Hello,

I'm trying to replace the dust shield on my F250. New one on order and now attempting to remove the spindle. Rotor off, removed 8 nuts from around the edge of the spindle... Now what? Tapped it lightly with a copper hammer.... Should it tap out or is there something else that needs to be done?

Thanks

 

You did take all of the locking hub stuff out first right?

If this is the first time that it is being taken off, you might have to get Medieval on it's butt... Take a 2x4 and put it on the spindle and then hit it with a BFH (Big Friggin Hammer)

 

Yep a block of hardwood and a BFH.

Just stay away from the threads so you don't mess them up.

Dust shields are about $50 each IIRC. Most people just leave them off. They only trap rocks and debris in there when wheeling and won't hurt anything by not having them.

 

Would rather have the dust shield on there.... I don't go off road. Don't need one wheel pulling when I apply brakes in the rain with my 5000 lb travel trailer on the back...

Yes, hub is off.

Will get block of wood and BFH. Going to try to replace the inner grease seal while I'm at it.

 

removing the dust shield will not affect the braking of the truck...

Are you thinking that if the brakes get wet they will not stop? They get drenched during the rain...

 

That's kind of what I was getting at.

They really don't do ANYTHING and are expensive to replace.

 

Like Stosh said...

I find them shields do little other than catch rocks, and you don't have to go off roading for them to do it.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~

 

Too late, bought them yesterday... Read on the list that if one was removed it would take a little longer to dry than the side with the shield.... I have to believe that they will retain a little more heat than not having them on?

 

IMO: heat causes brake fade. I would rather let the heat dissipate as quickly as possible.

I doubt that they would really keep any water off of the rotors.

But if you already spent the coin on them and want to install them, then by all means go ahead. I'll bet they weren't cheap.

 

The stopping will not be affected if one side has the dust shield and the other side does not.

I think you are being a little paranoid. Take the shields back where you bought them from and tell them it won't fit and get your money back.

 

Well I will take his side and say like most other stuff on vehicles, if Ford could have a saved a dollar on each truck by leaving something off, they would have. Figure if you sell over a million trucks, that's a good cost savings

I haven't a clue why they put them on there, but other cars and trucks use them too, some even have little plastic air scoops on them.

Would it run ok without them? I suppose they would, but it does beg the question why they were installed in the first place.

 

The old covers did have a metal air scoop to let air in.

Used my copper hammer and started pounding, no movement. I then decided to put a nut on the eight studs and pounded them out, then I hit the spindle again and got some movement. More pounding, more movement... Then it finally came out. Glad I removed it, the needle bearings within the spindle were not lubricated very well (almost dry) and the inner seal was in 3 pieces... Now I'm wondering if I should remove the other side and lube up that spindle. Left the half shaft alone even though it was rusty, the joint seals seem intact. U joint seems dry..... No grease fitting.. How hard it is to pop that half shaft out?

I agree with franklin2, if Ford did not need to have that shield there they would not have put it there. I remember somone telling me that engineers are paid a bounus if they save 1 cent on a car and a promotion if they save 5 cents.

I believe the function of the shield is to stop large objects from getting into the rotor.. Yes, a pebble could get in there but if it got through the scoop and then through the vent holes from the scoop into the braking area it would be small enough to fall out. Without the shield twigs or stones could get right into the rotor and cause problems... Of course if you are doing serious off roading (which I am not) you could hit a large rock and bend the shield..