ok guys I was getting ready to change out my front hub assembly. I have been putting liquid wrench on the spindle theads for a week now. I had gotten the brakes, spindle cotter pin and nut lock off no problem. when I went to hit the spindle nut with my impact it didn't even move. after a few compressor cycles I moved on to the old fashioned way with a 1/2" breaker bar and cheater pipe "snap" no more breaker bar after three wrenchs I have given up for the night. tomorrow I go to buy a 3/4 drive breaker and socket and see if I can't break any of those!!

I have done this before on many different vehicles and never had such a problem. Are they supposed to be that tight on the xj's? any suggestions would be appreciated!!

 

Heat Maybe?

 

x2! put a torch to that sucker

 

breaker bar with a pipe on it, get the nut nice and toasty. breaker bar is stronger than the impact if it doesn't work.

 

Yep heat is your friend on those darn things. They are on their tight and should be at 175 ft lb's of torque..

 

As long as you are changing the hub assembly anyway... heat it and a nice fat breaker bar... I have a 3/4 3 footer and a piece of cheater pipe I keep around just for that job.

If you are planning on reusing the hub... be more careful when applying the heat. You don't want to damage the bearing inside of the hub assembly.

 

I don't remember ever doing one that has been on so tight. All of the one I have done in the past you torque it down to seat the bearing then back the nut off a little bit like a 1/4 turn or something the put your cotter pin back in.

 

yup, if you're gonna replace that hub, heat the nut up real good.

that nut shouldn't be tightened more that 175lb/ft or it will prematurely destroy the bearings.

with that being said, 175 isn't much if you're using a 3 foot lever.

i've always used my electric impact, the longer you hold the trigger, the more power it gets. i've never had a problem with one, as long as the wheel doesn't spin.

 

Sounds like you're dealing with an overtightened and VERY corroded nut. Use heat and when you get it off, inspect the spindle very close. It might be hashed. and need replaced.

 

no where have i ever seen its recomended to back the nut off on an axle nut, nor in the hundreds i've done, done that. not a good idea.

on front hub bearings on a 2wd where the bearings are adjustable and they get repacked thats fine. you are describing more of this style that does not get much torque and holds the preload on the bearings. sealed hub is much different

 

If you're going to replace the unit bearing anyhow, you can get away with heat. However, you'll want to replace the nut as well...

Use a pencil torch to heat up the nut (you want to heat the nut only and not the stub shaft!) and have a block of paraffin wax in the other hand - once you get the nut good and hot, touch the wax to the junction of the nut and stub shaft and let it melt. It will "wick" in between the threads, and help free things up even more.

Remove the nut and throw it away. Replace the unit bearing, coat the threads of the stub shaft with never-seez, and torque the new nut to 87-88 pound feet (yes, that's correct. The change in torque value is due to the lubricity of the never-seez - and I've done it that way for years, so I know it works.) I also tend to coat the bore in the knuckle (where it contacts the unit bearing) with never-seez, and I'll coat the retaining screws with never-seez and torque those to 37-38 pound-feet (same reason) - everything is just so much easier to pull apart the next time!

 

thank you guys for the info we finlly got it after jumping on the breaker and some well positioned taps from a punch and hammer.

 

this is my first hub assembly. thay have always been repackable bearings.

 

thats what i started to realize you were descrbing. definately not the case here. glad you got it figured out, and i'm assuming you have it back together and all is good.

definately want that nut to be tight.

 

these torque numbers are wrong. they must be at factory torque specs for a reason. the hub bearing needs 175lb/ft so it doesn't fall apart. the hub needs 75ft/lbs to keep it pressed into the outer c properly and safely. i know ani-seize helps it spin on easier, but....

so, not to be a ding dong, but show me where it says you can only torque to your specs, cause i don't think that's true. just because you can do it and get away with it.
i always use anti-seize and torque to factory specs cause that's not only how the fsm explains it, but all the mechanics i know says the same thing.

so, please enlighten me.