Removing front wheel hub assembly - Toyota GR86, 86, FR-S and Subaru BRZ Forum & Owners Community

Apex_BRZ · 05-12-2015, 11:41 AM

I need to remove my front wheel hub assembly tonight to replace a backing plate for my brake duct setup. So far, removing that wheel hub assembly is the hardest thing I've ever done to a car. That includes removing the entire drivetrain from my Vette. Problem was, that damn wheel hub just wouldn't separate from the mount. It took a ridiculous amount of effort and I even broke tools attempting it. I'm confident I'm probably making it harder than it should be.

There has to be an easier way. What do you guys do and what do you suggest?

This photo makes it look so easy, but it seemed as if my hubs were literally welded to the surfaces.

Poodles · 05-12-2015, 04:50 PM

I'm betting you drove the car during winter... Rust is a bitch.

mav1178 · 05-12-2015, 04:54 PM

Including jacking up the car, removing the wheels, and removing the brakes, the front hubs took me about 15 minutes each side max.

It's about as easy as it gets. Once you remove the 4x 14mm bolts in the back, just tap the side of the hub with a hammer.

-alex

swarb · 05-12-2015, 05:06 PM

pb blaster and a rubber mallet is your friend.

Apex_BRZ · 05-12-2015, 06:31 PM

Yes, car is driven during the winter.

Tapping lightly on the back of the aluminum portion of the hub did absolutely nothing last time. I would have had to really hit it hard to get it to budge. I'm worried doing that would damage the wheel bearings.

Are you guys suggesting really putting my arm into it and hitting the hub hard from the back? A friend suggested back the screws out about 1/8" or so and hitting those with a hammer. At least if that got it to move, I'd have a surface to pry on from the front.

Interesting that they come off so easy for everyone else. Lovely Iowa winters. I can't even get a brake rotor off without using a bolt on the face of the rotor from the back side and forcing it off. Rubber mallets, ballpeen hammers, and 4lb dead blow hammers had no affect.

mav1178 · 05-12-2015, 06:37 PM

Side. Hammer the side of the hub.

Apex_BRZ · 05-12-2015, 06:39 PM

Didn't work last time either. Just ended up chipping/denting the sides of the hub. Didn't even budge a millimeter. In fact, I stopped hitting it there because it was actually starting to deform the threaded bolt hole.

Apex_BRZ · 05-13-2015, 11:09 PM

Backing the screws out a little from the back of the hub and whacking those with a hammer did the trick. It was stubborn as hell and didn't want to come out, but it slowly walked out. Going to spend some time cleaning the parts and coating the surfaces in anti-seize before putting it back together again.

For those of you lucky folks that don't have to endure an Iowa winter...here's what it does. Keep in mind I had this apart when I installed the ducting for Sebring in January. I had these parts so clean you could eat off them. So this is 4 months on the car, and maybe 1-1.5 months of a winter.

05-12-2015, 11:41 AM	#1
Apex_BRZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited (WRB) Location: Iowa Posts: 259 Thanks: 9 Thanked 81 Times in 53 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Removing front wheel hub assembly I need to remove my front wheel hub assembly tonight to replace a backing plate for my brake duct setup. So far, removing that wheel hub assembly is the hardest thing I've ever done to a car. That includes removing the entire drivetrain from my Vette. Problem was, that damn wheel hub just wouldn't separate from the mount. It took a ridiculous amount of effort and I even broke tools attempting it. I'm confident I'm probably making it harder than it should be. There has to be an easier way. What do you guys do and what do you suggest? This photo makes it look so easy, but it seemed as if my hubs were literally welded to the surfaces. Last edited by Apex_BRZ; 05-12-2015 at 11:52 AM.

05-12-2015, 06:37 PM	#6
mav1178 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Drives: 2005 Toyota Camry Location: 91745 Posts: 6,562 Thanks: 493 Thanked 6,099 Times in 3,030 Posts Mentioned: 95 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	Side. Hammer the side of the hub. Attached Images

05-12-2015, 06:39 PM	#7
Apex_BRZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited (WRB) Location: Iowa Posts: 259 Thanks: 9 Thanked 81 Times in 53 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Didn't work last time either. Just ended up chipping/denting the sides of the hub. Didn't even budge a millimeter. In fact, I stopped hitting it there because it was actually starting to deform the threaded bolt hole. Last edited by Apex_BRZ; 05-12-2015 at 06:54 PM.

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05-12-2015, 04:50 PM	#2
Poodles Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Drives: 2015 Series.Blue Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 1,781 Thanks: 88 Thanked 781 Times in 481 Posts Mentioned: 16 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	I'm betting you drove the car during winter... Rust is a bitch.

05-12-2015, 04:54 PM	#3
mav1178 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Drives: 2005 Toyota Camry Location: 91745 Posts: 6,562 Thanks: 493 Thanked 6,099 Times in 3,030 Posts Mentioned: 95 Post(s) Tagged: 3 Thread(s)	Including jacking up the car, removing the wheels, and removing the brakes, the front hubs took me about 15 minutes each side max. It's about as easy as it gets. Once you remove the 4x 14mm bolts in the back, just tap the side of the hub with a hammer. -alex

05-12-2015, 05:06 PM	#4
swarb Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Drives: BRZ Location: Los Angeles Posts: 3,052 Thanks: 1,773 Thanked 2,451 Times in 1,271 Posts Mentioned: 79 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	pb blaster and a rubber mallet is your friend.

05-12-2015, 06:31 PM	#5
Apex_BRZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited (WRB) Location: Iowa Posts: 259 Thanks: 9 Thanked 81 Times in 53 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Yes, car is driven during the winter. Tapping lightly on the back of the aluminum portion of the hub did absolutely nothing last time. I would have had to really hit it hard to get it to budge. I'm worried doing that would damage the wheel bearings. Are you guys suggesting really putting my arm into it and hitting the hub hard from the back? A friend suggested back the screws out about 1/8" or so and hitting those with a hammer. At least if that got it to move, I'd have a surface to pry on from the front. Interesting that they come off so easy for everyone else. Lovely Iowa winters. I can't even get a brake rotor off without using a bolt on the face of the rotor from the back side and forcing it off. Rubber mallets, ballpeen hammers, and 4lb dead blow hammers had no affect.

05-13-2015, 11:09 PM	#8
Apex_BRZ Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Drives: 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited (WRB) Location: Iowa Posts: 259 Thanks: 9 Thanked 81 Times in 53 Posts Mentioned: 1 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	Backing the screws out a little from the back of the hub and whacking those with a hammer did the trick. It was stubborn as hell and didn't want to come out, but it slowly walked out. Going to spend some time cleaning the parts and coating the surfaces in anti-seize before putting it back together again. For those of you lucky folks that don't have to endure an Iowa winter...here's what it does. Keep in mind I had this apart when I installed the ducting for Sebring in January. I had these parts so clean you could eat off them. So this is 4 months on the car, and maybe 1-1.5 months of a winter.

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