S2Bray

I'm going to be swapping my front hubs (inc discs callipers and pads) at the weekend, and I'm pretty much going in blind so any help is gratefully received! I've got a couple of questions straight away, but if you can add anything else I'm clearly I'm missing that would also be appreciated!

It looks like the front hub nut is on the inside of the knuckle (not what I was expecting! is this right?) so straight away I'm scratching my head how to loosen it when the car is up in the air. Do I need to rely on the brakes to hold it whilst I try and un wind a nut that was torqued to 242ft/lbs 100,000 miles ago??

Secondly, when I slot my new discs on to the replacement hub, I wont/cant use the disc retaining screw. The wheel will stop it turning when on, but IF the above is true - how will I be able to rely on the brakes to tighten up the hub nut if the disc is free to rotate? refit the wheel to a finger tight hub presumably??

Finally, should I replace the hub nuts whilst I'm at it will the old ones be fine.

Thanks all!

Mike RT4

Have fun - it's a bitch to do. The nut IS on the outside (as you will see when you remove the wheel). You will need a HUGE bar to undo these, as they are F-tight. You will need to have someone on the brakes to undo and you WILL need new bearings and a new nut, as the bearing will split and one half of the case will stay on the old stub axle. The SKF ones from Europart are very good quality and come as a complete kit and are half the price of the Honda items.

I do not understand your question regarding brake spinning, as the wheel STUDS will prevent this..... The retaining screws don't really do anything as such and was just there to keep the discs in place when the vehicle was first assembled and prior to callipers being fitted on the assembly line.

You should definitely use new hub nuts (that come with the wheel bearing kit), as they are the locking tab type that needs to be hammered down to prevent the nuts from unwinding.

S2Bray

Mike, thanks for your reply. So if the nut is on the outside (we're talking front hubs here) and not the inside, presumably I can loosen that off by just removing the centre cap from the wheel and get at it whilst the car is still on the ground??

My comment about the brake spinning was not clear. Of course the studs will stop the disc spinning, but I was concerned that the disc, together with the hub will spin freely. As said previously, applying the brakes will stop this, but in my mind, at this point the car is still up on stands, and so the wheel isn't bolted up and so the disc isn't yet secured. Of course if the hub nut is on the outside it can be properly tighten once the car is the ground.
I think....

Mike RT4

I think you will have to remove the wheel first, as I don't "think" you will be able to bend the tab back to "unlock" the nut with it on. However, I didn't try with the wheel on, so there may be enough room to do this with the centre cap removed. Have a look, because if there is, it will make it MUCH easier to undo the hub nut .

S2Bray

Perhaps worth taking the wheel off, "unlocking" the nut, wheel back on and then loosen the hub nut then.

This link here is what's confusing me though - as it seems to suggest (scroll down to Front Dust Cover Off to Expose Axle Nut picture) that the nut is on the inside..

https://robrobinette.com/S2000Bearing.htm

I have replacement hubs ready to go, complete with bearings. Are you saying part ot the old bearing is likely to be left on the spline (stub axle) when I remove? If so - how do I get this off??

Mike RT4

My mistake, oops, I forgot we did the rears first (which are on the outside) and then did the fronts by removing the hubs completely and putting the whole assembly in a vice and using the pneumatic gun to "hammer" then off. Apologies for the confusion LOL.

The only way to remove is with heat and prizing it off .

S2Bray

Even with my limited knowledge I suspected you might have been talking about the rears...

SO, now we agree the nut is on the inside, am I still likely to split a wheel bearing removing the front hub?? Is it it just a case of easing the whole thing off of a spline?

Mike RT4

Yes, every single one of the stubs removed (on a sub 50k car) had half the casing left behind on the stub axle. You just have to heat the casing up and then prize it off the stub. It wasn't an issue, just time consuming. If you have a bearing "puller", it is easier, but you still have to get it started to allow the puller claws enough room to get a grip.

You can see in the link you posted up the part that gets stuck on. He cut them off, but I didn't want to mark the stub axle in any way (which you can see he has).

S2Bray

makes sense - thanks!