Thread: Advice needed - Removing Maxi-Drive End Caps (for brake rotor replacement)

Hi Michael,
IIRC the end cap (sealed nut) has to come off first and then remove circlip to get the flange itself off.

Cheers,
Paul.

Originally Posted by harro

Hi Michael,
IIRC the end cap (sealed nut) has to come off first and then remove circlip to get the flange itself off.

Cheers,
Paul.

Thanks Paul, that's what I suspected... now... how the heck do you get that thing off? Scared to find out what a 50mm socket would be worth... I may have to go and purchase a bigger shifter than I already have.

Cheers!
Michael.

Put the bolts back into the flange and reseat the caliper then get someone to apply the brakes while you undo the nut.
A big shifter should do it.

When replacing the nut just use some thread sealant and no need to do it up too tight.
I can undo mine with a big pair of multigrips, Like I said not too tight.

Cheers,
Paul.

The first thing you will be faced with after you remove the drive flange is a pair of 52mm hub nuts (with a lock washer) that will need to be removed to get the hub off - sockets that fit are cheap from the UK.......
but it might put a dampner on having it done by this week end (unless you can beg, borrow or steal a 52mm socket......)

Scott.

Paul, good advice on using the brakes themselves to hold everything tight - that did the trick. Though it was still very tight...

Scott, you got there just ahead of me - I figure this will be my next obstacle. I've attached what's revealed underneath. I had guessed that it had been mashed to prevent it from spinning... should there be a proper lock washer there somewhere?

52mm sockets... they would have to be a very deep socket to get over the shaft there... sounds like something I'm going to have to order for future, hopefully I can borrow one in the meantime. I might put a seperate post up to see if anybody has one I can borrow.

Thanks all!

The nut should be mashed (straked)like that, there should be a washer under the nut to also prevent turning. You could undo the nut with a hammer and cold chisel, as someone has done in the past. Make sure you pry up the mashed bit first to make it easier to undo. You should fit a new strake nut when you reassemble. This nut needs to be torqued to 150ft/lb which is generally too much for the cheap tube sockets you buy from the 4wd places. Seeing you are up that way, try asking Incisor if you could borrow the hub nut socket I made him.

Cheers, Mick.

You could change back to the previous style and use 2 nuts with the lock washers. I bought the required impact socket from Trade Tools for around $35 from memory. Well worth it in my opinion. The diff I did that had this type of lock washer had a spacer between the bearings. Simpler and easier to change back and more serviceable if you need to work on it elsewhere as you don't have to replace the lock nut each time - incase you need to re-adjust your bearings.

I managed to get the nut off, hammer and chisel slowly did the trick.

Underneath the nut was a washer with a tab (that obviously follows the cutout in the thread), then the outer bearing, a spacer, then the inner bearing with a seal on the inside of that.

I'm not sure that the nut will be going back on in that condition, so I might have to source a new one or two. I have yet to look at the other side, though I might as well while I'm here - the brake rotor thickness is below spec anyway.

Are there any hints at this stage as to whether my setup is the one that runs oil to the bearings? I had plenty of dark oil coming out of everything I pulled out, but it's hard to tell with the bearings whether they had a coating of grease on them or the dark oil.

Is there a way to tell definitively? Keep pulling bits off until I get to where a seal is or should have been?

I would guess I'd have to work this out by the time I start putting stuff back together.

Incisor has kindly offered to lend me his hub nut socket for reassembly...

Many thanks to everybody who has offered their advice and assistance.

Cheers!
Michael.