Hello,

I'm trying to replace the front passenger side bearing of my '97 Dakota (4WD, Rear ABS). I have two (hopefully) quick questions:

1. I'm having a hard time getting the hub axle nut to come loose. I tried a torque wrench but that didn't budge it. Do you think I should try a breaker bar, or is there some other (non-air) way of loosening that bolt (I've already used penetrator)?

2. My caliper's nuts have been stripped/rusted, and while I managed to get one off, the other is to tightly-screwed to catch with any of my hex bits. Is there a clever way to increase the grip of the bit?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

 

Welcome to the forums

Use a breaker bar to get the axle nut loose. 1/2" or heavier drive would be good.

You might try some heat or penetrating oil on the caliper pins. Then take a one size bigger torx bit and drive it into the recess.

Make sure you torque the axle nut EXACTLY to specs when you get done.

 

You should not ever use a torque wrench to loosen a nut or bolt. Maybe try reinstalling the wheel and set the truck back on the ground. Pop out the center cap and use a breaker bar to loosen the spindle nut. Chock the front and rear tires and you can stand on the breaker bar handle and bounce on it to break it loose.

Try using a star bit on the caliper bolts. I think mine are a T40. It fits the bolts much better than a hex socket.

Jimmy

 

Use a breaker bar and put a pipe on the end for extra leverage ( I use the handle of my jack).

Take a bigger size Allan or torx bit and drive it in with a hammer to get the caliper pins out. I ran into the same issue as you plus stripping the threads on the caliper. Hope that doesn't happen to you!

 

Thanks for the replies, everyone. When I get home I'll obtain a breaker bar and try to find some pipe (the jack handle is a good idea).

I'll also try to hammer the bit in after some heat and some penetrating oil.

 

So....................Did you get it off? Also you might want to replace BOTH SIDES while you are at it. No sense in just doing one. The driver side will be much quicker, I promise. I just did the same thing on my Suburban. Only one side was bad but I swapped them both out so the front end would be riding on ALL new bearings rater than just one side. AND if your luck is like mine, you know the drivers side will go bad soon after.