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Front rotors and wheel bearing

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dixiechevy01

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I'm about to do front rotors on my 87 k5. It has the 10 bolt front axle that you need to pull the hub to do rotors. I plan on replacing the rotors, bearings, seals, upper and lower ball joints and the axle shaft u joints.

Anyone have any suggestions before starting this project? I know I will need the axle nut socket and the ball joint puller but other then that should everything else just be basic hand tools?
 
Deuling said:
Some small picks work good to get the snap ring out that sits inside of the lockout.


like these http://www.greatnecktools.com/products/show/17522


Other than that, the axle nut socket, and the 3/8" (I think) allen wrench for the slider bolts on the calipers, basically just simple stuff.
Click to expand...

X2!!! Don't even try without the picks and a good pair of snap ring pliers. And DON'T let your wifes cousin do it with screwdrivers and a hammer!!!! Trust me!
 
And usually a ball joint separater to get the knuckle broke free, there is also a special socket for adjusting the upper ball joint preload.
 
Ok thanks guys. Well for the ball joints what do you need to do to adjust them? Also what do you guys use to get the u joints out, is there a special u joint separator?
 
I did this job, and it's not difficult, just requires some time and attention.

It depends on how much you are going to do yourself. If you are replacing your own ball joints, you will need a press. Either a hydraulic shop press or a u-shaped press. You will need a shop press to separate the rotor from the hub, and press the new one on.

You will need a brass drift to change the bearing races in the hub, and to install new ones (or a race/seal driver kit)

You can use a press or the hammer method for removing/installing u-joints. Odds are the retaining clips for the joints will be rusted in place, be prepared with some PB Blaster or your break-free agent of choice, and some variety of punch or chisel.

Have plenty of grease on hand. A good marine grease will help repel water.

Make sure you set the bearing preload properly. You have to seat the bearings first, then back off the nut off and tighten slowly while spinning the hub. There are torque specs, but a lot of people do fine adjusting by feel. Make sure you have the right nut in the right place, so the pin will line up.
 
If you get a ball joint press tool that looks like a huge C-clamp,you may be able to use that to remove and install the u-joints too...the kit usually has a variety of cups to put in the tool and they work well..an air gun works best on them too,the impacts help break the ball joints and u-joint caps free easier than just torquing down the clamp--if you do it manually ,tighten it up good,then whack the end of the screw with a hammer,that helps shock the tapered fit apart better..


I usually just use a hammer to do u-joints ,but I've done quite a few of them and it takes some skill AND luck to get the caps in with one,without losing a needle bearing or having one fall into the bottom of the cup...and knowing how hard to swing the hammer..they can be difficult and frustrating even when you've had a lot of experience sometimes..
 
The axle shaft u-joints just come out like any normal u-joints, internal locking clips.
For the upper balljoint adjusting sleve tool, you can make one out of a deep 3/4" socket, easy enough.
To get the old adjuster sleves out of my old axle I had to cut them in 3 pieces with a sawzall.
I also had problems with the cheaper brand CARQUEST balljoints and there was no way to get the upper properly torqued down, it was too tall. Ended up getting the premium (raybestos) ones which were reboxed spicers

IMAG0311.jpg

IMAG0321.jpg
 
And for removing the rotor just get the hub assembly off and turn it so the wheel studs are facing upward so you can drive them down and out. If your not replacing the studs thread the lug nuts on them so you don't bur the thread up, if you are replacing just have at them. I usually use 2 hammers and set one on the stud and then hit it with the other hammer.
 
Just for general info: Some parts stores will "lend" you the C Clamp Press for the ball joints when you buy them. And Thanks Guys for the extra info on balljoints. Getting ready to do them *minus* my inlaws help this time. I know they did dikk about the top joint placement because one tire has more caster(camber?) than the other. I did my toe in with a stringline and tape measure.
 
The ball joint *wrench* (not the same as the press) is OTC 7080. Napa has them, for instance.

For the ball joint press I used a Harbor Freight, which some people have exploded but worked fine for me. I seem to recall being gentle and using lots of WD40. This same press can do the U-joints, so you might be justified in buying one, handy to have trail side.

The dental picks are a godsend. Snap ring pliers, yep, also good. The tiny (1/8", I think) Allen/hex wrench for the locking hubs and the one for the caliper slides is 3/8". For that you want a hex head that goes onto your ratchet, not just an allen wrench.

The rotors are held onto the wheel hub by the studs, so ideally you'd press them in and out with a shop press. It can be done with a brass drift and a sledge hammer, which I think is superior to a stack of washers and a lug nut driven by an impact gun. I have used all three techniques myself :whistle:

Expect lots of goop and dust, so a can of brake cleaner and a stiff wirebrush will come in handy. Also, you'll end up with lots of little parts, so have plastic baggies or containers of some kind handy (I use like TV dinner trays to seperate everything.)

Also, if you're new to this, do one side first, leaving the other side in one piece so you can look and see where things go. For the fronts it's not bad, but when you do the drum brake stuff in the back it is HIGHLY recommended to do one at a time so you can use the other side as a reference putting it all back together :haha:

-- A
 
Caster & camber isn't really adjustable on the straight axled trucks--if its out of spec its due to worn ball joints or something got bent or tweaked..the toe-in can be adjusted at home with a tape measure,or two peices of conduit that slide inside each other and a hose clamp--you want the measurement at the front center of the tires to be about 3/16" less than the measurement of the same area on the tires in the rear..

I have had better luck removing wheel studs by bashing them with a ball pein hammer,than putting a nut on one first,hoping to protect the threads!..it seems every time I hit a lug nut to drive one out,it just drives the nut down crooked and ruins both the stud and nut,while hitting the stud without one usually knocks the stud out first try with no damage--provided you hit it squarely..

I also had better luck re-installing them with a hammer and punch,or two ball pein hammers--one hammer on the stud,and whack that hammer with the other...I tried drawing them in with the lug nut and washers with an air impact or socket and 9 times out of ten the stud or nut strips,or it failed to pull the stud in fully...

You may encounter resistance when you go to remove the spindle--after taking off all the nuts,I use a block of hard wood like oak in the center of it away from the bearing surfaces and threads,and whack it good with a heavy hammer...if its stubborn,you may have to wedge chisels in between the knuckle and the spindle on opposite sides,to work it off the studs..if you beat directly on the spindle it can be damaged fairly easily,so avoid doing that unless you feel its not coming off otherwise..I like to wire brush off all the rust where the spindle seats in the hole around the studs and put grease or never-seize on it so if there is a next time,it wont be such a battle to get the spindle off..

Sometimes I cheated and left the original ball joint threaded things in the upper yoke,if they seemed like taking them out would end up destroying the threads in the casting...
 
Doc and Diesel you guys ROCK:saweet: It's like you just did the job yesterday!
I've always been the "helper" on these projects so this info fills in the gaps.


Irony: as I sit here posting this Mad Season- I Dont Know Anything starts playing.....
 
Thanks for all the info guys, this will definitely help me out. I might just a ball joint press for this. What'd you guys use to install the new seal just a block of wood?

And yea I got all my parts from pep boys. They seemed to be better quality than the stuff at advanced auto or auto zone but not as pricey as napa. I got a whole hub with the rotor, studs and the bearing seats already installed. The rotor/hub and ball joints are all pep boys pro stop or pro susp. brand. The bearings and seals are all skf and the u joints are neapco.

Well I just now got all my parts together so hopefully everything goes well when I replace everything
 
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