I have a '96 2500 4WD and had front end vibration, only when braking. I was told that it was probably warped rotors.

So I went and got very expensive and HEAVY rotors and raybestos pads, pulled a tire, hung the caliper and ran into a few problems......

the castle nut is huge, got an 1 11/16 socket seems to be the right size but I have leaned on it pretty heavy without breaking free

the 4 bolts on the back side of the rotor appear to be 12 point bolts

Questions-

do these bolts tighten and loosen normally...righty-tighty ect... I am going get pipe on the breaker bar but I want to make sure I am going the right way

I read on another thread to watch out for ruining a seal(s) when pulling the rotor and hub assembly, is this to be expected...should I plan to replace in any event....any tricks to not damaging them

Since this is such a bear to get apart should I put in a new bearing assembly....the truck has about 130k on it...I have had it only about 6 mos the records I got with it don't indicate this was ever done....where would be a good place to get one NAPA, Autozone....????

The bolts on the back side of the rotor...what size are they....do they tighten and loosen normally...I thought they might be metric...got 12 pt 15 and 16mm and still to big

Any help would be appreciated.

 

No "goofy" threads on any of the aboved mentioned, all "normal". If you have rust, live in snow country, the hub can often seize to the spindle so you end up ruining the bearing getting it apart. Most of the time you can get it removed with a hammer, but we also have a big puller to get the tough ones. Sucks when you have to explain to a customer how his brake job turned into a $500+ ticket. Using LOTS of wd-40 you can remove the axle nut and make sure the axle moves a little (splines not seized to hub/rust). I usually knock the steering links off the spindle to allow more/easier movement of the steering knuckle. Remove the four bolts with the 12pt heads, again spraying everything liberally with the WD. I then thread two of these bolts in a few threads and hit them with a hammer alternating sides. If all goes well you will create a little gap where the bearing/hub assy starts coming away from the knuckle. From there you can put a large chisel in the gap and use it to wedge the bearing away from the hub.

 

The way I did mine, get a big cheater bar for the hub nut, heating it up also helps. Then for the hubs, they are 9/16" 12 pt. They are standard thread. The way to avoid ruining the bearing is to break the hub nut loose, then tighten it back down to about about 30 lb-ft. Then thread a couple of the 12 pt. bolts back in, so they have enough thread, and there is about 1/2" of a gap between the bolt head and the surface. Then pound on them with a hammer, alternating sides. My driver side popped right off, and the passenger side took the 32 oz. hammer, but it came. Don't be afraid to pound them. Then, onci it comes free, it will pop out the axle with it, then you can take the hub nut off. Make sure and retain tension on the hub nut while taking the hub off. If you don't, the bearing can shift in there, and won't set up right during reassembly, this is what leads to failure. It took me about 3 1/2 hours for one side, and 1/2 hour for the other.

As far as replacing the bearings now, they must be replaced as a hub assembly. I wouldn't worry about it, mine are at 170K (judging by the way the hub was seized up, it had never been off) and they are still perfect.

Just make sure you pull the axle straight out, and put it straight back in, and you won't damage the seal.

Now get 'er done!

 

DO NOT hit the hub too hard, i almost separated my hub bearing doing so, untill i found the easy way to get the hub off. Remove the four bolts on the back and the big one on front. Turn the wheels all the way to the right (driver side example). Turn the axle shaft so the inside axle knucle is up-down. Place a (1.5"-2" long?)socket between the OUTSIDE axle knuckle (level) and the axle housing. Start the truck and straighten the steering wheel. Should pop right out. Took me 6 hours to figure that out(with the help of DTR) after two 3 jaw pullers, hammers, prybars, heating and so on. After i got it off i could see the bearing had somewhat seperated from beating on it. Good luck -Jake

 

You might try taking the truck to a shop with an impact to break the axle nuts loose if they are really tight.
I had to beat on mine (on the 12 pt bolt heads), and separated the left hub when removing. Not a big deal though. Took the opportunity to grease the bearings before re-assembly.
While you should be careful, I have not had any problems with my seals after pulling the rotors to be turned twice now.

Chris

 

You guys are great! Came apart like you said, with the info. I proceed with more confidence. I ended up putting new bearing on.....I pounded on the assembly so hard I did not want to risk have something else go wrong, anti-seized all of the metal mating surfaces!

I am still getting some front end shimmy when I put the new brakes on. Is it possible I need new balance and alignment with this newer heavier rotor on the front?

 

I would get it aligned. When you work with any component that deals w/ steering/braking/turning, its always a good idea to get it re-aligned so you don't wind up re-replacing the parts that you just fixed.

Good luck,
Hunter

 

Good to hear it went without a hitch I get to do my rotors on Wed. or Thurs, Yippee