Changing hubs and sheared bolts

[JME_GU]

I have a GU with one dodgy auto hub, I have bought a set of manual locking hubs and I'm going to change them this weekend. I have been warned to expect that I will shear off one or more bolts when changing the hub. Is it really that likely that I will shear off bolts? Is there anything I can do to avoid it (WD40 maybe?). Is it possible to get a rattle gun onto the bolts? Any tips would be appreciated.

[threedogs]

Soak with CRC or similar and shock them before trying to loosen them.
Sometimes a brisk movement is better than a slow pull on the spanner
to loosen them

[TimE]

Replaced mine a while back with AVM High Performance hubs. Didn't even need to take the wheels off! Mine undid easily without too much effort, certainly nowhere near shearing them off. As mentioned above, if they don't undo easily then soak with WD40, CRC or such like.

Hope it goes well for you.

[happygu]

Should be fine .... use some lubricant spray, such as WD40, let soak for as long as you can, and then proceed to undo .... it will be tight and that is normal, but if you feel the thread starting to tighten/pick up on you, spray some more WD40, and then do it back up a little, more spray, and then commence the undo sequence again. Doing it this way will prevent the cap screw from picking up on the thread in the housing and snapping off

[JME_GU]

Replaced mine a while back with AVM High Performance hubs. Didn't even need to take the wheels off! Mine undid easily without too much effort, certainly nowhere near shearing them off. As mentioned above, if they don't undo easily then soak with WD40, CRC or such like.

Hope it goes well for you.

They are the same hubs I have bought, I have used them on other 4WDs and never had any problem with them. I figure I will give the bolts a soak every night for the next few nights then change them on the weekend

[doka404]

If you can find it - PB Blaster works much better than wd40

[mudski]

They are pretty big bolts. I highly doubt you'd shear one of those off. I reckon you would strip the thread in the hub first. I've had a few tight bolts on mine and used a 3foot hollow bar on the end of the allen key and it came off with ease. But as others have said. Get some WD40 or even better, INOX, soak the goag out of it overnight then give it a crack.

[JME_GU]

They are pretty big bolts. I highly doubt you'd shear one of those off. I reckon you would strip the thread in the hub first. I've had a few tight bolts on mine and used a 3foot hollow bar on the end of the allen key and it came off with ease. But as others have said. Get some WD40 or even better, INOX, soak the goag out of it overnight then give it a crack.

Yeah, I have had two people tell me that they changed theirs and had no trouble and one person say they broke three bolts. They do look like pretty big bolts to shear.

[mudski]

Word of advise when using AVM hubs. The small tapered screws that go on the outside. Prior to fitting them, coat the tapered section in Never seize or alike. Because if they get any dirt behind the taper you will never get them off. I didn't and I busted three of the hex bits and then in the end the hex section on the screw was that stuffed I had to break the outer cover off. Gone back to my auto hubs now which are converted to manual, so no auto option on them anymore. I only have the large bolts to worry about now....

[JME_GU]

Word of advise when using AVM hubs. The small tapered screws that go on the outside. Prior to fitting them, coat the tapered section in Never seize or alike. Because if they get any dirt behind the taper you will never get them off. I didn't and I busted three of the hex bits and then in the end the hex section on the screw was that stuffed I had to break the outer cover off. Gone back to my auto hubs now which are converted to manual, so no auto option on them anymore. I only have the large bolts to worry about now....

Thanks for the info, I used loctite, that is supposed to prevent seizing too. I also noticed that there is very little force on the small screws so I didn't do them up too tight. It is interesting to note that only the last 5mm or so of thread engages, the rest just sits in the shart.

I note that my screws are actually torx, maybe that is why you broke the hex bits? I'm thinking about filling the end of the screws with silicone so they done get full of dirt. When I need to remove them I can just dig out the silicone plug, it will be easier than digging out dried mud.