Pulling Jeep Hub
 

So, I'm trying to replace the front passenger hub of my 97 Jeep Grand
Cherokee (4WD / 6Cyl). I've removed the lock nut, the ABS sensor, and
the three bolts that hold the hub assembly onto the car. I couldn't
hammer the hub off, as the Haynes manual suggested I should be able
to, so I rented a hub puller (actually, now, 2 hub pullers...a slide-
hammer type and a turn-the-bolt type...both attach to the lug nuts).

Unfortunately, however, instead of removing the hub assembly in one
piece, I've managed to pull the hub assembly apart. There are two
pieces that are supposed to remain together, with the bearings in
between. The outer part of the hub with the lug nuts is currently
sitting in my lawn, and the inner portion that connects to the car is
still attached, presumably by rust...I can see the actual bearings,
which, from what I understand, is not supposed to happen.

I've done my best to attach the two pullers in various ways to this
inner portion of the hub, but I just can't get it off of the car. I've
tried penetrating oil, and a propane torch too. Aside from having the
now-incapacitated car towed to the Jeep dealer, does anybody have any
suggestions on how to get the rest of this hub off of the car, so I
can put my new hub on?

Your help is very much appreciated!

Thanks,
Tom

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Welcome to the "I can't get the hub off" club. Very exclusive club.
Charter members are almost anyone who has tried to do this on any salt
country jeep over 10 years old.

Usual method is to jack the front end as high as you can safely get it,
you need room directly underneath it. Saturate the hub to knuckle area
with a good pentrating oil like Kroil or PB Blaster. Don't even think
about WD-40, it won't work. Let this soak over night at least. Get a
sacraficial bolt to insert in the lower hole, back it out about 2 turns.
Get a BIG hammer and go at it. Hammer needs to be at least a 3 pounder,
nothing smaller. (I have a 6 pound hammer made from the remmants of a
full size sledge hammer!)

A not very good alternate approach is to pound a chisel or wedge
inbetween the kuckle and the hub assembly. I have a chisel forged from
an old car axle that works for this, very sharp end, very tough steel,
very heavy duty.

I wouldn't feel too embarrassed about having it hauled off to a dealer
or independent shop. These are NASTY to do. Anyone who has done it for
the first time tends to have not very fond memories of all new words
they learned. Not to mention the 4 hours or so to lean the words.

googlegroups@gersic.com wrote:
> So, I'm trying to replace the front passenger hub of my 97 Jeep Grand
> Cherokee (4WD / 6Cyl). I've removed the lock nut, the ABS sensor, and
> the three bolts that hold the hub assembly onto the car. I couldn't
> hammer the hub off, as the Haynes manual suggested I should be able
> to, so I rented a hub puller (actually, now, 2 hub pullers...a slide-
> hammer type and a turn-the-bolt type...both attach to the lug nuts).
>
> Unfortunately, however, instead of removing the hub assembly in one
> piece, I've managed to pull the hub assembly apart. There are two
> pieces that are supposed to remain together, with the bearings in
> between. The outer part of the hub with the lug nuts is currently
> sitting in my lawn, and the inner portion that connects to the car is
> still attached, presumably by rust...I can see the actual bearings,
> which, from what I understand, is not supposed to happen.
>
> I've done my best to attach the two pullers in various ways to this
> inner portion of the hub, but I just can't get it off of the car. I've
> tried penetrating oil, and a propane torch too. Aside from having the
> now-incapacitated car towed to the Jeep dealer, does anybody have any
> suggestions on how to get the rest of this hub off of the car, so I
> can put my new hub on?
>
> Your help is very much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Welcome to the "I can't get the hub off" club. Very exclusive club.
Charter members are almost anyone who has tried to do this on any salt
country jeep over 10 years old.

Usual method is to jack the front end as high as you can safely get it,
you need room directly underneath it. Saturate the hub to knuckle area
with a good pentrating oil like Kroil or PB Blaster. Don't even think
about WD-40, it won't work. Let this soak over night at least. Get a
sacraficial bolt to insert in the lower hole, back it out about 2 turns.
Get a BIG hammer and go at it. Hammer needs to be at least a 3 pounder,
nothing smaller. (I have a 6 pound hammer made from the remmants of a
full size sledge hammer!)

A not very good alternate approach is to pound a chisel or wedge
inbetween the kuckle and the hub assembly. I have a chisel forged from
an old car axle that works for this, very sharp end, very tough steel,
very heavy duty.

I wouldn't feel too embarrassed about having it hauled off to a dealer
or independent shop. These are NASTY to do. Anyone who has done it for
the first time tends to have not very fond memories of all new words
they learned. Not to mention the 4 hours or so to lean the words.

googlegroups@gersic.com wrote:
> So, I'm trying to replace the front passenger hub of my 97 Jeep Grand
> Cherokee (4WD / 6Cyl). I've removed the lock nut, the ABS sensor, and
> the three bolts that hold the hub assembly onto the car. I couldn't
> hammer the hub off, as the Haynes manual suggested I should be able
> to, so I rented a hub puller (actually, now, 2 hub pullers...a slide-
> hammer type and a turn-the-bolt type...both attach to the lug nuts).
>
> Unfortunately, however, instead of removing the hub assembly in one
> piece, I've managed to pull the hub assembly apart. There are two
> pieces that are supposed to remain together, with the bearings in
> between. The outer part of the hub with the lug nuts is currently
> sitting in my lawn, and the inner portion that connects to the car is
> still attached, presumably by rust...I can see the actual bearings,
> which, from what I understand, is not supposed to happen.
>
> I've done my best to attach the two pullers in various ways to this
> inner portion of the hub, but I just can't get it off of the car. I've
> tried penetrating oil, and a propane torch too. Aside from having the
> now-incapacitated car towed to the Jeep dealer, does anybody have any
> suggestions on how to get the rest of this hub off of the car, so I
> can put my new hub on?
>
> Your help is very much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Welcome to the "I can't get the hub off" club. Very exclusive club.
Charter members are almost anyone who has tried to do this on any salt
country jeep over 10 years old.

Usual method is to jack the front end as high as you can safely get it,
you need room directly underneath it. Saturate the hub to knuckle area
with a good pentrating oil like Kroil or PB Blaster. Don't even think
about WD-40, it won't work. Let this soak over night at least. Get a
sacraficial bolt to insert in the lower hole, back it out about 2 turns.
Get a BIG hammer and go at it. Hammer needs to be at least a 3 pounder,
nothing smaller. (I have a 6 pound hammer made from the remmants of a
full size sledge hammer!)

A not very good alternate approach is to pound a chisel or wedge
inbetween the kuckle and the hub assembly. I have a chisel forged from
an old car axle that works for this, very sharp end, very tough steel,
very heavy duty.

I wouldn't feel too embarrassed about having it hauled off to a dealer
or independent shop. These are NASTY to do. Anyone who has done it for
the first time tends to have not very fond memories of all new words
they learned. Not to mention the 4 hours or so to lean the words.

googlegroups@gersic.com wrote:
> So, I'm trying to replace the front passenger hub of my 97 Jeep Grand
> Cherokee (4WD / 6Cyl). I've removed the lock nut, the ABS sensor, and
> the three bolts that hold the hub assembly onto the car. I couldn't
> hammer the hub off, as the Haynes manual suggested I should be able
> to, so I rented a hub puller (actually, now, 2 hub pullers...a slide-
> hammer type and a turn-the-bolt type...both attach to the lug nuts).
>
> Unfortunately, however, instead of removing the hub assembly in one
> piece, I've managed to pull the hub assembly apart. There are two
> pieces that are supposed to remain together, with the bearings in
> between. The outer part of the hub with the lug nuts is currently
> sitting in my lawn, and the inner portion that connects to the car is
> still attached, presumably by rust...I can see the actual bearings,
> which, from what I understand, is not supposed to happen.
>
> I've done my best to attach the two pullers in various ways to this
> inner portion of the hub, but I just can't get it off of the car. I've
> tried penetrating oil, and a propane torch too. Aside from having the
> now-incapacitated car towed to the Jeep dealer, does anybody have any
> suggestions on how to get the rest of this hub off of the car, so I
> can put my new hub on?
>
> Your help is very much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Welcome to the "I can't get the hub off" club. Very exclusive club.
Charter members are almost anyone who has tried to do this on any salt
country jeep over 10 years old.

Usual method is to jack the front end as high as you can safely get it,
you need room directly underneath it. Saturate the hub to knuckle area
with a good pentrating oil like Kroil or PB Blaster. Don't even think
about WD-40, it won't work. Let this soak over night at least. Get a
sacraficial bolt to insert in the lower hole, back it out about 2 turns.
Get a BIG hammer and go at it. Hammer needs to be at least a 3 pounder,
nothing smaller. (I have a 6 pound hammer made from the remmants of a
full size sledge hammer!)

A not very good alternate approach is to pound a chisel or wedge
inbetween the kuckle and the hub assembly. I have a chisel forged from
an old car axle that works for this, very sharp end, very tough steel,
very heavy duty.

I wouldn't feel too embarrassed about having it hauled off to a dealer
or independent shop. These are NASTY to do. Anyone who has done it for
the first time tends to have not very fond memories of all new words
they learned. Not to mention the 4 hours or so to lean the words.

googlegroups@gersic.com wrote:
> So, I'm trying to replace the front passenger hub of my 97 Jeep Grand
> Cherokee (4WD / 6Cyl). I've removed the lock nut, the ABS sensor, and
> the three bolts that hold the hub assembly onto the car. I couldn't
> hammer the hub off, as the Haynes manual suggested I should be able
> to, so I rented a hub puller (actually, now, 2 hub pullers...a slide-
> hammer type and a turn-the-bolt type...both attach to the lug nuts).
>
> Unfortunately, however, instead of removing the hub assembly in one
> piece, I've managed to pull the hub assembly apart. There are two
> pieces that are supposed to remain together, with the bearings in
> between. The outer part of the hub with the lug nuts is currently
> sitting in my lawn, and the inner portion that connects to the car is
> still attached, presumably by rust...I can see the actual bearings,
> which, from what I understand, is not supposed to happen.
>
> I've done my best to attach the two pullers in various ways to this
> inner portion of the hub, but I just can't get it off of the car. I've
> tried penetrating oil, and a propane torch too. Aside from having the
> now-incapacitated car towed to the Jeep dealer, does anybody have any
> suggestions on how to get the rest of this hub off of the car, so I
> can put my new hub on?
>
> Your help is very much appreciated!
>
> Thanks,
> Tom
>

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Oh, good, a new club! ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just sprayed some penetrating oil on
it, and I guess I'll give it another try in the morning. At least I
know I'm not the only one who's struggled with this...

Thanks,
Tom

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Oh, good, a new club! ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just sprayed some penetrating oil on
it, and I guess I'll give it another try in the morning. At least I
know I'm not the only one who's struggled with this...

Thanks,
Tom

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Oh, good, a new club! ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just sprayed some penetrating oil on
it, and I guess I'll give it another try in the morning. At least I
know I'm not the only one who's struggled with this...

Thanks,
Tom

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

Oh, good, a new club! ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions. I've just sprayed some penetrating oil on
it, and I guess I'll give it another try in the morning. At least I
know I'm not the only one who's struggled with this...

Thanks,
Tom

Re: Pulling Jeep Hub
 

> Welcome to the "I can't get the hub off" club. Very exclusive club.
> Charter members are almost anyone who has tried to do this on any salt
> country jeep over 10 years old.


I got it!!!!!! Either the overnight penetrating oil worked, or I woke
up with an especially strong desire to beat the crap out of that hub,
but I managed to pound the thing off the car, and get the new hub on
just in time to get to work ;-)

Thanks,
Tom