Front axle/spindle/hub nuts?

[Geeshik]

I live in Wisconsin. I am trying to replace the front struts in my wife's Mazda5. I also have new rotors and pads that i wanted to throw on while it is all apart, but I can't get past the initial step of loosening the axle nut. I pounded back the little bend in the locking part of the nut so it is well clear of the slot. I have heated them with a torch and have oiled them many times and it even sat overnight soaking in penetrating oil. I have struts in many other cars, but never has one of these nuts broken a half-inch drive ratchet, a half inch extension, and now a 3/4 to 1/2 inch drive adapter on a 3/4 inch breaker bar! Also my 250ft lb. (plus) air impact doesn't phase them either. I don't have a 3/4 inch drive 32mm socket, but with the SAE one that i have (almost tight), i can pull on it with the 4foot piece of heavy 2" square tubing with my wife standing on the brakes and i pull (I weigh 210lbs and would like to think i am fairly muscular when it counts) until i can't anymore and it doesn't budge. At this point i am thinking about going to a semi truck shop so they can try it with a 3/4 impact gun. Is there something else i need to do?

 

[Geeshik]

I am tempted to put the car in the driveway with the breaker bar on the nut and put it in gear in each direction respective to the RH thread of the nut to make the engine do the work, but I don't want to mess up the body or the drivetrain. : /

 

[Geeshik]

Ugh, nevermind. I just realized the can of Blaster that i had was not PB Blaster, but PB-50 allpurpose lubricant. The thing that tipped me off on the side was there was a little thing that says compared to WD-40. It works fine as a cleaner, but is terrible at penetrating rust. I must have bought it the last time I ran out of PB Blaster. I heated the nut and burned all that crap out, then I found an almost empty can of Zep45 and sprayed it on. Took the breaker bar assembly, pulled, and then it was loose!

 

[thaxman]

For future readers:

I left the car on the ground and used an impact gun and about 120 lbs air pressure to release mine. I have aftermarket wheels but I imagine that the spare wheel has a center clearance big enough to let a 1 1/4" socket through. Once its loose, I lifted the front and continued working. Bear in mind, no salt, rust, or wet freezes here to complicate things.

 

[Silentnoise713]

Did you need to remove the axel nut to change your rotors and shocks??


Here are two other options to consider.
-You can position the breaker bar and cock it against the floor. Lower the car gradually and allow the weight of the car to transfer as breaking forces. I use this to break loose crank pulley.
-If on jack stand, you can position the breaker bar on the jacks and crank the jack up to provide the breaking forces.

Kroil penetrating oil.

 

[Geeshik]

Thanks for the suggestions! I had started working on her car last weekend, but it got cold here and i got a cold too. At first it was just going to be the struts and brakes on the Mazda5, but then i found out front the anti-sway bushings were worn out as well.

I ordered the Monroe quick struts last year when i noticed my wife's front struts were leaking, and I ordered the greaseable 23mm anti-sway bar bushings (P/N: 9.5159G) from Energy Suspension last weekend and picked them up yesterday. Last night when i tried to install them though, i got a bit of a surprise when i noticed they were about a full quarter inch wider than the oem ones, so i had to widen the bolt slots on one side and make some fender washers with a flat spot to get them to go on. It was alot of extra hassle, but now I know they will last quite some time.

The rust makes working on these cars brutal. I almost broke off one of the bolts in the front subframe when removing the anti-sway bar bushings, and I had to beat the rotors until they broke and heat/hammer/pry the rest of them off of the hub. It's a good thing I was already planning a brake job on the front when i started. It's going to get matched Powerstop pads and drilled/slotted rotors in hopes that the braking performance gets a little better over oem. My wife and i both agree that compared to our other vehicles, it seemed a little weak in that department. Hopefully i'll be feeling better soon and I can get back on track with it. Then it will be new tires and an alignment - hopefully before the snow is back.

 

[Secondtyme]

Those front brakes have been giving a lot of people hell around here lately, I hope I don't have to go the "beat them into submission" route when my turn comes...

 

[Geeshik]

Yes, i don't wish that on anyone. Unfortunately, road salt makes rust happen; the kind of rust that will give you bad dreams.

 

[kw_da]

It's going to get matched Powerstop pads and drilled/slotted rotors in hopes that the braking performance gets a little better over oem.

From what I read, drilled & slotted are mainly for show - they actually don't work as well as solid for daily drivers. My understanding is that slotted is only for racing when you may get a lot of out gassing. Drilling just creates stress points and removes heat sink mass. See in middle of page http://www.stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/brake-system-and-upgrade-selection

Just get some good pads and bed them in with good vented blank rotors. I don't think there are vented rotors for rear, only for front.

 

[Geeshik]

Well, seeing as i already have these, and I got them for such a reasonable price, I am going to put them on. It is the first time I am trying anything this fancy, and I'll let you know how they work (or don't).

I do have another question though. How often do you need to replace the brake caliper brackets? I noticed the ones on my wife's Mazda5 had little spots worn about 3/32 of an inch into them where the pads most often ride. I noticed this on the knuckle on my Focus as well the first few times I did brake jobs (the knuckle is one piece with the brake slides attatched on the Focus). In the past I just hit it good with a wire cup brush on my 90degree angle grinder and filed it a little smoother afterwards before greasing it with synthetic brake grease. I am going to do that on my wife's car too for now, but I was wondering what other people do, and if that might be what contributes to the warping of the rotors (?).

In Wisconsin, every brake job I do, i also remove the rubber boots for the caliper slide bolts from the caliper and hit them with a rotary file to clean them up and follow it up with fine emery cloth wrapped around a pencil before spraying it out with brake clean, letting it dry, and also greasing it lightly before sliding the boot back in and reinstalling the caliper bolts. Since I have been doing this, I have noticed the life of the brakes lasting much longer, even with cheap pads. It does add alot of time to the job though, and if i did it for a living, i probably wouldn't be making any money.

 

[Secondtyme]

You would make money because people paying attention to the important little details is sadly no longer the norm.

 

[Silentnoise713]

@ Geeshik - I hope you are also flushed out the old brake fluid..? While you are at it, get some Goodridge SS lines which will net a more linear brake feel and really don't cost much (<$100) yet will last the life of the car.

You would make money because people paying attention to the important little details is sadly no longer the norm.

Sadly, I'd disagree. Those who know the important little details (getting fewer) end up being DIYers and the rest only care who offers the cheapest bill, which means you can't make money. The may work for high end cars (wealthy) but not your avg jane/joe.

 

[Geeshik]

Stainless steel lines? Do you mean the braided hoses for the calipers? I have limited funds and time at the moment. Maybe that is something i can look in to getting in the future. The brake fluid change/flush will have to wait as well. I have alot on my plate with work, the family, and my schooling.

The new rotors and pads seem to do wonders for the stopping. There was a little bit of brake noise at first, but I think it is better now.

I took the car for new tires and an alignment Saturday. The tires went on, but sadly, I had a worn out inner tie rod on the passenger side, so the alignment could not be completed. The quote was over $150 to change the piece, so I spent some time Saturday night replacing the bad one with a lifetime warranted part that cost less than $25. It was one of the easiest jobs I have had to do on this car yet. Just stuck a 30mm wrench between the lca and the lower cradle and it came right off once the boot was off. The ball and socket was very loose, it just flopped around. The new one was so tight i could hardly move it without it being in a vise or attatched to the steering rack.

We got the alignment taken care of on Monday. We are trying the Bridgestone Ecopias on the 16 inch rims (205 55 16) this time around. I have heard many good things about them and i was not pleased with the Continental tires that came on the car when we bought it used, so hopefully they wear better and they go through the snow well.

 

[markuszoom5]

you tellin me

Those front brakes have been giving a lot of people hell around here lately, I hope I don't have to go the "beat them into submission" route when my turn comes...

those darn rotors would not come off until they became 2 pieces each, fyi, if anybody needs wheel spacers let me know lol, you can check out my pic of 2 piece rotors on this thread, and any nut and bolt i always use the real brand PB blaster and never had any problems....good luck, I have never seen this on any car, but then again most of my other cars OEM brakes lasted about 20k, and these lasted 40k...

 

[Geeshik]

An update on those Powerstop pads and rotors after nearly a year of driving with them:

My wife puts on a ton of miles, and I want to keep her and the kids safe. Last year I wanted to get the stopping power back in her 5 so after beating the old ones to the 2-piece rotor removal solution, I replaced the only the front (pretty sure they were original) rotors and pads with the drilled and slotted Powerstop parts. I have to say I am very pleased with their performance so far. After a year, it still stops on a dime, and the pedal is right there where you need it. If anything, it is almost too sensitive. If I go from driving my car to driving hers, I almost always jerk our necks the first time until I get used to it. If anyone else wants to give them a shot, I would recommend them to anyone. I even put a pair in my F150 now. That has seen a marked improvement in braking as well.