Thread: Newbie and a question

I own a 2005 Gran Prix GT. I have always joined forums that revolve around my vehicles and toys, so here I am. In addition to introducing myself as a first time user on this forum, I do have a question for my first repair on this car since purchase. I am replacing the front bearing hub W/ABS this weekend and wonder what the torque specs are for the 3 bolts behind hub as well as the main spindle bolt? My budget only allowed me the torque wrench, socket(33mm) and the hub itself. I will pick up a Chiltons or Hayes manual asap. I couldn't even sneak a peak at local shop. They keep them all shrink wrapped to curb library use I imagine. Thanks in advance for any input.

Check the local library to see if they have the books...mine does.

Also, if you search on here, you should find the torque specs you need. Center top of the page to the left of the magnifying glass is where the search box hides.

That being said, I typically don't torque the bolts on the hub - just get them nice and snug so they don't go anywhere. I also don't torque the axle nut - just get it nice and tight without murdering it...lol Good luck, and have fun!

Another quick thing - are you doing both sides? Most people do hubs in pairs so they stay in synch with each other. Just a thought.

I appreciate the input loopy. I didnt know how much it mattered for torque. Not that it doesnt at all just not as important as say a head or intake. I did come up with 96lbs. on the (3) 13mm bolts and anywhere from 118 to 159 possible for center nut. No clarification. I ended up getting all fasteners removed with reasonable fight. I expected worse. I could not get the hub to break free of the spindle. What the heck is holding it? Upon looking at new hub I cannot see why it would hang up like it did. I had it out far enough that I could tip the hub a little and see where the wires go into the back of hub. I used a 3 arm puller which sat nicely centered on the spindle end indentation and hit the puller with the impact gun and still didnt break free. The grooves on new hub shaft opening look smooth end to end and tapered so I imagine the same would be found on the one on the car now. My impact was set to about 120 psi. on the puller. Too low? Dont want to bust an arm on puller. I heated hub with nitrogen torch on a B tank and repeatedly sprayed liquid wrench up into spindle area as well as behind hub as I could tip it to actually see the back. I was not clear on where to concentrate heat but I stayed away from cv joint boot and concentrated on just behind plate that holds the lug bolts. I tried some moderate blows with a 3 lb. hammer on back side of same plate I heated behind. I am not on a lift. Car was rested on a jack stand so good hammer blows are very awkward to do with arm reached around behind hub. After 2 hours plus of messing with this I put it all back together and driving on noisy hub with destroyed sensor wires. I severed wires in the commotion, so I cut them close to plug from hub and popped plug into oe harness to keep dirt out for now. Dash and message center lit up like Christmas now lol. What am I missing to get this off?

Thanks for the input Scottydoggs. My center nut is a 33mm and is stock.

Oh and thanks for the search box info. I looked and couldnt find till I looked much closer.

So - you got the hub detached and it's moving, but can't get it off of the axle? Am I reading that correctly? Typically, I put a 2x4 over the end of the axle and give it a few hits with a hammer, and it pops right off. I usually don't even have to do that, though.

If the problem is getting the hub detached from the steering knuckle, I usually hit the flange from the back with a hammer and it will pull it out. Make sure you get the entire hub, though - there's a smooth metal cover that sits against the knuckle, and that can come off sometimes.

Yes hub is detached from knuckle and moving, but only slides off shaft part way and stops. Actually once the back 3 bolts and center nut are off the shaft might be moving outward "with" the hub at this point. OK I will try again this up coming weekend. Everything else came off relatively easy once bolts were off. Even the bolts were pretty easy. With that said I was really surprised to have this happen. I had a feeling it was just being difficult. I could not see anything else holding it other than the splines on the shaft. I will try to pop the center shaft with nut on end again. Prior I removed the bolts I put hub back into knuckle and hit end of shaft but didn't want to hurt the cv joints ect... Must not have hit it hard enough. I appreciate the help.

A couple of posts ago I mention I used a puller and hit it with 120psi. on the impact gun and it didn't budge. I was hitting it with a 3 lb. hammer from back side while doing this. I was afraid to go higher as an arm could break on the puller. I had broken one earlier this winter while pulling off the stator plate on an old points and condenser snowmobile motor. It broke an arm at about 130 psi. It has been a while since a project got the best of me. I swallowed my pride and took it to my local shop about a mile away. I know the guy and trust him. He will use my part and do the job for me. He took it in immediately this evening and put it in an open bay for the night and gave me a ride home. I will have wheels back by mid/late morning tomorrow he said. He is charging me $90 to do it and rotate my tires and grease the aftermarket zerks. He has a bigger compressor and a few tricks I am unaware of I am sure. It will be done and out of my hair. I will move on to the next project. Thanks for the input. I appreciate it.