gray420

Problem solved. See post 13 for pics and info...


So I just bought a 91 4Runner, 3.0 V6/5speed/ADD hubs knowing it needed brake work. Brakes went out completely on the ride home. After assuring my girlfriend it wouldn't be another pile sitting in the driveway, I set out to do a front brake job. Calipers came off easy and pistons moved freely. Passenger side rotor was the worst I had ever seen. Outboard pad had zero lining left and the outboard rotor surface was paper thin. When it took the caliper off, the rotor separated at the hub. Talk about neglect. Anyways I searched the forums, PB blasted the cone washers for three days, and got to work.

I got NOTHING. I have tried every method, from just banging away, to the brass drift, to a screwdriver in the slot. PB blasted some more and let it sit overnight. Not one of the 12 cone washers has moved even a little bit. So at this point I'm starting to wonder what other options I have. Any one out there have any thoughts???

81redbluffyota

I just put the nuts on the top of em, and smack em with a hammer hard on top, all the way around in cirlce pattern tilll they start popping free, shud work. Gotta hit em quite hard, make sure u have the nut on top so u dont mess up threads. ALSO, I have found that handles from smaller jacks, will slide over the studs perfect, and the little notch that is in the handle that use to loosen jack, will sit right on the stud, this is a good tool to smack to use to free them up. Hope this helps

Birdbrain

When you said banging away, im assume you did the factory manual solution of using a brass bar on the stud and hitting that firmly with the hammer?

iamsuperbleeder

I always used an old cheap 3/8 drive extension, placing the mail end that the socket would go on onto the stud, and hitting the female open end with a hammer

if takes some good wacks, don't be afraid to hammer on it, but obviously be careful not to damage the threads of the studs

tried4x2signN

Is there a c-clip behind the dust cap on the drive flange?

gray420

Thanks 81redbluff, I'll give it a try.

Birdbrain - I have hit the studs with the brass bar and the hub above and in between the studs per advice on this board and elsewhere. Any new ideas? As i said, the level of neglect on routine maintenance from the PO is astonishing. I'm assuming everything on this truck will be 2x as expensive and take 2x the time.

gray420

No luck so far by putting the nuts back on, but I'll keep trying.

tried4x2 - These are ADD hubs, so just a bolt under the dustcap until I get the cone washers off.

Thanks for the input everyone. I'll give it another day or two, then it goes to the shop.

tried4x2signN

Right, ok. Just making sure there wasn't something else holding the flange on, making knocking it off harder...

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

I've taken off hundreds of cone washers. Kroil works really well, better than PB Blaster.

Soak em a bit like you've done then get to work with the brass drift and a 3 lb sledge. Hit the brass drift all around the wheel hub and the manual hub until something pops loose. Once one gets loose keep working around the wheel hub and manual hub. There is no reason to damage anything.

:wabbit2:

tried4x2signN

Waskilly, do you have a hard time getting Kroil?

Oh, and Diesel guys swear by this stuff... They say it's the shizz-niss for high torqued, froze on injectors...

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

Some local yocal place keeps Kroil in stock.

:wabbit2:

wyoming9

iTrader: (1)

Yes Kroil works great the first time getting them out can be a real pain.

I have resorted to using a air hammer around the outside of the hub with a rounded bit to not cut anything once the first one pops loose the rest may be easier .Sadly not always the fact.

Putting them back in Never Seize is your friend.

gray420

AS you may know I have been banging on my hub for several days with zero progress. As a result of replies here I did some reading on Kroil and found that a bunch of people that used it were airplane techs. A buddy of mine is an airplane tech, so I called him to see where I could get the stuff. He told me he didn't know and offered to come by and take a look (This guy is a mechanical genius - built a chopper from scratch like 10 years ago). Anyways, he gets here and notices two threaded holes in the hub face. I'm not sure if they are specific to the ADD hubs or not, but I hadn't even noticed them. We went and got two bolts (m6 or m8 1.0 pitch 1.5") not sure on the bolt exactly because I didn't think it would work.

Pic of the hub - notice two threaded holes on opposite sides of each other in hub face


We threaded the bolts into the holes and advanced them a few turns on each side



The claw of a hammer braced against the wheel studs works well to hold the hub in place - especially if you're on your own.



We continued to turn the bolts a few times on each side and the hub face slowly started to come away.



This is easier and faster than any other method I've seen. Hopefully the manual hub guys have the same threaded holes in the hub face. I had a tough time getting one of the bolts out, but only had to put it in a vice with a block of wood on either side to be able to loosen it with a breaker bar. Hope this makes the job easier for the next guy...
Special thanks to Seanessy for figuring this one out.

waskillywabbit

iTrader: (-1)

So you were having problems getting the drive flange off or the cone washers or both? Drive flanges have those threaded holes for just that reason but you stated you couldn't get the cone washers off was the problem? Did I have an Alzheimers moment?

:wabbit2:

gray420

I couldn't get the cone washers out. This method pulled the hub face away. The cone washers don't need to be removed (only two popped out anyways). No damage to threads, no banging on the hub, no wasted time searching for tools and solvents.

blake.nemitz

if you hit the flange right on the edge perpendicular to the stud right next to it on the edge of the flange, the metal squeezes the cone out, i did this on my sas when i prepped the axle and the cones had so muck rust on them i thought i was screwed. once you find the right method its cake work

xxxtreme22r

having used this method, although it works, it does tend to nick/scratch up, dent etc etc the hub. which I am not too fond of, although my truck looks like hell anyway.

tried4x2signN

It aint pretty, but it works.

And since the cones center themselves and are basically a shim to the stud, the torque evenly distributes around them. In my view this is what both makes Blake's method doable, and why AISIN hubs are so strong...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but other hubs just bolt on...

The cone washers on AISINs basically make the flange and hub as strong as one piece...

I wouldn't worry about any dings or dents. The cones will just push them out. (well, anything in reason. I'm not advocating using a 20lb sledge on them)

And if you don't have any never-seize or anti-seize reassemble it with grease.

Thelast83inNJ

Bob Ross rocks.

gray420

Thanks - everyone should dig happy little trees.

Update - right side is back together and lookin sharp with a new caliper too. I'm getting to know the guys at Advanced pretty good. Downside to this is I saw all of the suspension work I'll have to do sometime in the future. Definitely tie rod ends...