Postby disallow » Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:23 am
You could do a couple things, Leaving 4wd on might help, but probably not, as the 'free wheel' will still spin.
1. If possible, use impact tools.
2. If you don't have access to air tools, you can loosen the big nut with the tire on the ground. This can be accomplished by either knocking out the center cap on your rim (piece of plastic can be pushed out from the inside and put back in when you are done), or installing the spare which has a hole in the middle of it. Then you can get your socket and breaker bar, and a perhaps even a long pipe (backyard mechanic's favorite tool!) on it to loosen it off.
I found my impact chisel was really helpful on this job, and I was able to vibrate the hub off of the bearing race quiet easily. It was rusted on there pretty good.
Make sure to clean up the surfaces of any corrosion once you have the hub off. Any loose rust, wire brush it off. Spray down with penetrating oil or something of that nature to clean it, then wipe with a rag.
When installing the new hub, start the bolts off one at a time, then tighten each a little at a time to ensure the hub centers on the shaft properly and seats where its supposed to.
Hope that helps. Will try to find my post from when I did the exact same job you are about to about 2 years ago.