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front hubs stuck!
andrews_45 - 7/8/05 at 05:46 PM

tried to take off the front hubs and the bolts that attach them to the suspension arms have broken on both sides! any help and advice would be greatly appreciated, or if someone has a pair of front hubs they want to part with at a reasonable price please let me know

JoelP - 7/8/05 at 05:51 PM

you mean that the lower balljoint has broken?! thats an odd on. Or does it just spin as you try to undo it? ive got a few spares as it happens

britishtrident - 7/8/05 at 05:54 PM

You will need to clarify what you are trying to do --- and is is Cortina or Sierra suspension ?

andrews_45 - 7/8/05 at 05:57 PM

its a ford sierra.. its the bolt that goes through the clamp that holds the suspension to the top of the hub

the bolt has completely snapped so im guessins ill have to try and drill it out?

[Edited on 7/8/05 by andrews_45]

JoelP - 7/8/05 at 06:00 PM

sounds painful! ive never heard of them snapping. However, if you drill it out, you should be ok just using a nut and bolt straight through. Must say, the threads get a bit iffy eventually anyway.

mookaloid - 7/8/05 at 06:32 PM

I snapped one of mine when stripping my donor - I used heat to get the other one out but ended up drilling the threads out and using nuts and bolts anyway.

It is worth grinding a flat for the nut to seat against as the casting is not quite flat where the thread used to be.

Cheers

Mark

[Edited on 7/8/05 by mookaloid]

Avoneer - 7/8/05 at 08:28 PM

I had major problems with mine and know of a few others who had the same problem.

Easiest solution is to drill it out with a 10mm bit (or was it 12mm???) and put a new bolt all the way through.

Pat...

P.S. Don't even try to use a stud extractor.

Hellfire - 7/8/05 at 10:53 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Avoneer
P.S. Don't even try to use a stud extractor.


Now there's a quote from experience if ever I heard one

DarrenW - 8/8/05 at 09:16 AM

Same happened to me. I drilled them out and fitted new M12 high tensile bolts and nylocs.

They are a tw4t to drill out as the old bolts are high tensile. If possible use a pillar drill to try and keep the drilling straight. I used cordless drill and it wasnt a great success. I wish id drilled from both sides instead of going all way thro from broken side. Just take your time and it will be OK. Dont bother tring to restore the old threads - just fit nut and bolt.

andrews_45 - 8/8/05 at 04:19 PM

Cheers chaps,

Will have a go at drilling them out, take it I use 10mm drill bit first?

MikeRJ - 8/8/05 at 07:39 PM

quote:
Originally posted by andrews_45
Cheers chaps,

Will have a go at drilling them out, take it I use 10mm drill bit first?


No, as with any large hole drilling you need to start with a pilot drill of around 3.5-4mm and work up to 10mm in steps.