Well, I have the parts now. Hopefully everything will go smoothly tomorrow.

The best torque wrench AutoZone had only goes up to 150 ft. lbs. - and the hub nut is supposed to be tightened to 157 - 213 ft. lbs. Oh well. I guess I'll go to 150, and then go a little farther.

Speaking of torque wrenches - I've never used one before. The one I bought measures in ft. lbs., but the torque specs for the dust shield are listed in lbs/in. Is this as simple as taking the number and dividing it by 12 to get ft/in? Or is there more to it than that?

Also, on the subject of the hub nut...after looking at various auto parts sites (e.g. AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, etc.) I noticed that they have hub nuts listed for 2WD Explorer's, but not 4WD Explorer's. I looked through the repair section on AutoZone's website, as well as the info in my repair manual. Every time they talk about removing and replacing the hub nut (due to its "special design") they make no distinction between 2WD and 4WD vehicles. I'm going to pick up a nut for the 2WD models at AutoZone tomorrow morning, and as long as it is the same size (I'm hoping it is...the measurement's on AutoZone's website look roughly the same as what mine looks like - won't know for sure until I get it off though) I'm going to go ahead and use it. My theory right now is that the auto part's stores' computers just aren't matching them to the 4WD vehicles for some reason.

Thanks for everyone's help thus far!

Oh yeah, one more question - this might sound stupid, but all things considered I'm still a bit of a novice at auto repairs - especially when it comes to jacking up vehicles for repair jobs. The jack stands that I just purchased today say they should only be used in pairs - to never use just one to support one corner of the vehicle - if I'm going to be raising the front driver's side I should also raise the front passenger side and use a jack stand on each side. Is this correct? Is it a bad idea to only use one jack stand on one corner?

 

Not a stupid question at all, I would say it is a smart one. I suggest using the two in the front on both sides. You could use just one but you don't want anything to shift and fall. Have fun.

 

I went to autozone to get a hub nut and all they had were the nuts for a 2 wheel drive.They are different.They have the slots in them to put the cotter pin thru.I didn't get them because they were different.I used my old ones.I don't see a problem as long as they look good but I could be wrong.

 

Jessman1128

1. The wheel nuts are not the same between the replaceable wheel bearing and the replacement hub. Where bearings are replaceable the nut is generally castellated - slotted - in order to fit a split pin. The 4WD model has just a large, tightly threaded nut. May I suggest that you have a length of pipe handy to assist with the removal - as these things are quite tight. It helps if you partially jack the wheel for removal prior to lifting it off the ground.
2. Stands are designed to be used on level ground - and with level loading. If you use on one side only you run the risk on a serious let-go. These things happen very quickly and often without warning. Spend the extra time and attack with safety!

Regards,

Paul.

 

Thanks for the advice on the jack stands - greatly appreciated!

I called my local Ford Dealer this morning (should have done that a few days ago, I know) and the guy in Parts looked up the hub nut for me. Said it costs about $12, he'd have to special order it, and the part number is N808985S100. I tried Googling the part number, but didn't have any hits. I'll just re-use the existing one for now, assuming I can get it off without any problems, and then order a new one and put it on when it arrives.

 

Well, two hours and one broken ratchet after I started I finally got the hub nut loosened. After reading what everyone said I knew it was going to be hard, but damn - I wasn't expecting that! (The ratchet was a really cheap one - don't know where it came from - I didn't buy it, but it was in my toolbox - now it's in the trash)

Started to work on the brake caliper, the only socket I had that fit was a cheap 15mm - it broke after a few minutes (from same set as ratchet - I think I must have inherited the set from somebody and never bothered to throw it away) - still don't have the caliper off yet. My 5/8 in. socket sort of fits, but it's a little too big to be much use. I'm waiting for my ride now to go get another 15mm socket - one that won't break!

 

When I did the rotors on my 97 Monty the two bolts that hold the caliper anchor plate were a real b**ch to get off. I ended up using a 3 ft breaker bar to get those suckers loose. Seeing as I forgot to realize you would need to remove those as well here are the torque specs for those (using a 97 workshop manual):

for the bracket that actually holds the caliper (the anchor plate), the two bolts that hold it in place: 125 to 170 lb/ft

for the bolts that actually hold the caliper to the anchor plate (i.e. these are the bolts that hold in the caliper where it slides): 21-26 lb/ft

-John B

 

The damn caliper bolt broke in half when I was taking it out. Seeing as how I don't have the tools necessary to take care of it now that it's broken, I'm going to have to get it taken into the shop now.

I talked to a guy that AutoZone referred me to - he said that whoever last worked on the brakes probably didn't put anti-seizing on the bolts when they put them back in. Sound familiar to anyone? I had the brake pads replaced earlier this year back in March - do I have any reason to go back to the repair shop and try to get them to pay for this now? Or is this just one of those unlucky things that happen, and I got screwed in the luck department?

I'm pretty ****ed right now - not only do I not have any money to get it into the shop and get it fixed, I also have no way to get to my job tomorrow. Today was not a good day, all things considered.

Also, I explained what happened to the guy over the phone - he said he'd have to cut off the caliper to get the bolts out - so I'd need to get a new caliper and new caliper bolts. Sound correct to anyone who knows about this crap? Or is there another way to do this? The bolt broke off inside the mounting plate (I don't remember what part it is - it's whatever part the caliper mounting bolts screw into before they screw into the caliper) - it feels like there's about an 1/8th of an inch of the bolt still inside the mounting section, plus the entire part that's in the caliper.

 

Is it the bolt that holds the caliper on?Can't you take the 2 bolts off in the back that hold the caliper to the bracket?Then if you have to take it to the shop you'll only have to take the bracket.If you can get the bracket off you can get to the bolt easier and maybe do it yourself.I had a bolt break while changing my hub and thats what I ended up doing.Good luck.

 

Update: some of my info was incorrect before. The bolt that broke wasn't a caliper bolt, but a caliper bracket bolt. It was the lower caliper bracket bolt. I went back at it today and I was able to get the upper caliper bracket bolt out, after which I was able to wiggle the caliper bracket and caliper off the rotor. I was then able to finish the job of getting the old hub off and the new one on. I removed the caliper bracket from the caliper (the caliper is still out with the truck - I didn't want to disconnect the brake hose) and brought the bracket inside. There is between an 1/8th and 1/4 of an inch of the bolt sticking out of the bracket. I've tried removing it with vise grips - no luck. I bought some bolt/screw extractor drill bits - no luck. I'm waiting for my friend to get out of work now - going to see if we can go over to his dad's house and heat the bolt up to see if maybe that will help us get it out.

All that remains now is to get the bolt out, find a replacement bolt, and put the brakes back on - then I'll be done. I tried my local AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts; neither of them had a replacement caliper bracket bolt. I went to TSC and found something that was close - it's about an 1/8th of an inch shorter, and the head is a little larger - the threads match perfectly though. If I can get the broken bolt out I'm going to try using the bolt from TSC as a temporary replacement until I can get the right one from my Ford dealer. As long as the bolt is long enough to get a decent fit inside the caliper bracket do you see any reason why this would be dangerous to do for a couple days? If I have to wait a couple of days for the exact bolt from my Ford dealer I guess I'll have to, but I'm hoping I can use this one for a replacement for a couple of days.

 

Use a good penetrating fluid and hit the end of the bolt several times.

You can use a pin punch but don't use a centrepunch as it will spread the bolt shaft out into the thread making it a tighter fit.

I usually hit a broken bolt then cut a slot with a cold chisel and the broken shaft just comes out easily.

 

If you can't find a bolt you can get one at a junk yard.If you have use of a welder you can tac a bolt ro the broken one and try to back it out.It sounds like your getting it.Good luck and let use know how you end up getting it out.

 

Sorry...I forgot to post back here after I completed everything.

I left the caliper bracket with broken bolt with my friend's dad overnight - he took it to one of his friend's the next day, they heated it up and the bolt came right out. Once that was achieved, the rest of the job was basically a piece of cake. He found another bolt that was closer in length to what I needed - although still not exactly identical in length - but that's what I'm using for now (it's about an 1/8th of an inch shorter). The Ford dealer has replacement caliper bracket bolts for $5.12 - I'm going to grab one of those this weekend and take care of that - or go find one from the junkyard.

Thank you very much to all of you who provided advice, info, and suggestions. It was all very helpful!

Overall the job was relatively easy. Aside from the broken bolt, the only parts that were really difficult at all were breaking loose the hub nut, and breaking loose both of the caliper bracket bolts.

 

Glad to hear you were able to get it completed. Nothing worse than having a repair job go wrong in the middle of it. Hopefully not hearing the bearing as you drive is a good reward

 

Hey every body, I fixed my wheel bearing with very little effort.

I replaced the front tyres and the bearing growl that came in at 20 kmh and went away at 60 disappeared.