I am trying to replace the front rotor. I have a manual hub. I took the cap off. I took the retaining ring off the axle. I unscrewed the screw that holds the retaining plate and removed the plate. At this point I thought the hub body should come right out. I have been unable to budge it. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks
J. Paul Whitehurst
1955 22nd St.
Northport, AL 35476
1.205.339.5151
whandwh(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

Hi-
You've probably already figured this out by the time you read this. Hopefully you haven't BFH'd it yet. If you beat those rotor hubs up water gets in real quick. It sounds like you forgot about the spindle nut. You either need that standard four tit 4x4 socket(that fits almost every four wheeler ever made) or the ratchet type nuts Ford played with for about seven years(around '86-94). Both sockets look very similar, but the ratchet one has a smaller circle.

 

I haven't got that far into it. I understand from reading some other posts that there may be another retainer ring in there somewhere. I am not sure from the other posts where it exactly is or how you get the thing out. I know I have done this before, but it was so long ago I can't remember. I looked at it pretty carefully last night, but did not see anything. The only retainer ring I saw was on the axle shaft. I will try to look again tonight. If you have any suggestions about how to find this other retainer ring or how to get it out, I would appreciate it very much.

Thanks
Paul Whitehurst
whandwh(No Email Addresses In Posts!)
205.339.5151
1955 22nd St.
Northport, AL 35476

 

I think you might be missing the one that is actually in a groove on the inside of the rotor. It is about 1/2 inch or so in and hard as hell to see. In the groove there is a little wire retaining clip. use a dental pick or a scribe with the bent end to get under it and pull it out. This retainer is there back to at least 86 and I am pretty sure it is all the way back to 80. You have to look pretty good cause the grease will hide it sometimes.
Jason

 

I'll look.

Thanks
Paul Whitehurst
whandwh(No Email Addresses In Posts!)
205.339.5151
1955 22nd St.
Northport, AL 35476

 

Jacoby is right.

I just pulled the front wheel off my 81' 4x4 and had trouble seeing the keeper wire thing inside the hub. Pick it out, I used a bent sharp nail, like he said and it all comes off.

Thanks,
Keith

 

I have an `82 and mine has the 4-tit hub nut/ the retainer ring set in the groove/ and another 4-tit hub nut behind that. Then it should all come off. Hope this helps!!

`82 F-250 Custom** 4x4 ** 351W ** 39.5--15x16.5** SS- TSL`s ** 6" Lift ** Granny 4-speed**** If you can`t run with the BIG DOGS , stay on the porch!!!

 

I finally found it and got it off. I appreciate everyone's help.

By the way, the reason I am taking it off is to repair/replace the rotor. For some reason the outside brake pad was worn down to the metal. However the inside shoe looked fine and showed very little wear. This seemed amazing to me because the inside shoe is the one that is against the piston. Does anyone have an explanation for the huge discrepancy in the wear or how I can prevent this from happening again?

Thanks
J. Paul Whitehurst
1955 22nd St.
Northport, AL 35476
1.205.339.5151
whandwh(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

 

It probably shattered from overheating because the REAR brakes' autoadjusters are locked up, OR it wasn't bedded in properly before the first time the brakes were STOMPED after the pads were replaced last time, and it sheared off/shattered/broke down.

I can't remember the procedure, but if you search the web, you should be able to find how to break in the pads. If you pull the rear drums & either of the tiny cables coming from the top is slack, that autoadjuster is seized.

 

>I am trying to replace the front rotor. I have a manual
>hub. I took the cap off. I took the retaining ring off the
>axle. I unscrewed the screw that holds the retaining plate
>and removed the plate. At this point I thought the hub body
>should come right out. I have been unable to budge it.
>What am I doing wrong?
>
>Thanks
>J. Paul Whitehurst
>1955 22nd St.
>Northport, AL 35476
>1.205.339.5151
>whandwh(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

If it is the same as my '73 was (Spicer Hubs), you've missed a major nut in there

After you remove all the outer junk, and the hub, there is a BIG nut deep down inside there that actually holds the rotor/bearing assy in place. There may be a flat-steel bend-over retainer as well.

If you are going to be servicing your truck yourself, you should invest in the special tool that's made for removing this nut. It isn't that expensive and will save you a ton of hassle. It's basically a big socket about 2.5" in diameter with four little prongs on it. This is used to remove and replace that big nut.

Remember, this nut is what pre-loads the bearings. Make sure you get it back in there and adjusted correctly!

Again, this is _if_ it is the same setup as my '73 was.

I had a LOT of practice with this on my '73. Those Spicer hubs SUCKED, and were forever sticking, which prevented 4X4 from engaging at the worse times. I wanted to replace them with a set of Warn hubs, but at the time I was very young and quite broke

I remember on occasion having to poor hot water over the hubs to get them engaged if it was particularly cold outside. I'd actually hear them 'snap' into place as I was pouring the hot water on them

Those things I cleaned and lubricated I know 20 times, and they never did work right from the day the truck was brand new.

The truck was a suprise birthday present. My dad bought it some 6 weeks earlier, brand new, as a work farm truck. It was an F150, pretty bare with the 360 and heavy duty 4 speed and a few other heavy duty options. The day after he bought it the thing left him on the side of the road with the transmission stuck in 1st gear, which was a true granny gear in that transmission. It was towed to the shop where it sat for FIVE weeks waiting for parts. One day, about a week before they finally finished fixing it, he drove up in a new Chevy pickup. I asked him what he was doing about the Ford? He threw me the keys and said "Happy Birthday. If you can ever get the GD thing out of the shop, it's yours"

I drove it for 3 years before trading it in and the hubs were a pain till the day I sold it.

Larry

 

>I finally found it and got it off. I appreciate everyone's
>help.
>
>By the way, the reason I am taking it off is to
>repair/replace the rotor. For some reason the outside brake
>pad was worn down to the metal. However the inside shoe
>looked fine and showed very little wear. This seemed
>amazing to me because the inside shoe is the one that is
>against the piston. Does anyone have an explanation for the
>huge discrepancy in the wear or how I can prevent this from
>happening again?
>
>Thanks
>J. Paul Whitehurst
>1955 22nd St.
>Northport, AL 35476
>1.205.339.5151
>whandwh(No Email Addresses In Posts!)

Make sure you clean and lubricate the area where the caliper 'slides' on itself. It sounds like it has been binding up.

Also make sure the piston isn't frozen, but don't press on the brake with the caliper off unless you intend to rebuild it

Larry