It's time for me to replace a smoked bearing.

I've heard that backing the bolts out about half way and whailing on them with a hammer can help to remove the hub, but could also damage the bolts.

Is there a better way or another solution?

I was thinking of bolting the wheel back on and using that as leverage to pry it off... would that work?

Yes, backing out the bolts half way works well, along with Lots of DW-04,...I got extra bolts on a "Auto Recycler" trip, and keep these now Mushroom head bolts in my tools for future use, the threads do not seem to get damaged.

wd-40 and a slide hammer on the front works wonders, also heat!

i keep an old 1/2 inch drive ratchet and back the bolts out half way, keep the socket/ratchet on the bolts and turn the steering wheel till the ratchet comes into contact with the inner C.
then with a bit of force on the steering wheel, turn it till it pops free.

works every time, no matter how seized it is.

That's pretty genius

I've always had good luck with hammering each corner after liberal use of pb blaster.

I always used an air chisel.

Takes a bit of work, but what doesn't.

I do this but I use the same bolt every time. The bolt stays in my tool box and has an extremely mushroomed head.

It's always worked.

I like to use a puller and tighten it down and give it a good whack with a hammer on the bolt on the puller and it pops right off

I did it the same way lowrange suggested. After quite a bit of pb I let it sit for a bit. Then I put an extra bolt I had lying around in there and wailed on it with a hammer, came out without much difficulty.

If I need to do it again I may copy caged's idea, thats down right cheating lol

I just did mine. I used a 3/8 2 1/2 " extension between the edge of the hole in the middle of the "C" and the U joint horn on the outer axle shaft. First one side, then the other, walk it out with the steering wheel, no need to run the engine. Boogered my 3/8 extension on the axle housing side, but it worked like a charm. It's amazing how much force the steering box puts out. Works best with a helper, but I did it on my own.

I too just did mine, but I replaced them, so I just used a bfh to bash it and break all the rust, so if your not replacing them don't use my method lol

if you damage the bolts, buy them new. you should always do so in this type of repair

Rock sells set of three for under $10