Are my front hubs toast?
Nov 21, 2004 | 02:31 AM
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Are my front hubs toast?
I was about to remove the knobbies tonight when I noticed some of the front wheel studs did not protrude from the nut as much as some of the others. After getting the rims off I saw that the allen headed studs had backed out from their seated position in the hubs. I then noticed aluminum shavings in the threads of the bolts. The shavings are the hub threads. The threads are gone in at least one of the holes.
I'm thinking this had been going on without me noticing it (my mistake). Even though the stud was not seated completely against the hub, I was able to tighten the rim on. This appears to have damaged the threads in the hub.
What are my options?
I saw a post from BigDaddy331 about moving up to a 12mm bolt. Will I have to drill-out my rims too? Am I better off replacing the
front hubs? Do the hubs come off easily?
Here's BigDaddy's quote from earlier this year...
I'm thinking this had been going on without me noticing it (my mistake). Even though the stud was not seated completely against the hub, I was able to tighten the rim on. This appears to have damaged the threads in the hub.
What are my options?
I saw a post from BigDaddy331 about moving up to a 12mm bolt. Will I have to drill-out my rims too? Am I better off replacing the
front hubs? Do the hubs come off easily?
Here's BigDaddy's quote from earlier this year...
Originally posted by: BigDaddy331
You are not the only one..... I posted on this awhile back and the problem here is two-fold. First off, you're going to have to get the lug off without being able to get to the allen head to to clearences of the brake rotor, next, you'll have one of two options for a fix.
1. Heli Coil the affected studs/hub arms. This is a fix that I chose not to go with, due to the simple fact that I had more than 4 to do, and felt that it would be just a matter of time. Also, HeliCoil kit + extra inserts would have ran me about $50 - $60.
2. This is what I did. It takes more time, but in the long run it is VERY NICE! I drilled my hubs out and prepped them for tapping a 12MM Grade 8 allen bolt. It's simply the next size up, but hardened bolt allows for a little more wear and tear. The hardest part of this is that you'll have to machine the inside part of the hub arms out so that the bigger allen head will fit in. The process is simple if you have a drill press and a rasp/file bit. I believe the bit ran me $5 at Home Depot. It took about an hour to machine the hubs and about 15minutes to tap the larger wholes. I then ran some real nice sets of 12mm shouldered nuts and it's stonger than ever.
BH is on the money about over-torqueing the nuts, however, the nuts are problems by themselves. They have little slices in them to act as a sort of lock. Those little slices are the problem. The torgue applied to the bolts aren't the problem so much as the nuts cranked down to tight. When you got to loosen the nuts they cut into the bolt and bang..... you strip the hub trying to get the nut off. You don't need lock nuts! Cars and trucks don't have them and our sleds don't need them. If you don't have a buch to Helicoil, just changes the nuts out and you'll be much better off. I torque to 60lbs and my setup still feels smooth as silk.
Your are not alone
Good Luck
You are not the only one..... I posted on this awhile back and the problem here is two-fold. First off, you're going to have to get the lug off without being able to get to the allen head to to clearences of the brake rotor, next, you'll have one of two options for a fix.
1. Heli Coil the affected studs/hub arms. This is a fix that I chose not to go with, due to the simple fact that I had more than 4 to do, and felt that it would be just a matter of time. Also, HeliCoil kit + extra inserts would have ran me about $50 - $60.
2. This is what I did. It takes more time, but in the long run it is VERY NICE! I drilled my hubs out and prepped them for tapping a 12MM Grade 8 allen bolt. It's simply the next size up, but hardened bolt allows for a little more wear and tear. The hardest part of this is that you'll have to machine the inside part of the hub arms out so that the bigger allen head will fit in. The process is simple if you have a drill press and a rasp/file bit. I believe the bit ran me $5 at Home Depot. It took about an hour to machine the hubs and about 15minutes to tap the larger wholes. I then ran some real nice sets of 12mm shouldered nuts and it's stonger than ever.
BH is on the money about over-torqueing the nuts, however, the nuts are problems by themselves. They have little slices in them to act as a sort of lock. Those little slices are the problem. The torgue applied to the bolts aren't the problem so much as the nuts cranked down to tight. When you got to loosen the nuts they cut into the bolt and bang..... you strip the hub trying to get the nut off. You don't need lock nuts! Cars and trucks don't have them and our sleds don't need them. If you don't have a buch to Helicoil, just changes the nuts out and you'll be much better off. I torque to 60lbs and my setup still feels smooth as silk.
Your are not alone
Good Luck
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