bxhunt Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Has anybody got any tips for removing the rear hub nuts please? I have tried the brake on technique but they are so tight that I have broken the wrench - certainly well over 200 lb/ft and I don't want to have to resort to the angle grinder! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Depending on the age of your car first thing on the LHS is to remember that it has left hand thread. This does as far as I know not apply to the most recent cars and I have no clue when it changed.There may be something about having different colour "nylon" in the nyloc nuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADMALC Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 You really need a breaker bar to avoid damaging ratchet mechanisms. You may also need a longer tube to go over the bar, start with the off side as that is deffo anticlockwise to undo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rj Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 An impact wrench is your best friend :-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HJF Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 It’s a while since I last did this but I recall I used my Britool breaker bar, eighteen inches long, 1/2” drive, with an adapter to a 3/4” drive hex, not bi-hexagon, impact grade socket. Supported the hub on an axle stand. Stopped it turning with a one metre or so steel bar bought from B&Q hardware section. Fixed bar to hub having drilled two holes in it spaced to fit over two of the wheel studs, other end resting on the floor. As mentioned above you must ensure you respect the handedness of the nuts. I remember that I expected it to be tricky and half expected I might snap the adapter at the torque level required but in practice it was no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxhunt Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 Thanks all.It was the 1/2" breaker bar I broke! Now purchased a 3/4" breaker bar 27" long. I had tried the steel bar trick to stop it turning but mine was too short - all it did was lift the car - so now I'll get a longer one. Good idea to support the hub. I had checked and the L/H side is definitely a left hand thread.Once again, thanks for the ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADMALC Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 You need to go 180 degrees round with the breaker bar so you are pushing down towards the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elie boone Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 A good impact wrench is all you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesG Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 I used a 24" breaker bar to crack my nuts loose, with the car in gear, handbrake applied, and a block of wood acting against the tyre, came undone no problem. My 1/2" torque wrench is only 20" long (approx), but tightens to the correct 270nm with ease. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drumster Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Pretty similar to the above except chocks front and back of rear wheel and in gear. With the Caterham 8-spoke wheels if you remove the centre cap there is room for the 41mm socket to fit through the wheel so the nuts can be loosened whilst the car is on the ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Nick Chan Posted March 16, 2019 Area Representative Share Posted March 16, 2019 As Chris suggests above for the wheels and using the foot brake, it’s no problem with a breaker bar. Otherwise see if you can borrow a wheel nut gun. The impact motion managed to do mine whilst the car was on axle stands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxhunt Posted March 17, 2019 Author Share Posted March 17, 2019 Great, lots of really helpful ideas. I just need to find a 20 stone gorilla to sit on the end of my 27" breaker bar and with luck the nuts will loosen!Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seriouspete Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Make sure you are actually turning it the right way.. sounds very silly, but I’ve done it!!trying it the “other” way can sometimes crack it loose if there is some corrosion in the threads Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bricol Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 I have a 5ft length of ali tube for slipping over the ends of tommy bars to subsitute for a gorilla :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john milner Posted March 19, 2019 Share Posted March 19, 2019 200lb is not that huge. It is roughly the equivalent of a 14 stone man standing on a bar a foot from the socket. The nuts may tighten a bit in use although it is possible that lots of wheel spinning (e.g. dragracing, doughnuts) could have a larger tightening effect. If both nuts are very tight then it is likely that whoever put them on weighs a lot more than 14 stone and used threadlock cement.There must be a point at which the thread is damaged through overtightening.Right (off)side anticlockwise. Left (near)side clockwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonR300 Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 A version of this worked for me.I broke the first copy of this made of oak, so I used a plank of hardwood in the end and drilled holes for all four wheel studs with a large hole in the center for the socket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Jonathan Kay Posted April 3, 2019 Member Share Posted April 3, 2019 Yes, that's how I fitted mine, but with a length of steel bar with two holes for the studs.JonathanPS: It's rather like the trick for removing wheel nuts with a brace, a jack and the weight of the car. Very useful but surprisingly little known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted April 3, 2019 Share Posted April 3, 2019 why not leave the wheels on, pop the centre cap off the wheel and in goes the socket, handbrake on, in gear, chock under rear wheel and job done..........Its a straigtforward job.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxhunt Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 Eventually I did it with a length of steel bar with holes for the studs. It took over 300lb to do it - whoever tightened it didn't know his own strength. Tightening at only 200lbs was a doddle!Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vine Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Glad to hear you succeeded. Out of interest, how did you measure the 300?JV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeMax Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Greetings,I'm just about to remove the Sierra Diff from my Caterham and if I correctly understand this conversation the Right Hand nut is removed by turning anti-clockwise and the Left Hand Nut is removed by turning clockwise? The torque specification is 200 FT Pounds?Thanks!MAX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7 wonders of the world Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 no need to undo the rear hub nuts, you can remove he driveshaft hub disc and ear as one unit... much easier Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aerobod - near CYYC Posted June 29, 2023 Share Posted June 29, 2023 Hi Max, as well as what 7WotW says, you should only need to remove the driveshaft on one side together with the 'A' Frame (i have done this a couple of times with my BMW diff, once with the cradle, once without). After moving the brake caliper out of the way and the single driveshaft (including disc, hub & ear) is removed, the diff is lowered a bit to clear the mounts, then it can be moved sideways a bit to release the driveshaft that is staying in place, before the diff is fully lowered out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elan_fan Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 I did the cv boots on my daughters Punto the other day.From the "top tips" in the haynes manualI made a tool to jam the hub, like the wooden tool above but from some thick steel strip. Around 800mm long. An additional 200mm length is fastened with a bolt. The pivot point is 200mm back from the end of the 800mm length. The result is a bar with an adjustable V at the end. Fasten the ends on 2 opposite studs and fit the nuts. Works for any PCD so useful for many applications Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beagler Posted July 15, 2023 Share Posted July 15, 2023 B&Q have a 3ft piece of steel angle iron. Drill two holes to match wheel studs and it will lock hub.Rotate so as not to lift car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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