RE: A First for me: professional car repair advice UPDATED

This thing is kicking my butt.

2000 Mitsubishi Eclipse, same as a Dodge Stratus or Chrysler Sebring of the same era.

PO drove it on a seriously bad front wheel bearing; and we drove it home, about 30 miles with the most seriously failed bearing I've ever experienced. My son: "are we gonna make it home?" Me: "probably." Son: "can't you be more positive than that?" Me: "sure-- I'm positive we'll probably make it." We did. My mechanical empathy was screaming in horror. You can grab the flange on the bearing and the CV joint and wiggle the whole thing a whole lot as an assembly. Bad wiggle.

Hence the problem:

I cannot get the bloody thing apart. The axle refuses to be pushed out of the hub.

We have split the flange all the way to the axle; heated it until it was red-hot and applied the actual special tool designed for the purpose (front wheel hub puller) beat on it with a giant sledge hammer and an air chisel and it WILL NOT BUDGE. Kroil has also apparently met its match.

I am left with two options I can think of, unless somebody has a better idea:

-Disassemble the front suspension; remove the "steering knuckle" (thus disturbing the alignment) and we have already split a 24mm socket in an attempt to do so; then pop the axle and take the whole silly thing to a machine shop with a 20-ton press and make it come apart. As badly stuck as it is, I suspect this would kill the axle.

-Deploy a cutting torch, sacrifice the axle and slice it free. The biggest concern here is the competency of the torch operator, we wouldn't want to cut into the steering knuckle.

Brand new, not rebuilt axles can be had for $72.00. We already have the new bearing/hub assembly.

Any ideas beyond what I'm already thinking? (#B)

I know we have some professional auto mechanics in our circle; I've been a DIY guy for almost 50 years and this one is beating me to the ground. I even bought the damn special tool, which is nearly identical to the tool used in the FSM that I downloaded. Fail.

If this thing came into your shop, what would you do? Did I miss anything?

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

Did you check to find out if there is a C-clip on the other end?

Dave

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

No clip. No place for a clip, plus I have the book. They want you to use "the tool" if it won't just tippy-tap out.

The stub axle on the CV joint simply slips into the bearing/hub assembly. It's splined, about 3 1/2" deep which is why I think trying to split it isn't working. This front end is virtually identical to the Dodge Caravan I used to own (354K miles) and I put at least three front axles in that thing. You take the nut and washer off, and the axle slides out of the hub. Sometimes it takes a tap; sometimes you need "the tool."

Sometimes the bloody thing has apparently welded itself together and will not budge.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

If your bearing is that far gone, I'd go for the new axle. $72.00 isn't really worth the headache of finally pulling it apart, and learning that the axle is marred, gouged, or stripped splines. In which case you'd be spending the money any way. If you still want to go down that road, how big of a hammer do you own? You can solve any problem with a big enough hammer. If you can get a pry bar behind the hub and give it a good bludgeoning that may be enough to break her loose and use the puller.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

the last time I had to do a wheel bearing I had to pound the thing out from behind the steering knuckle and try to drive it out, not even close to similar vehicle as you are working on but worth a try maybe.
if you have a confident torch handler you can try cutting away some of the remaining wheel bearing.then having another go at "the tool".. otherwise lose the cv shaft

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuEZTGFtHJU

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

Just watching the thread, as I have been looking at Sebring 'verts lately.
They're giving them away-
$425 with a bad water pump, $500 for head gasket. Desparate sellers.

http://orlando.craigslist.org/cto/4618675274.html
I might drive down.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

With that particular car, those axles are known to become one with the bearing and hub.

I saw a technician put one in the shop press once, and applied so much force the top I-beam on the press gave way and the bottle jack literally flew out and narrowly missed his head.

If you have been "blessed" with one of these bearing jobs, it might be best for you to go ahead and replace the knuckle and axle. Chances are, the car probably needs to be aligned anyway.

Make sure everything else is tight before you take it in for the alignment. Tie rods and ball joints. They are also known for those to go as well.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

I just replaced the axles and wheel bearing/hub assembly on my friends 01 seabring. The axle doesn't "slip out" of the bearing/hub assembly. You need to use an E-14 (inverted torx) socket to remove the hub from the knuckle. After I removed the screws, it still took a pry bar, kroil, and some "gentle persuasion" from a 4 lb sledgehammer.

If it still doesn't work, I would remove the whole axle, hub, and knuckle together. Too much effort to separate it on the car.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

My ears are ringing just watching that video. Brings back memories of my old cavalier, which was a walk in the park compared to she!

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

Take the hub/steering knuckle off the car and use a hydraulic press. You will most likely need a new halfshaft (CV Shaft, Alxe, Whatever you want to call it) The shaft is probably an alloy and the hub is steel.. its fused on.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

If you drove it home with bad bearings they can get hot enough to weld themselves to the axle. New hub and axle you will be golden.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

I have been down this road before and taking the entire knuckle off is the way I went and it was a 50 ton press I used, and heat.
The bitch is shimming everything up so it presses straight and doesn't crack something else in the process.
The other way is just to get everything new and go from there but of coarse that would be admitting defeat, and now I'm sure you are doing it just because you want to WIN.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

Josey Wales:
Now remember, when things look bad and it looks like you're not gonna make it, then you gotta get mean. I mean plumb, mad-dog mean. 'Cause if you lose your head and you give up then you neither live nor win. That's just the way it is.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

A axle, hub and steering knuckle that had a bearing run like that is most likely damaged beyond repair. Buy a complete assembly at a salvage yard, rebuild it and install it on your car. If it takes that much effort to dissemble it , trash it and replace.

 

Re: A First for me: need some professional car repair advice

At his point the decision has been taken to sacrifice the axle and a new one is on its way.

The whole mess has some oxy-acetylene in its future. We are going to attempt to cut the axle free from the hub without removing the steering knuckle/suspension upright first; then remove the whole blasted assembly if that doesn't work.

 

UPDATE and thanks for all of the input: it's finally freaking fixed.

We had somebody come over with cutting torches and absolutely lay waste to the hub and it still wouldn't come apart.

Pulled the steering knuckle/axle/bearing & support/inner axle as an assembly.

BEAT the axle free from what was left of the hub, still needed the puller tool to force it apart.

Used a "large bearing splitter" to separate axle from inner axle/bearing/support assembly.

Replaced hub and outer axle. Everything went back together with a minimum of fuss, just a lot of work. All parts torque'd to spec, new cotter pins all around.

We won.

 

Re: RE: A First for me: professional car repair advice UPDAT

Perseverence!

My Bronco stole a lot of time this last week, but you just GOTTA keep pluggin' away 'till it's solved. I did a lot of chit before I found a 1/4" square of some kind of FOAM! on the MAF sensor!!!

Total monetary cost; MAF cleaner: $8.99. Electrical tape (diagnostics. I did NOT use 72 feet of tape though) $8.99 too! Tamper proof torx head set. $9.89. about $20.00 app.

Time? WAY TOO EFFIN MUCH!

I dropped the gas tank first, since it sure seemed like a fuel supply problem. THAT sucked eggs through the eye of a needle. (new filter tho)

After all that I'm still happy that I got it running right. 8) Ain't that the way?

Bet you feel the same Fitz.