Hopefully next weekend I will be taking the rear suspension off the donor and I know how tight the rear hub nuts are so I want to do this before taking off the subframe assembly.

The question is, does the special socket sold by Halfords fit in the hole in the standard alloy wheel? I was checking today to see if I had a big enough socket (which I haven't) but the biggest I had will only just fit through the hole so I wonder if I may need to get a steel wheel just to put on whilst I undo the hub nuts - any thoughts?

Take the wheel off, put the nuts back on and brace between them with an extra bar. We used a 3/4" drive wrench and 4' extension - then jump on it with all our weight! Just cracked off... then the nearside is lefthand thread, wouldn't want you to go tightening it up would we?

Cheers, I did know about the left handed thread though. I thought it might be easier with a wheel on and the car on the ground. Not sure I have a 4' extension bar - will have to hunt around the garage

If the worst comes to the worst, drill a 1/8 hole through one of the lands and belt a well aimed cold chisel at it, it will undo by hand after that

What about the spare, is that steel? I took the exhaust off and used it as a lever over a 15" breaker bar. Did the job.

alternatively jump on it as much as you like, it doesn't move, swear a bit, dismantle everything so you're down to a hub with a driveshaft sticking out the back, take it to your local friendly garage, engage them in banter about your car, and ask them to do you a favour with their air wrench. off in a jiffy.

I had a real problem with hub nuts in the past - my car needed work for its MOT and I couldn't get them damn hub nut off, time was off the essence as it was my only transport. Took me a couple of days in the end and managed to snap a cheap telescopic wheel brace and then when I replaced it with a proper breaker bar, then end of that broke too.

Anyway, I now think I have perfected the technique. Halfords to an 18" breaker bar with a lifetime guarentee for about £20. Get one of them with the correct socket, get the missus to press on the brakes (if they are still connected) and lift up on the braker bar - don't press down, you can lift more than your body wieght so you get more force behind it. Jumping on it is the other option but I found it was ineffective.

As the breaker has a lifetime guarantee, you can extend it with tubing. If it breaks just take it back to halfords for a refund, just dont tell them you were jumping on it or using tube to extend it!

If all that fails, drill and chisel it off as Mark Allanson said, just be careful not to damage the thred on the driveshaft.

The breaker bar has been used for nearly every slighly stubborn nut since, I couldn't recommend it more. Buy one and kiss goodbye to struggling with little spanners and hammers and WD-40 and all that caper.

[Edited on 9/8/04 by Skirrow]

Could`nt agree more about the breaker bar, get a 24" inch one.
It could cost the best part of £40 for the bar and the 41mm socket and thats a bit steep if your standin in Halfords thinkin this is for 2 poxy nuts!
But it sure saves a lot of butchering and straining in the future on other parts as well, specially if you have a 6 sided sockets rather than the multipoints and will definatly pay for itself
Notwithstanding the lifetime warranty on the Halfords bar, some of the larger motor factors etc carry "Laser" tools, i`m sure my socket only cost half the Halfords price.
other than that use a bit of bar about 2 foot long and wedge it in the studs against the floor, or the bodywork on a scrapper, and heave ho!
BTW due to the huge torque these are at i`m not sure wether an air gun would fetch them off even if you did buy one of those instead!

I've done two sets now with an air gun run off my didy home garage compressor.

If you have trouble shifting them the trick is to heat the nut up with a blow torch!!!

The thread lock lock that Ford uses then goes all gooey and the nuts come off piece of wee!

DC

I already have a breaker bar and agree it was well worth the money - I do tend to ignore the warning written on it not to use extension bars with it however!!

Thanks for all the advice - hope they come off OK. Not too confident though because having taken the front apart this weekend one of the bolts which hold the strut into the hub sheared leaving a drilling job, the other came out OK but the strut won't come out of the hub - didn't spend too long trying though.

Must look at getting myself an air gun for the compressor. Great thing is that my daughter has just started working at Halfords so she can get discount

[Edited on 9/8/04 by andyps]

I was ill informed
Dear Santa, I want a compressor AND ................

get the biggest compressor you can afford. If your using air tools like the air gun you need serious air You can get by on smaller compressers but you will spend time waiting.
If you have a freind who will share get a Y piece and double the capacity up. Makes a big differance.

Best thing I ever got was a AIR GUN its saves stacks of grief just get the impact sockets deep ones and you will get anything loose..............remember LH threads!!!!!!!!!!

[Edited on 9-8-04 by mangogrooveworkshop]

transport yard air gun wouldnt touch mine but a bit of fettling and heating and good old fashioned heave ho did the trick.

Couldn't get a socket from Halfords as they have discontinued them recently (apparently they sold them off really cheap - typical), but thanks to the loaned one both hub nuts are now undone. Actually came off quite easily - offside no trouble at all, nearside just needed the right jamming bar and then me bouncing on an extension on the breaker bar and off it came.

Hopefully the complete rear suspension unit should be off this weekend.