Removing Stub Axles

[Ben's Z]

I have my rear suspension all out of the car and I want to knock out my stub axles to remove my backing plates for a rear disc conversion. At this time I want to replace my wheel bearings and seals. How in the hell do you get those stub axles out? I used my air impart to remove the axle nut, and beat on the stub with my dead blow shot peen hammer last night, and they would not budge. Would PB Blaster loosen them up enough to beat them out? Bigger hammer?

[zKars]

Bigger hammer! Do NOT damage the end of the stub axle or the threads whatever you do. Which makes it hard to use a bigger hammer of course. I thread the nut back on reversed, to leave the flanged end out, put it on all the way (all threads engaged), then use a chunk of wood between the hammer (2 lb) and the stub end. Check that the nut still threads off easy with each blow to check for damage. Otherwise it will cost you at LEAST a 18 x 1.5mm tap...

The "official" technique is to use a slide hammer to pull it out from the wheel flange side.

You'll need a press to remove and replace the outer bearing from the stub once its out.

One of my favorite jobs! Hope you have a 250 ft-lb torque wrench too!

[Zed Head]

I have found that the wedge shape of a cold chisel, placed between the carrier and the back of the stub axle will work to pop it out. Slide it between the two with some oil or WD40 and pop it with a hammer. It will lever right out.

[jmortensen]

Wrong stub axle Zed Head. He's talking about the wheel side, I'm pretty sure.

I like to use an air hammer with the sharp tip in the dimple on the inside of the stub axle. The vibration pushes them out pretty easily usually. If the air hammer doesn't work, I use a center punch in the dimple and a BFH. Sometimes it's helpful to have someone handy to catch it as it falls off.

As Jim stated, you need to cut the peened part of the stub axle nut off. It sounds like you did not do this so you're likely to have some really mashed up threads on the end of the stub axle when you get them out. You can clean them up with a thread file so that you can put the nut back on if this is the case, or you can replace the stub axle.

[Zed Head]

Oops. Didn't put enough effort in to my reading.

[TomoHawk]

Thje Atlantic Z tech site has a good write up on how to do the rear bearings.

After I TOLD the shop guy to read the booklet I put on the car seat, he tried to un-peen the nut and just turn it off with a big long wrench. Then I got a call to look at it because ALL THE THREADS WERE GONE. Apparently it wasn't the guy's fault because he did what his book said to do, and nevermind the customer's specific orders.

Does the nut itself usually tear all the threads off?

Then the shop manager told ME to go buy a new stub axle... $300 IIRC

Edited June 22, 2011 by TomoHawk

[ZCurves]

Ben,

If you want to pull the Strut Housings, you can take it all to my brothers shop and use the Arbor Press to press the axles out. You could also do the bearings at the same time. I think that 20 tons will do the trick.

[jmortensen]

Does the nut itself usually tear all the threads off?

If you just twist the nut loose, yes. If you CUT the peened section of the nut off with a dremel, maybe. I'm probably running about 75% need thread file work, 25% are OK. I think the key is to get ALL of the peened area off, even if you take a bit of the thread at the corner too. That's much less damaging than twisting the nut off.

[Zealous]

Slide hammer is how we got them out last time if i remember correctly.

\

[beermanpete]

To un-peen the nut we used a small cold chisel and managed to lift the peened area enough that no damage occured to the threads upon removal. To check if you have un-peened it enough crack the nut loose and then re-tighten slightly. When the peened area is back in the notch and the nut is not "tight" you should be able to rotate the nut by hand. If you can only turn it a few degrees you need to un-peen it more.

We used a slide hammer to pull the stub axle before removing the strut from the car. We bought the 5 pounder from Harbor Freight. It is a cheapy but did the job.

To torque the nut down without a torque wrench we cut a 4x4 to about 1 1/2 feet long, drill holes in it for the wheel studs and stood on it while holding the nut with a breaker bar wedged on the ground. Find a 200 pound person to step on the 4x4 at the point 1 foot from the axle center. Jump a little. Done. Not exact, but they have not come loose after several track events.

[240260280z]

I read about someone using a scissor jack as a sideways press, some blocks for mating the ends of the jack, and the differential as the base for pushing. Most clever I thought.

I used a slide hammer and struggled.

When reassembling, use the nuts from a 280zx rather than a 2x0z as they do not need to be peened.

Edited June 23, 2011 by Blue

[240Z-Fan]

Ironic.

1.5 years ago I carefully followed the intructions in a very nice write-up on-line. I carefully cut off the portion of the nut to remove the staking using a 3" air cutter as I rotated the wheel...and promptly screwed up the threads on the stub axle.

THEN, I looked at my 1973 FSM which specifically states NOT to unstake the nut and to take it off simply by twiting it off...what I was going to do in the first place!

So, my recommendation is to just follow the FSM. Just twist it off.

Al

Edited June 23, 2011 by 240Z-Fan