2000 SSEi - hub assembly replacement - stripped hub bolts

[mundster]

hi guys,

Have had Service Stability System message and traced it down to front passenger side hub.

Bought a Timken hub that meets spec on this site.

Have taken off the wheel, rotor, caliper and brakes.

Started removing hub bolts and they are stripping out.

Sprayed deep creep on them and let them soak for 5 hours.

Still no joy.

Used a Bolt out...rounded off the head even more.

Concerned about the top one and the one at 8 o'clock.

Top one won't come out either.

Tried the one at 8 o'clock but its not budging either.

Any ideas what to do next?

Thought about cutting the existing hub apart with a sawzall or a portaband saw if I can make it work.

Not sure that is the best approach.

Looking for guidance about what to do next or your thoughts on cutting the hub apart with one of the above tools or a angle grinder.

Got to get this fixed as it is my wife's daily driver.

Didn't figure I'd have so much trouble with 13mm bolts.

Thanks so much for your help.

[harofreak00]

I would remove the knuckle from the car and work on it on the bench. Having a straight on approach will make things 100x easier. Although, you will need to have an alignment then, but it should make it much more stress free.

[mundster]

Was thinking about that.

Complicates things a lot more.

Have you tried the Lisle Bolt Extractors?

h[url]ttp://www.lislecorp.com/divisions/products/?product=67[/url]

Look like they might work for the 4 o'clock and the 8 o'clock.

Not sure about clearance for the 12 o'clock.

Thanks for your reply.

The bolt out that I tried was a craftsman. Apparently it was a POS. Will get an Irwin set to see if it works.

Craftsman is going back. If Irwin doesn't work its going back.

Hope to avoid taking it all apart. At that point I might as well have a shop replace the hub.

Right now have more time than money.

Who says the economy is recovering? We're not seeing much of it in the Memphis area.

[mundster]

Ended up removing the steering knuckle from the car.

Then had to heat up each bolt with a 1100 deg F heat gun.

Used an electric impact wrench and a 1/2" impact socket.

This approach worked for 2 of the 3 bolts.

The last bolt (the one that was stripped out) had to be drilled from both sides, heated up with the heat gun and then I used a large vice grip to turn it out 1/4 of a turn at a time.

I would not be defeated!

Thanks HARO for the advice.

Now I gotta find a hub bolt to replace the one that I destroyed.

[harofreak00]

I have one I could drop in the mail for you. PM me your address.