Repalcing HR disc stub axle

[Dave_EH]

Hi,

I need to replace an HR disc stub axle on the weekend.

I assume you unbolt front sway bar, jack up and support car on stands, remove wheel, caliper/rotor/hub assembly, remove shock...

I need help from here on.

Would I get a trolley jack under the control arm and compress the spring?

Then break upper and lower ball joints?  Does popping the ball joints off do any damage to them as they are only a few hundred km old?

Do I require any special tools?

Is it difficult to reinstall, or should I save myself the pain and get a mechanic to do it?

Dave

[mcl1959]

Dave, don't put jack under spring yet.  Loosen both ball joint nuts and hit the stub axle smartly with a heavy hammer right where the ball joint taper is located.  Keep hitting at the top and the bottom until both the tapers pop loose.  Sometimes you really do have to hit the thing quite hard, so very accurate and controlled hitting is needed!  Now put the jack under the control arm and take the weight off the stub axle and remove the ball joint nuts.  Now the stub axle can be reoved easily.

Regards   Ken

[Dave_EH]

Thanks very much Ken.

Should I use a spring compressor?

Regards
Dave

[sgo]

Once you've done the above the Jack will keep the lower arm and spring in place while you swap stubs, so no compressor is needed.

[Dave_EH]

Sounds good  

Thanks for the help - much appreciated
Dave

[Dave_EH]

Hi,
I got a little bit of time over the weekend and managed to replace the stub axle - it was far easier than I imagined.

The only problem being that I couldn't find a torque wrench rating for the upper and lower balljoint nuts.  I assume this is because the original ones were castilated.  I have new nylock nuts.

I looked at an LX Torana manual and see it has approx 40-50 pound for the upper balljoint and 80-90 pound for the lower one.   Does this sound about right?

Do you generally smear a little grease on the balljoint shaft?

Also, is the stabilser bar torqed where it is bolted to the lower control arm - i'm using nolethane bushes.

Cheers
Dave