Stripped locking hub cap screws

[BullnoseLuvr]

I need to pull a locking hub off to replace a front wheel bearing and the Allen-head screws that hold the cap ring on the hub are stripped. Any tips on getting them out before I drill them?

Mark

[Gary Lewis]

I had to drill a set out on one of my trucks.  But before that I tried EZOuts and left-handed screw extractors like these.  They didn't work so then I drilled the heads off.

It was a LOT of WORK!  So I'm really careful to keep them lubed with anti-seize now.

[kramttocs]

I've always meant to pick up a set like those linked but never have.
Drilling may be the final solution but personally I'd give those a try. Might get lucky.

[Gary Lewis]

Left-hand drill bits would be good as well. Might get lucky and they’ll bite.

[BullnoseLuvr]

Gary Lewis wrote

Left-hand drill bits would be good as well. Might get lucky and they’ll bite.

I drilled them out. They were finger tight in the hub but seized in the hub cap.

The Haynes manual says tighten the bearing bolt to 50ft lbs and back off 45 degrees, and tighten the lock nut to 150ft lbs on the bearings. Done.

Mark

[Gary Lewis]

Glad you got them out.

But why are you using an off-brand manual?  Why not use the factory shop manual section here: Documentation/Driveline/4WD Front Hubs & Rotors?  It says:

BRONCO AND F-150— F-250 4X4

1. Raise the vehicle and install safety stands.

2. Remove the hub assembly. Refer to Automatic Locking Hub or Manual Locking Hub removal and installation in this part.

3. Using Topi T59T-1197-B (Fig. 3) and a torque wrench, tighten the bearing inner adjusting nut to 68 N-m (50 ft-lb) while rotating the wheel back and forth to seat the bearing.

4. Back off the adjusting nut approximately 45 degrees.

5. Assemble lockwasher by turning inner locknut to nearest hole in the lockwasher. To lock, install the outer locknut and tighten to 68 N-m (50 ft-lbs).

And right there you see why I do not use aftermarket manuals.  There are mistakes in the Ford manuals, but they are few and far between. However, there are many mistakes in the aftermarket manuals, and they can cause costly problems.

[BullnoseLuvr]

Gary Lewis wrote

Glad you got them out.

But why are you using an off-brand manual?  Why not use the factory shop manual section here: Documentation/Driveline/4WD Front Hubs & Rotors?  It says:

BRONCO AND F-150— F-250 4X4

1. Raise the vehicle and install safety stands.

2. Remove the hub assembly. Refer to Automatic Locking Hub or Manual Locking Hub removal and installation in this part.

3. Using Topi T59T-1197-B (Fig. 3) and a torque wrench, tighten the bearing inner adjusting nut to 68 N-m (50 ft-lb) while rotating the wheel back and forth to seat the bearing.

4. Back off the adjusting nut approximately 45 degrees.

5. Assemble lockwasher by turning inner locknut to nearest hole in the lockwasher. To lock, install the outer locknut and tighten to 68 N-m (50 ft-lbs).

And right there you see why I do not use aftermarket manuals.  There are mistakes in the Ford manuals, but they are few and far between. However, there are many mistakes in the aftermarket manuals, and they can cause costly problems.

Whelp!  (And I don't mean puppies.)  I had the Haynes in my hand so it was convenient and, I've found mistakes in the factory manual to my Mark III, my Saabs, and right here online in the manual to my truck, so I'm not convinced there are more mistakes in the aftermarket manuals.

More interesting is that I found a raging firestorm of a thread on a Ford Truck forum about the torque value on the locknut.  There's filthy language and bomb-throwing -- it's a lotta fun.  The suggestions range from 80 to 220 ft. lbs.  Factory says 50, Haynes says 150.  Now I have no clue what's right.

I put those bearings in the truck about 15 years ago when I rebuilt the front driveline and suspension and here weren't many miles on them so they shouldn't have gone bad.  I can see that the races have run hot and the grease on the inside bearing was pitch black, though it was the outer that failed.  It was really hard to break the locknut loose because, well, I used the Haynes when I did the job the first time.

Mark

[Gary Lewis]

I found a big mistake in the 1995 FSM - you'd twist the bolt off if you tried to put that much torque on it.  But I've found fewer in the FSM's than I have in others, so I religiously use the FSM spec's.

If your grease was black the whole thing got really hot.  What grease did you use?  I ask because some aren't designed for the temps that disc brakes can create.

[BullnoseLuvr]

No clue.  I don't remember what I did yesterday much less 15 years ago.  Typically I use the high temp stuff for discs.  Can you get something that isn't any more?  Anyway, this time I used Valvoline synthetic gray.

I have on more than one occasion ignored a manual's advice when it's obviously wrong.  I wonder why so many people on the other forum think the locknut torque should be so high?  According to them it works fine.  I'm worried that over torqueing the locknut could somehow increase the preload by pushing the bearing nut inward.

Mark

[Gary Lewis]

Some forums and most of the facebook pages, rely on "I think" rather than documentation.  Yesterday I waded into a raging debate on a FB page re which Bullnose trucks had FORD on the hood.  Guys were going back and forth with "my truck has FORD on the hood" or "mine doesn't" as if that proves anything.  Hoods are changed all the time, and letters are easy to add.  So I gave them a link to our page on literature and told them that it was 1980 & 81 and if they didn't believe it to go look at the brochures.  And yet the debate raged on.

Later on another page there was a debate about what thermostat to use in a 351M.  Since the M-Block uses a very unusual thermostat, without which the cooling system won't work properly, I posted a link to our description thereof.  But instead of reading that, which includes pictures and factory documentation, the OP asked "what is different about that thermostat?"

Can these people not read?  Or are they just too lazy to do so?  

[BullnoseLuvr]

Interesting.  This is from SKF in the document linked at the bottom.  This must be where Haynes got it.

FTJ Tighten adjusting nut to 50 ft-lbs/68 Nm while
rotating hub. Back off 45°. Align lock washer hole
with pin on adjusting nut. Tighten locknut to 150
ft-lbs/203 Nm. Endplay should be .001-.006"

http://estore.nordiques.com/uploads/nordiques/files/09-torquesskf.pdf


Mark

[old55pete]

Those are pretty much the instructions that came with the new nut set that I got last winter when I changed my failed self locking hubs to Warn hubs. As I had it that far apart, I went a head and put in new bearings, races and seals.

[BullnoseLuvr]

old55pete wrote

Those are pretty much the instructions that came with the new nut set that I got last winter when I changed my failed self locking hubs to Warn hubs. As I had it that far apart, I went a head and put in new bearings, races and seals.

But, but...  The FMS says 50, not 150ft-lbs.  Which did you do?  I'm at 150 right now.

Mark

[old55pete]

The outter nut is at 150 ft/lbs and has been running that way ever sense. I was even on an elk scouting trip and returned on 2 Oct and have had no issues.