When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
on one manual locking hub 2 of the 6 hex bolts have the head broke off. on the other side 1 is broke off and a few others look rusty.
what can i expect when taking off the manual locking hub and should i be able to get the remaining part of the bolts out since the heads are broke off?
also, what kind of replacement hex bolt is recommended? brand, type? i'd like something a bit stronger and durable than what is on there.
[updated:LAST EDITED ON 11-Dec-02 AT 06:58 PM (EST)]Your worst case senario is, if you can't get the bolts out after they break off, you will have to buy new hub assemblies. I bought the cheapy Warn's for 60.00 and they have worked fine for the past 5 years. You can buy the nice all metal ones for more money.
If there is enough of the bolt left sticking out of the internal part of the hub, spray it down with PB Blaster, let it sit overnight, and then attack it with vise-grips. Ford should have the bolts in stock, NAPA might. You have to use the allen head style bolts, as there isn't enough room to get a socket on a hex head. Also, the torque spec on these is something like 16in/lbs, so go easy on the new ones.
luckily they didn't break to far down and they didn't give trouble coming out. napa only had one pack and i put them in on one side and used some of the old ones for the other.
i usualy drill mine out anyway. when you take the cap off you will still have 2 1/2 inches of bolt left to turn out. these are easy as the cap assembly hold grease in there. you can usualy take them out with fingers.