HighOnLift

It may be hard to believe... a part bring stuck on a jeep.

I need to replace a steering knuckle on my 96 xj and have gotten to the point of removing the wheel bearing.... and I thought removing the axle nut was going to be the worst of it.

I have beaten this thing pretty extensively with a small sledge with no joy at all. Absolutely none . I'm now questioning putting this same bearing back on after I get if off, should that happen. (btw there is, or was, nothing wrong with the bearing).
I just have a stripped caliper pin hole in the knuckle, and some knucklehead convinced me that this would be just as easy / cost effective to fix than rethreading the hole. I'd actually say they were correct, if things went smoothly. But cmon here, this is an XJ by all means. Nothing comes off easy!

I have seen some vague instructions that involve using some steering wheel magic, but not many pictures and the description was vague. Also I won't have someone to turn the wheel for me.

Any suggestions, tips, ideas, web links or living in Denver area wanna swing by lol...

I'm all ears!

OldTires

I used a flat head chisel and lightly tapped in between the bearing body and the knuckle to begin to separate the two. Do it carefully, so as not to do major damage to the knuckle of the bearing. Once it begins to let go, tap the wheel bearing all around. The vibrations help to break the bond.

Good luck, I have been there. Nothing comes off easily in a 96.

fb97xj1

Try this. See pic in post #5.

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f2/pro...ing-hub-28951/

jordan96xj

When I first took off my old bearing (both sides) to replace them, I had to use a small cold chisel and slowly work around the mating surface until I could get them to begin separating. Took about an hour for each side. I was learning at the time, so if I had to do it again it would be about 20-30min each side (I would know where to hit a lot better now, right at the corners and less on the straight areas). Unfortunately, chiseling them off does some minor damage to the dust shields, but they were easily pounded back into shape and reused. Some folks just remove them. Of course, when the new bearings went on they got a small amount of anti-seize on the mating surface (and the moog bearings have a teflon non-stick coating as well). So working with them since that time has been easy.

unidentifiedbomb

X2 on Post 5, had to do that before.

HighOnLift

Thank you!!! Finally a clear picture that makes sense! Will give er a go and report back later. Unfortunately will have to wait for someone to come by and turn the wheel on my command lol. Don't want to get in a hurry and try to do it alone as I want to precisely tell them how much/fast/far etc... to turn the wheel and monitor the process by the hub.

PatHenry

Definitely keep a good eye on it - the hub will pop out and you won't even realize it if you're not paying attention.

That trick works great - something I wish I knew the first time I tried to take out a hub and dealt with the same frustrations mentioned above.

investinwaffles

I also used a 3/8 extension and just turned the car on and used the power steering. Would have been easier if I had someone to hold it in place while turning the wheel but I think I just used some duct tape to keep it in position till I could put pressure on the extension to pop the hub out.

Coat the hell out of the new one when reinstalling it so it comes out easier the next time.

HighOnLift

So what if that trick doesn't work? and how hard should I be pulling on the wheel?

the bolts themselves were each a nightmare... EVERY crank required a 2 ft pry

I'm about to just chisel it off and replace it too. I hate it that much right now.

HighOnLift

So what could I possibly break, if I was to take a massive sledge to it? (aside from bearing and knuckle). Already have another knuckle, might as well get a bearing too.

Any advice on how to properly go caveman and let out some whoopass on this bearing without breaking axle?

EZEARL

Before you go caveman have you SOAKED that whole assembly down with any kind of penetrating fluid? If not get some PB Blaster or make up a 50/50 mix of auto trans fluid and acetone and soak down the whole assembly. Look for any place you think you can get penetrator in to. Leave it sit for at least a day or longer is better if possible. Keep applying once every day. If your outside cover everything against rain. After a couple days try the above method you've been using. If no luck soak it again for at least another day.

PatHenry

I agree with EZEarl.

The trick WILL work. If you cleaned up the back end of the hub bolts it would have gone a lot easier.

You're looking at it the wrong way, you need to finesse it. spray the hub edge with PBBLASTER and tap the knuckle to vibrate it.

Did you take the axle nut off already? Is the axle loose in the hub? (Turn the wheel and see if the axle slides a bit in the hub splines or not.

If it were a last resort, the "brute force" method might be to use a saws-all to cut the ball joint studs, then take the whole knuckle and hub assembly off. If the axles were stuck I'd try PBBLASTER and a hammer and try to pop the axle out, and worst case cut the hub in half with an angle grinder.
But trust in the extension trick - I'l bet money it will work.

HighOnLift

I did indeed soak the entire thing in PB for about a day, maybe two.

HOWEVER I GOT IT OFF EARLIER!!!!!!

It was a combo of everything, beating with hammer, then the extension trick, then in the end it was chiseling around the seal once I have a small opening.

So what are the chances I broke the bearing doing all this? Should I just buy a new one or clean the pee pee out of this one and anti seize it?

It was perfectly fine before all this, and there are visible hammer spots on the inside of the hub, but nothing major... picture coming soon

HighOnLift

I need to quit telling myself "well it can't get any harder than that just was"... My jeep takes it as a personal challenge.

HighOnLift

I know it's hard to tell from the pictures if the part is good or not, but maybe not...




That shield is probably toast though. let me tell you, I'm so glad it was there. Not sure that part would have survived without being shielded so amazingly. All sarcasm aside... how vital is it that I have this? Should I start pounding the dents out of the one I have?

Also I love PB blaster, but you can literally see the 'penetration'. But hey I don't expect anything to work miracles on ole Rusty. I'm serious, I'm going to be replacing the entire inner pan next spring no doubt. If not for carpet, my feet would go straight through the floor. I found a pan for $300 that is the entire inner piece in one unit. I can't wait for the joy of cutting the old one out. Although 30% of it or more could probably just be broken out by hand.

Amazingly enough... rockers are in perfect condition. it's like literally just that inner pan.