Edgarllama

So... I have a 2002 C230 Coupe and the threads on the hub are stripped out. I was told that I will need a whole new hub assembly. I am a diy and have replaced hubs and stuff before and would really like to save the 5hrs labor they quoted me and do this myself. However I am not sure if any special tools are required for this task. It appears to me that there is quite a bit of unbolting to do but that the hub comes all in one piece so once everything is unbolted and removed it should be quite simple to slide everything back on. Am I wrong? Does anyone have any suggestions or any experience with this? I am already looking at ~$600 to have the shop do it so if I have the vehicle towed to my house and am unable to do it myself I will have added another $100+ in tow fees. This is something that I would like to avoid of course. So to summarize.... Is this something a do-it-yourselfer could accomplish without specialized tools with minimal effort? Thank you very much for any help you may be able to offer!

jolenicz

I haven't done this repair, but here are a couple comments to point you the right way hopefully:

I don't know if you consider an impact wrench and air compressor special tools or not. Since the rear hubs attach the CV joints, you'll need to remove the nut at the end of the CV joint, which will be on awfully tight. Like 225 N-m or so, tighter than you can get with hand tools (I have a lovely 4' steel pipe with a graceful bend in one end to prove this point ). If you've already done this on other cars, I doubt it's any different on this car. The nut may be one-time use only, so maybe ask around and see if you need a replacement nut.

Also, the emergency brake mechanism is inside the rear hub. So, be ready for annoying, spring-loaded fun behind the hub. Again, I haven't done this myself, but I expect it'll be a bit more effort because of this setup.

I have removed the rear suspension links at the top of the knuckle. I needed a 3/8" Hex bit (male) to hold the heads of the bolts in place while loosening the nuts. I'm not sure if replacing the hub requires moving the knuckle, but if it does, be sure to have a hex socket set handy.

Good luck with the DIY, I'll be rooting for ya

Edgarllama

Hey! Thanks for the reply bro! Ok... I went ahead and removed the hub assembly already. The part is on order and should be here tomorrow. It wasn't too bad and took me about 2 hours. It would've taken less but I removed a few of the things in an order that I shouldn't have. So, when I finally got to removing the final bolt the hub was moving left to right making it quite a pain to finish. Tools I needed were a reverse hex (??) socket set, star bit set, breaker bar, 18 & 19 mm sockets, 5/8 socket, 32mm 12point socket, 5lb mini sledge, a small punch, and a pry bar. Also used a huge block of wood to set underneath the rear spring/shock because I wasn't sure if a lot of pressure would be released once the final bolt was removed. I made sure the blocks were tight and when I tapped it out nothing happened so.... If anyone has any questions about this process let me know. Also, all of this damage was caused because I used the incorrect lug-nuts when changing my girlfriend's tire. So.... if you haven't heard about this phenomenon please read up on it and save yourself a lot of trouble.

TittyBoi

Not sure how you used a 32mm. For the socket (read hub) Nut on the cv joint shaft. Since the size is 30 mm. But I went with 29 mm to make it nice and tight snug fit not to strip the nut. Doing this job right now.

K Downing

Any of y'all able to help me or direct me to a video or article on how to remove and replace the rear hub on a 2001 c240?