Replaced the serpentine belt on my 89 S15 Jimmy 2WD.

 

Ordered front hub bearings. Should be this week.. Weekend project for me?


From what I've heard and read, its pretty straightforward...any pointers?
I'm guessing 2-3 hrs and a 6-pack to complete?

 

Two hours if you haven't done it before... might not get through the 6-pack before you're done...

You need an 18mm wrench and a 36mm socket for the axle nut. The socket may feel loose, but it will work. Douse the back of the hub with Master Blaster where it pokes through the back of the steering knuckle, as it has a tendency to rust.

Remove the axle nut, flip it over, and put it back on just far enough that the flat surface is flush with the end of the axle. Then I'll put a scrap of 6x6 or similar up against it and whack with a sledge hammer to loosen the axle splines. This gives a nice surface to hit while preventing damage to the threads.

I put the box end of an 18mm combo wrench on the bolts and hit it with a hammer to break them loose. If the hub is rusted in, I will carefully tap a cold chisel in between the hub flange and backing plate/knuckle to start it moving outward. Spritz it with CRC or Master Blaster.

Have fun!

 

once you`ve done it once, about an hour. If you like cranking tbars, you`ll get good at it LOL

 

So I won't need one of those pullers? Thought I read somewhere that when removing the CV axles, you'd need a puller or separator to get the axle off the bearing?


Any need to replace to hub bolts or axle nut?

 

no need

 

Just my .02 but a 35mm is the perfect fit and in my experience it makes for a much easier removal of the axel nut. And if you don't have one you can rent one for free.

 

It seems like 35mm would fit. There are threads on here about it and IIRC, the consensus was that a 35mm socket doesn't always work... so I bought a 36 to play it safe.

Forgot to mention that it's easiest to pop the cap off and loosen the axle nut with the wheel still on the ground.

 

New hi lift mounts I like em

 

Just FYI for anyone that lives where they salt the roads in winter - you'll spend all of 2 hours on ONE hub trying to remove it from the knuckle after the bolts are removed. Some can be a real pain in the ***.

I just did a pair on my '07 Silverado - only has 75k miles on it, and still spent about 15 minutes pounding & prying on each side before they popped out. then another 10 minutes on each side wire wheeling and sanding the rust off the mating surface. I bought this thing brand new off the showroom floor, and have taken care of it the best I can the past 8 years.

Nothing is easy in the northeast ...

Just to answer on the S10's - yes, a 35mm deep socket does indeed fit perfectly. A 36 is a little sloppy.