HUB NUTS!

[giraffeinbath]

Anyone know what size the rear hub nut is on a '68.
I just know I don't have a socket big enough!

 

[Fraggle]

Did mine yesturday and if I remember they are 42mm

 

[Araon]

sure its 46mm

Halfords do them in there lifetime garuntee section not a bad price either....

 

[giraffeinbath]

Thanks chaps.

Out of the two options I would say it's probably a 46.

I had a crusty old ruler with me yesterday which only had cm's and inches on it, no mm. It must have been that old it was made before they thought metric would catch on :roll: :lol: , I reckoned it to be somewhere between 45-48mm

 

[panalvan]

Its 46

 

[Clarkson46]

Yep 46, get a 3/4 square drive socket and breaker bar to match and around 6 feet of scaffold pole and a little synchronized bouncing on the scaffold pole will usually undo them.

 

[giraffeinbath]

...........breaker bar to match and around 6 feet of scaffold pole and a little synchronized bouncing on the scaffold pole will usually undo them.

I was expecting that a 'pursueder' may come into it somewhere :wink:

 

[Fraggle]

Did mine yesturday and if I remember they are 42mm

Sorry couldn't remember without going out to garage to check. Yeah 46 is right.

 

[noddy]

You will need the scaffold tube, hitting a t bar with a hammer just makes it bounce, and you need to do them up again after and there is no way you will get the torque with a hammer. I bent two bits of tube I had knocking around before I got a length of scaffold tube, the torque needed is enough to move the van with the parking brake on.

 

[angus]

Having bounced up and down on the end of a scaffolding pole a few times :shock: a few years ago, this time when I had to do the same job I just cut the old nuts off (carefully!) and then fitted new ones - I know this means buying parts etc, and you do have to be really careful, but I can remember a few years ago trying to use the method where you drive forward and let the breaker bar 'lever' against the road (if you see what I mean - you can even get a tool with little wheels on it for this job!) and instead of undoing the bolt, it just lifted the rear of the van clean off the ground!

 

[angus]

Of course - you will still need the socket to do it up again, so try the long lever method first! :lol:

 

[Clarkson46]

When refitting, use this method for establishing the torque, assuming you don't have a 3/4 square drive torque wrench @ £300+. The torque is 250 lbs/ft or 250 lbs force at 1 foot from the centre of the nut. This now becomes 125 lbs @ 2 feet and 85 lbs @ 3 feet. So assuming you have a 3 foot long bar??? stand on your bathroom scales and push down on the bar until you are 85 lbs lighter than when you started. Now just turn the nut until the holes line up and you can insert the split pin.

 

[noddy]

Not sure if I am right, but I think one of the nuts is a reverse thread, I would guess the LHS, can anyone confirm this its been a while since I took the rear drums off.

Just in case you can not get one to undo it might be due to this.

 

[Clarkson46]

Both nuts are conventional RH thread.

 

[swetty]

hi
mines got a left hand fred one side and right hand fred the other.

 

[Clarkson46]

Our '68 uses RH threads on both sides. The post '76 rear end now fitted uses RH threads on both sides and the 46mm nuts are only supplied as RH thread. The fronts are handed but the rears are not.

 

[woodslat]

They're both RH, I bought a cheapo tool from Empi a few years back that you whack with a hammer to loosen the nut. It has a provision for a half inch breaker bar to steady it, ideal for first timers. Two things to watch out for with this hub knocker: on 64-70 buses you have to watch your hubcap clips, you'll smash them off if you miss the tool, and on 71 and later buses you have to watch out for the flared fender well ao you don't hit it too! I've managed to do this on a couple of occasions when I wasn't paying attention. To put them back on I have a Snap-On 3 foot long breaker bar with the 3/4" drive 46MM socket mentioned above. Early bays are great because you can't overtighten them, on splits if you go over 270 FT pounds it puts too much force on the bearings in the reduction gearboxes and wears them out fast. Here is a link to a photo of the tool on a Vanagon website:

http://wiki.80-90.co.uk/index.php/General_EMPI_Rear_hub_nut_spanner" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;