syphon Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 So I'm looking at buying some new front rotors and a new hub from a friend. He recently did the 5-lug swap, so his whole axle/hub/brakes/strut are all still attached, but they're not on the car. I know the castle nut is typically torqued on VERY hard. I remember it being a pain in the rump roast to remove when it was on the car. I was wondering if there is any way of removing it shy of putting it back on the car. Anyone have any experience with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLCraig Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 A good impact wrench will get them off. If you have access to a good bench vice, you might be able to clamp the CVJ in the vice and then use a breaker bar to loosen the nut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subafreak Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 145ftlbs to be exact. Be sure to tourq it back on to speck. The bearing will thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomRhere Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 You may need another person to help you on this, but i've done it myself. I stuck a prybar under one of the wheel studs, and against the next one over. Place assembly on the floor with prybar against floor also. Then use the breaker bar to remove the nut. Can be a pain, literally. But it'll work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosens Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I think what he's getting at is the same dilema I share with him.I have Witte's 5-lug stuff on the floor of my shop with no car attatched to them.It's the halfshaft with the hub,etc.(Eric,I've had the rears ready for months now,getting to the fronts now that I have a pipe wrench). I bought a big pipe wrench that I hope I can hold the shaft with as I jump on the breaker bar with the 36mm socket. Use heat on the nut too.Propane torch it for a minute or so and then try it right away. I went to the machine shop across from me and put it in several vices and not one could hold the shaft to be able to get the castle nut loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest subu luvr Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 i ended up putting the nut in the vice, then wedging the pipewrench handle between the studs and the rotor. stood the whole assembly straight up, dropped the nut down into the nutcracker and gave it one heave ive also used a spare rim, and a prybar mount the hub in the rim, run a prybar or pipe through the spokes, and use that to pull the pipewrench from (even if i HAD finished college, i would still be unemployed these days) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr. RX Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I believe your question was, "Is there an easy way...???", the simple answer to that question is, "No!" As you can seen by the answers you have gotten so far, and I believe most of them will work, it is not easy, but it can be done. I use a very long crow bar to counter the breaker bar. Just make sure your fingers are not in between the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 This is similar to the problem of keeping the hub from turning at the wrecking yard when the brakes are inoperative and one is trying to remove the castlenut to get at the axle or the hub. I had a friend weld a 2 foot pipe onto an old steel wheel rim (tangent to the diametet). I would attach the rim to the hub and the pipe would keep the hub from turning while I used a 3 foot extension on my breaker bar to loosen the castle nut. As Dr. RX said, it's not easy, but it can be done. If you like I could post a jpg. of my "special" tool for nut removal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 When I do this at the JY I put a big crowbar on the wheel studs, and then a breaker bar on the axle nut. I line them up so the crowbar and the breaker bar are only slightly offset from one another. Then I use a third bar or pipe to lever the other two bars apart. Usually works pretty good for me. Sometimes there's a lot of grunting and cussing involved, but no nut has beaten me yet. Sometimes I can rest the crowbar against the ground or the wheel well to hold it while I simply muscle the axle nut off. There are probably easier ways, but I'm big and pretty strong, so I usually get my way in arguments of this nature with just brute force. I have broken lots of ratchets, broken breaker bars, and bent many a pipe getting axle nuts off - some of them can be real buggers. GD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baccaruda Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 one might not expect the wheel studs to accept lugnuts after such a removal, either. consider already having a leverage tool to be the easy way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ma-fia Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 I had the same dilemma with CVs with all the other stuff attached to them that came off my parts car. I don't remember exact detailes of how I did it (it was about 2 years ago), but the idea is to form an upside-down "V" with ratchett-socket/wrench attached to the castle nut and anything else (like pry-bar, large wrench or whatever works) that you or someone else could hold in place as the other part of the "V". It took me a while to find the way (I did it alone), but after both things were in place one good wack with a hammer resolved the problem. The trick is to figure out how to attach the lever, so that it would hold the construct in place for you to use the hammer. I am not as lucky as you, GD, so I have to be inventive... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilesFox Posted December 25, 2003 Share Posted December 25, 2003 put a strong screwdriver(one you dont mind breaking, or a junk one) between the middle of the caliper and the brake rotor vents. that will help keep things from turning. having a friend to stand on the assembly and hold it still will help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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