How-to: front hub assembly

[a.graham52]

its about time right? lol

ok so first things first. im going on the assumption that you as the user of this how-to knows the hubs bad and wants to replace it. also assuming said user has basic mechanic skills. the order in which i present it is of my own choosing and is what works best for me.

first things first, lift the car in an appropriate manner.

1: remove wheel and tire:


2: remove hub nut:



NOTE: at this point take a soft hammer and hit the cv shaft into the hub to make sure its not stuck in the hub. make sure that hammer is SOFT. no 4bl steel hammers!

3: remove the 2 caliper BRACKET bolts:




4: swing caliper/pads/ bracket out of the way and secure to vehicle.


5: remove rotor:


6: next disconnect the wheel speed sensor connector

7: remove the three hub assembly bolts:




8: if your lucky your hub will fall out and look like this:


if not, take your 5lb hammer and hit the back side of the hub like so:

dont be a girl, it will come out.

9: while holding hub, take soft hammer and hit shift inwards untill hub comes of cv shaft:



10: clean knuckle surface where hub mounts:



this is how the backing plate is oriented:


11: take your new hub and feed the wheel speed sensor harness through the knuckle. you may need to use your other hand to push the cv shaft back to gain room. this is where your gut comes in to hold up the hub.



12: start the bolts into the hub:


13: tighten all three hub bolts to 70ftlbs.

14: reconnect the wheel speed harness connector.

15: install the rotor and caliper. torque caliper bolts to 85ftlbs.

16:isntall hub nut and torque to 285 ftlbs (first design nut that is black with a "cage" around it) or 173 ftlbs for second design (most common found nut).

few good ways to torque it using a torque wrench:
if you have an assistant, have them apply the brakes while your torque the nut:


or use a pry bar to hold the hub and torque:


and my favorite method is to put the wheel back on and set the vehicle on the ground with just enough weight to keep the wheel from turning:


17: if not already done, installed wheel and tire. torque nuts to 100 ftlbs.

and your done!

quickest iv done one of these jobs was 15 minutes!

[cavedewler]

Excellent! I just did this 2 weeks ago. There are videos on youtube for the alero as well if anyone gets stuck.

[sleepyalero]

Handy man