts, you should be fine.

[Langning]

I want to add that I recommend using 1/2-drive 6-pt sockets, extension & wrenches doing brake/hub jobs. With the smaller 3/8 ratchet's shorter handle, we tend to jerk it to make break loose the bolts. Often time, the socket would slip and ruin the bolt head. The 1/2-driven ratchet would have a longer handle and you don't need as much as force to achive the same torque... My 15-inch breaker bar so far hasn't failed me in all the brake/rotor/strut/hub jobs.

BTW, my longer breaker bar is only an 18-inch one (not 20-inch as I stated above) and I undid the axle nut with little effort.

I re-used my axle nut as it look new without any rust. I also did not put locktite on the axle nut because GM didn't appear to use any; maybe I should put locktite when I reassembled the axle nut. The 3 new 13mm bolts come with my GM/Delco hub have threadlocker pre-applied.

My 2/4-inch extensions are actually 3 and 6-inches long (I measured them). When undoing the 3 13mm bolts, having the right-length extensions are most critical (especially with the 13mm bolt on the side of tie-rod end). Too longer or too short, you simply can reach the bolts.

Also when everything is disassembled, clean all the part and mating surface as clean as possible. I used wire brush, rag and PB Blaster (yes I spray PB Blaster on metal as you would spray Windex on glass) to get the dirt/rust off. Don't forget to clean the back side of inner rotor if you have a rotor of 1 year or more...

Don't forget to buy a can of hi-temp wheel hub grease to use on axle spine...

[Niq]

I have a question about the replacement hubs. Do the new ones available correct the premature failure problem? Or are they same as the factory ones.

I guess what I am getting at is, are there replacement hubs out there that are able to last longer than 50k miles?

[Langning]

I don't know if you can determine how long a wheel hub would last. On the 3 other cars that my wife & I used to own -- a 94 Ford Taurus (140,000), 86 (130,000) & 96 (190,000 miles) Chevy Cavaliers, I never replaced any wheel hub... That was 190,000 miles on the 96 Cav before we gave the car away.

I think road condition played a big part causing my front hub to go bad. Stretch of I-495 in MA where I commute to work now has been paved with concrete (as an experiment for the MA highway system). What happened is during cold/ice winter, the concrete surface somehow cracked every 5-10 feet. Traveling on it at 70mph feel like going over speed bumps...

This is my first replacement wheel hub, sadly it is only 73,000 miles with my 01 Grand Prix; I got another GM/Delco wheel hub and I have every reason to believe that it will last longer than 50K miles.