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Hub Puller

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
Didn't think they would sell just one arm..... That should make it a perfect or near perfect puller.
 

woodybap

Silver Level Sponsor
I'm at my wits end trying to get my hubs out. I have been working on them every day for the past 4 days. I have borrowed a puller from Auto Zone which did not fit, 2 different ones from O'Reilly. I even cut the spline in half for it's junk anyway. Has anyone used the puller that is available on Amazon for $118
HELP!
Don't know which one you tried from AutoZone. I borrowed their 7 ton puller and it worked well.
 

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Just bought one of these from eBay UK. 12 tons hydraulic pressure. Fit is OK, but appearantly my most nasty rear hub still doesn't give. Heat applied however but as it looks not enough yet...IMG_20200808_072324.jpg
 
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Tim R

Silver Level Sponsor
Bernd have you tried the soldering iron trick? We have found that rather than heat the whole assembly up, just wedge a soldering iron there while the hub puller applies pressure. Keeping the heated area confined to a very small space usually makes it 'pop' out as it cools. We have done this for several years now and it has ALWAYS worked for us.
Tim R
 

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Heated it 30 min with a hot air gun. No pop. Where to put the soldering iron on? What's the best spot to be heated?
 

DanR

Diamond Level Sponsor
Word of caution.... Make sure you utilize all four wheel studs when attempting to remove the hub!!! If you only use two or three it is very possible to "warp" the hub flange.

You can ask me how I know if you wish, But if you warp the hub you will be in real trouble.

It took me a while to find that I had warped one of my hubs when I notice the wheel seemed to have a slight wobble.
 

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Valid point. That's the way I got this spare early halfshaft from UK. It came with only 3 wheels studs. As long as the hub is on you can't install a replacement. Therefore I did a workaround and reversed one. This trick works to evenly distribute the pulling force...
 
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Tim R

Silver Level Sponsor
Bernd, Apologies I was thinking that the Hub Nut was stuck, that is what we usually heat up with a soldering iron. The hub itself has usually popped out for us when we heat it with the hot air gun while holding it under pressure with the hub puller. As it cools down it usually lets go. I've got two more rear hubs to change in the next week or two so hopefully I will be getting them out without too much trouble!

Tim R
 

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Ok, hot air should work then. Thought modern puller does the trick but appearantly not. Even 12 tons of pressure and naked flame didn't make this bastard move yet. I'm now back to my good old "real MC Coy". Snug fit /loads of pressure with central screw being forced by pneumatic impact driver but so far still no pop. Arrg...


IMG_20200808_160757.jpg
 
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bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
More naked flame heat in combination with the "real MC Coy" did the trick now. A few more turns with the impact wrench and bingo -puhh. The driveshaft thread is still ok,because I left the hub nut on. Time to get everything cleaned up and freshly painted now..

IMG_20200809_114324.jpg
 
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Jay Laifman

Donation Time
Anyone near me have a puller I can borrow? I have one from Bruce that simply isn't doing the trick despite lots of tightening, banging and heat.

I am currently trying to take off standard hubs. But I also need to do wire wheels. Those might not be as bad as these ones. But I don't want to try until I get these done.
 

sunalp

Diamond Level Sponsor
Yep, the center bolt in the puller. I use my impact all the time when pulling hubs.
Makes the job so much easier!
 

bernd_st

Bronze Level Sponsor
Do not assume the wire wheel hubs are any easier to remove. Been through that recently on a spare S2 axle - the original ones on my SV I cutted off using an angle grinder. Oh boy, what a job! Sounds rude, but the splines were worn beyond repair. What I did was to buy a long 7/16 threaded rod and cut into 4 pieces. Used them in combination with my " real Mc Coy" and worked a treat. See the pictures:

IMG_20201231_172347.jpg

IMG_20201231_172243.jpg

And surprisingly the hubs popped loose without any heat. The trick is in the long truck wrench and the counter lock. That's why Rootes always recommended to do this job with the axle/half shaft still mounted to the car...
 
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loose_electron

Donation Time
Maybe, but I'm not to sure the box would be strong enough to make the trip

Tom j
A suggestion - If someone has the puller, build a plywood box to hold it that just fits inside a USPS flat rate box. The cardboard box become just a skin for shipping and the standard fare USPS box to ship makes it cost effective.

Time to get clever!
 

Gumby

Donation Time
I built my own hub puller based on Dan Weldon's design. However, it became clear that his design was for hubs with the extended wheel studs for racing. There were only 3 or 4 threads to engage with the lug nuts to hold it all together. This was not enough in my opinion. I had the base plate machined to allow a full 10 threads of engagement. Also, the cover plate would not reach the end of the axle, so I had to attach the center disk that was cut from the base plate, to the cover plate so that it contacted the end of the axle. With these two required modifications to that design, it worked fine. Cold rolled 5/8" thick steel is almost impossible to find these days. I special ordered 2 slices 5/8" thick from 6" round stock 4130 Chromoly steel. Super strong stuff. Had the center laser cut out of the base plate to fit over the hub center. I had a local machine shop do the machining for the recesses for the lug nuts (I used grade 8 flange nuts to spread out the force a bit), and drill the 15/32" holes (gives a bit of room for any slightly bent lug studs. It wouldn't go on with 7/16" holes.), and had them drill and tap 4 other holes for the 1/2"-20 fine thread grade 8 rod stock pieces I cut. They also drilled the the 4 holes in the cover plate (17/32" again allowing for a little play). The had a 5/8" fine thread flange nut welded to the center of the cover plate for a slide hammer connection. All in all, about $225 investment into a tool that will NOT ever damage anything on the axle or the hub. Parts not easily replaced these days. For wire wheels, the 1/2-20 rod stock pieces would need to be longer, and a center solid bar to reach into the hub to contact the end of the axle. The center cut diameter of the base plate may need to be different. I will check that today, as I am converting from Wire wheel rear end on my series IV, to a series V rear end. (Swapping the differentials to keep the 3.89 gearing. I'll check the fit on the splined hubs. Here's some pics of the tool in use.
 

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