Ok well i have a 1996 bronco and i am having no luck with the hub. One of my rotors is shot and i cant get it off. I have gone to pepboys but the ones that i thought were the right tools are not big enough. Does anyone know where i can get the tool for this. Thanks.

 

ford dealer...$$$$$$$$, or napa, not so much $$$. what tool are you looking for exactly? a socket for the spindle nut?

 

Umm I have called the Ford Dealer before but they say they dont sell it. I guess it is for the spindel nut. I take off the tire and to get the rotor off i have to remove this forst. it has 6 slots in it for the socket if you will to fit into but the ones that pepboys sells are not a big enough diameter to fit it. Oh i am sorry you have to remoce the hub cover first then you see the 6 slots or grooves that you need to take off first. well i assume you do. see my rotors are bad but i can not get them off and that is what i am trying to do. If this does not help i will take a picture and shoe you let me know... thanks

 

Look at these pics and click on them to read the captions, which explain the whole procedure. I've always just used a hammer & punch to start that wierd nut turning, and then it spins by hand.

For added reliability and ease of service later, convert now to manual locking hubs. All you need is a $65 set of MileMarkers and these "normal" bearing nuts, which the cheapest socket will fit.

 

if you use a hammer and punch to start thew thread, how do you torque the nut to seat bearings properly? napa absolutely will have/can get the socket, and the dealer is just being lazy (assuming they have a service dept.), because they can get it for you, i know because i worked for a ford dealer a while back and they do things like that. also try going to your local yocal mechanic, and ask to borrow it from him, or buy it from snapon/mac/matco through him.

 

I wasn't using the punch to put the nut ON - I was always taking it OFF to convert to manual hubs, so it never needed to be torqued down.

 

did you take the little retaining spring out? there is a tiny spring in a groove at the base of the hub mechanism. you don't turn the hub off. it slides off when the srping is removed. look hard you can barely see it.

 

ok as for the retainer spring i am not even to that yet i still need to remove the funky nut thing. But thanks for the info.

Ok i tried napa they have it for 42.99 and i tried 2 dealers and they were both no sorry we dont and they could not even tell me what the tool was called. So i wrote ford a letter telling them how pissed i was about them putting a part on a car that the dealer cant tell you what the tool is to take it off nor do they sell it. so i iwll let you know what they say about it.
now does anyone know what it is called. I am heading to napa tongiht to see if it is the right thing but i have been told before that they have it (pepboys) and when i get there it is the wrong thing.
Lastly steve the puch thing may work but i do not want to go manual hub sorry i know they are more reliable but i have had no problems with mine yet and it is at 94000 miles and it is used alot with trips to idaho and everywhere else. I did not get a 4X4 shift on the fly so i could get out in the snow rain or whatever to lock a hub in place. But thanks for the advice...

 

Autozone has a few different sizes, including the bigger one that you need. If they are out of stock, have them order. A couple years ago I bought one for $25. On my 76 F100 I can get by with the hammer and screwdriver method, now. The first time the nuts were on there pretty tight,(rust). On the 85 Bronco the disk was totally gone on one side, other side had broken off the hub and was just banging around. I needed the spindle spanner socket for this job, for sure. If anything, it's a good idea to have the socket to reseat the bearings.

 

gee diggum. during the winter time, most people just lock their front hubs all the time and you still shift on the fly. no rain, no snow.

i can't believe he disrespected steve's opinion like that. the bronco gods are not pleased.

ps, just my .02 but when you really need 'em, they'll break. and then you will be out in the wind/rain/snow, and you won't like it. hehehe

 

Hey dude, new to post and ran across your post, what you need is a spaner socket, available from snap-on, mac, or matco, also available from otc, check online tool suppliers as these are easy to get, hope this helps, note- the outer one is the lock nut, inside of this will be a lock ring which has a indexing notch that goes into the spindle groove, and also has holes all around it which line up with the pin on the outer bearing adj nut.

 

Ok well spixican steve has helped me more then once and he is a god indeed and there was no disrespect at all. If you looked i even thanked him for his advice. But everything i have heard about the stock ones breaking is that thye did not take care of them. I have always had the bearings and everything redone but the guy i used to use is gone and i be damed if i will pay ford to do it. And now one rotor is bad so it is about time to change it and regrease it again so until I hear someone say that they took care of theirs better then they take care of them selves i am not to worries about it. Most people dont bother taken care of it because they are planning on switching the manual later anyway. So that is why i am and will not go to manual hubs. I mean they are not the expensive anyway. so Steve if you took it as a put down you should know me by now it was not meant that way. Sorry if it came off that way. Thanks again for all your help in the past.

Marshall thank you so much that will help a bunch now i can call and get it. thanks alot..

 

How do you take care of automatic hubs?

 

well about the only way anymore to take care of the actual hub is to just keep them clean (free from damage due to moisture,) and keep the grease clean, as the grease and dirt get into the hubs they start to freeze up, and stiff becausew of stiff old grease. years ago when i would sell a brearing repack i would include extra time to dissasemble to hubs and clean and add fresh grease. and additional 1.5-2 hrs./side, the biggest concern i see now with veh that have auto locking hubs is that the outer u-joints on the axle shafts start to freeze up, and when you make a turn either left or right, the axle will roll over just enough to engage the hub. causing excessive wear. this problem mostly on explorers. when a veh come in with hubs "ratcheting" i always preform my inspections and 8-9 time out of 10 i find the veh needs upper and lower ball joints, both sides, both outer u-joints and when i check the hubs the cams have been ratcheting so much the grease has gone from a coal type black to a bright silver color. meaning both hubs need to be replaced, parts and labor add up to about 1500.00. and if you don't take care of your manual hubs believe it or not they'll do the same. (oh i can hear people starting the questioning now). In the last 4 yrs I have delt with ratcheting manual hub concerns, the first of wich was my own 92 f-150 with factory manual hubs. two u-joints latter and hub/cam assy cleaned and lubed and problem gone. hope this helps. sincerely scott

 

what do i do to clean them and grease them? I would have to take them apart, right? I havn't had my bronco to long and I have never worked on anything like it.