2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Doing front brakes for the first time....

[CCiatteo]

After doing lots of searching and reading I have a few questions. My truck has 207,000 and I got it with 160,000. I plan on doing a decent amount of towing this summer (my car to autocross/trackday events/dragstrip) so I figure I should make sure the truck is prepped. I have Hawk Severe Duty Pads, New Raybestos Rotors (premium, but no slots or dimples), new hoses (mine are showing their age) and reman calipers.



My questions: Regarding the hub assembly. Having never done this before how can I check the front hub/bearing for wear? Or should I just replace them and be done with it?



Looking at my brake lines, the metal line appear to be pretty badly rusted, so much so that I an concerned that when I put new rubber lines in I might run into a problem. Have other had similar problem with the metal lines?



And in doing the reading I am a bit concerened about the axle shaft seals getting damaged in this whole process. If this happens, what kind of a job is that to replace them? I had an alignment done at the end of 2007 when I bought new tires and at that time the ball joints were good, and the truck tracks straight both going down the road and under braking.





Lastly any special tools? I think the spindle/hub nut is 1-11/16ths from what I have read?



Thanks

Chris

 

[CumminsPower98]

To check the wheel bearings jack up the front end before you take anything apart. Grab the tires top and bottom and shake to see if you feel any play. If there is play and you are sure the ball joints are tight then the bearings are bad. You can also check the bearings for dryness and smoothness once you have them off the truck by spinning them and listening to how they sound and feeling for smoothness. I personally added grease fittings to mine and they are still tight and smooth with hundreds of thousands of miles. Once you have them off the truck and the rotors off you are at the perfect point to do this if you so choose. See info on this at the bottom of my mods page below.

If the hubs have never been off the truck they will probably be rusted into the knuckles pretty bad. The best way to get them off without damage is to use your power steering to gently "jack" them off. Back all four bolts out a ways. Use your same 9/16 socket used to loosen them and place it on one bolt with an extension or combination of extensions and find a good spot against something on the axle to wedge it there. Now get in the truck and genitally turn the steering wheel so you are putting pressure on this bolt. You might feel a little pop. Don't go too crazy, if you don't feel something check to see if it has moved or not. Having someone watch would make it easier. Once one side of the bearing has moved do the same thing on the opposing side of the bearing. This works great and saves the bearing and lots of head ache.

First you don't need to pull the axles to replace your rotors. If you need to replace the wheel joints then you will need to pull them. Check the joints for binding and signs of rust around the caps.

If you pull the axles then yes the seals can get damaged and could leak after the job is done. Be real careful as you slide the axles out. Try to support the inner part while you slide it out so it doesn't drag its full weight on the seal. Clean any leaked oil out of the tubes before reinstalling or it will dribble out for a while making you think the seal is leaking. To reinstall do the same thing. Support it as well as you can and go in slowly.

Replacement is a fair sized job if you start with the truck fully together. On top of what you already have apart you will need to remove the driver side tie rod so you can pull the front diff. out. You will also need to remove the CAD (central axle disconnect) servo, which is easy. The intermediate shaft will also need to be removed before you can pull the front diff. out. The passenger side seal is the hardest. It can be done with all-thread and a socket if you can find a socket to perfectly fit the seal. Otherwise you can buy the tools from Quad4x4.com. I have done it both ways and the proper tools make the job much easier and less prone to screwing up the seals.

Sand or otherwise clean the rust off the bearing and knuckle surfaces and use lots of anti-seize when putting back together. Next time they will nearly fall off in your hand.

If the brake lines look rusted bad you may want to replace them. I have read of other members with rusted lines bursting.

No special tools needed for doing the rotors only that I can think of.

I hope this helps. Might be a lot more info then you wanted/needed but I don't know what you have already read.

 

[CCiatteo]

Thanks for the info and the insight on doing the job. I think I am going to limit myself to the brakes/rotors. When the hubs are out I will make the decision on whether to replace them or not. I have priced them locally at about $250 a side, online for about $160 which seems like a pretty wide gap in price. We'll see. The inner seals seam like quite a job, so I'll be doing my best to keep the axles in and the seals in good shape.

Thanks again and nice web site with lots of good info.