Need help removing rotor 1999 3500

[Hawkez]

I have the 2001 FSM but there are a few differences between my 1999 and what is listed in the book.

 

I am trying to get my rotor off but I can't tell if the axle nut keeps this thing on or not. To get the rotor off, do I remove the axle nut? Looking at what I have that appears to be the answer, but I would rather not remove it if I don't have to.

[fire176969]

No. On your dually you don't need to remove the axle nut. You need to remove the hub adapter for the dually wheels. Once you unholy the hub adapter the rotor should come right off

[dave110]

The 99's have inboard rotors. A real engineering brain fart. You need to remove the hub assy. The wheel studs go thru the rotor and into the hub assy so it all needs to come off, adapter, axle nut, hub etc.

[rancherman]

I gotta  2000!!         Were all pre  2000's   inboard  rotors?   with the  dana 60 that is?

 

I guess the old man  did  SOMETHING right by  waiting  for  the   2000's  to come out..  wished he  would've waited  another  year and a half..

[Hawkez]

The 99's have inboard rotors. A real engineering brain fart. You need to remove the hub assy. The wheel studs go thru the rotor and into the hub assy so it all needs to come off, adapter, axle nut, hub etc.

Thanks for the reply.  When I put it all back together, can you tell me the torque value for the axle nut and the nuts around the hub adapter?

[dave110]

I gotta  2000!!         Were all pre  2000's   inboard  rotors?   with the  dana 60 that is?

 

I guess the old man  did  SOMETHING right by  waiting  for  the   2000's  to come out..  wished he  would've waited  another  year and a half..

I'm not sure about the 12v's but the 98.5 & 99 were inboards. There are several things I know now that I wish I would have known before I bought a 99. If so I probably would have waited too.

[dave110]

Thanks for the reply.  When I put it all back together, can you tell me the torque value for the axle nut and the nuts around the hub adapter?

I'll have to look it up. I think it's in the FSM. The hub nut is something like 185? If you plan to reuse the hub assy. be careful with it! You will need to drive the wheel studs out of it to het the rotor off. I'm told its possible to separate the assy. if not done right. A press would be best. I cut some pipe about an inch longer than the studs to go over the studs and put it on my anvil and drove them out. Put a lug nut on flush with the end so you don't damage the threads. The first one I did I couldn't get the hub off the axle splines so I pulled the whole axle out and did it that way. Either way if you don't know the condition of the hubs now would be a great time to replace them. It stinks to have to tear half the axle apart to change a rotor but you will get through it. And in case you're wondering there is no easy way to retrofit . Even an axle swap requires some cutting and welding if my research was correct.

[dave110]

122 ft. lbs. for the hub to knuckle bolts, 175-180 for the spindle nut. I can't find a spec for the adapter but I did mine the same as the wheel nuts at 150. You may need a crows foot depending how deep your socket/torque wrench combination is.

[dave110]

Just another thought. When you put the studs back in you can use a stack of washers and a nut and pull them in by turning the nut. Some grease on the stud will prevent galling. They tell you to use new studs too.

[Hawkez]

122 ft. lbs. for the hub to knuckle bolts, 175-180 for the spindle nut. I can't find a spec for the adapter but I did mine the same as the wheel nuts at 150. You may need a crows foot depending how deep your socket/torque wrench combination is.

Thanks for all of that information.  If it isn't one thing, then it is another.

[fire176969]

The 99's have inboard rotors. A real engineering brain fart. You need to remove the hub assy. The wheel studs go thru the rotor and into the hub assy so it all needs to come off, adapter, axle nut, hub etc.

I was not aware of that either. That was definitely a brain fart of engineering.

[rancherman]

Yep,  my  94 gasser   2500  has    inboards.     goofy looking  setup for sure!

[dave110]

Thanks for all of that information.  If it isn't one thing, then it is another.

At least we don't have torque management

[98whitelightnin]

I'm not sure about the 12v's but the 98.5 & 99 were inboards. There are several things I know now that I wish I would have known before I bought a 99. If so I probably would have waited too.

Yep, my 95 is just like my 98 was and a real pain to replace. Just did driver side hub assembly and new rotor a few weeks ago.

[Hawkez]

I read several things on the internet and got myself worried about some of the hoar stories of getting the rotors off.  The axle nut is 1 11/16", I used the handle from my floor jack as a breaker bar.  Worked really well on both sides.  The biggest problem that I ran into was separating the wheel/hub assembly from the rotor.  The FSM says to back out the 4 hub bearing bolts out 1/4" and then tap them with a hammer to break them free.  Holy Crap! that was a huge waste of time.  Frustrated, I came in and after a google or two I came across this video.  These guys use a 1/2" X 4" extension and wedge it in the wheel assembly.  They then use the power steering to press against to bolts and separate the units.  It worked like a CHARM!!!!  There isn't a lot of room to swing a mallet in there, however, there is plenty of room to hit your fingers with the mallet. 

 

[Me78569]

BFH always did the trick for me.  Fun to pound out the lugs.

[Hawkez]

BFH always did the trick for me.  Fun to pound out the lugs.

I didn't have enough room to swing the hammer.  I tried that at first and it only pissed me off.  I'm sure there was a better way to do it, but following the lead of the guy in the you tube video saved me several hours of swinging a hammer.

[dave110]

Yeah the extension trick usually works great  . Another thought I had if its not too late. If you are like many of us running around with ABS/BRAKE lites on, it is often caused by the front ABS sensors failing. The only way to replace them on an inboard rotor truck is to remove the rotor and all that goes with that because the rotor covers them. So now would be a good time to replace them. Of course if you did new hubs you got new sensors anyway.

[rancherman]

Yeah,   I've been  staring at the abs light for about 4 years now.   IIRC    we had  a   abs motor  going bat-crazy  upon  startup  a year or so ago..  which   was  easily fixed with a  fuse  removal..

 

So,   even  with  my new  sensors  in the new front  hubs,   I got a   bad feeling   it wont make any difference!

[dave110]

which   was  easily fixed with a  fuse  removal..

 

Don't forget to pull the cluster and remove the bulbs  . Not that I would do such a thing