The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Front wheel bearing dust caps - removal?

HELP! 1941 GMC Ton and a half: Front wheel bearing and wheel cylinder inspection cleaning rebuild; stuck at dust cap removal. Dust cap looks like it is screwed into wheel hub. The material is very thick, and has octagonal flats that look as if they are there to unscrew cap from hub. Tried penetrating oil, tapping with brass mallet from all directions to see if there is any shifting, tried heating of cap and hub interface to draw up oil and create some heat cycling movement, more tapping. Thing won't budge at any safe level of force so I can see how it was installed.

ARE THESE PRESSED IN OR THREADED IN??????? Argh!!!!!

Peter,

You display vehicles from 1941-1996

Which one are your referring to?

UPDATE: STILL A NO GO!

TIG WELDED A DEEP GRADE 8 NUT ONTO DUST CAP, SCREWED IN SLIDE HAMMER,
Struck up a rhythm till every dog in the neighborhood was singin' and folks were yellin' out the back windows at me......NO GO

Unless set on a different path that same nut will be perfect for the Ingersol Rand impact gun in the morning after a few heat cycles and more doses of penetrating oil.

This things are either threaded in (an unlikely scenario),or pressed in, so I will do as mechanics do when it is the one thing not described in the manual (REMOVE hubcap) and neither the assembly drawings nor parts catalogs can be seen to show enough detail. I will get a bigger hammer, get it a little hotter and keep upping the ante until it comes out. As of now I have ten fingers and toes. Update mañana.

The octagonal end indicates to me it is threaded. I'm not familiar with that model though.

Stop down to the local VFW or AL and find an old WWII vet that worked
on the trucks back then. Maybe they will know if those caps were
threaded or not.

Then there is a GMC forum for old trucks:

http://www.oldgmctrucks.com

Maybe somebody there knows. Good luck and let us know what
happened. Jeffrey

Hy Superbee, the caps with the octagonal end thread into the hub, hope that helps.

Should be screwed on BUT, If on the driver side, are the threads possibly LH threads like some of the lug nuts were?

How about some modeling clay or play dough, form a captive channel around the joint with a hole in the top, fill with Metal Rescue or such, let sit for a while.

Ed

A liberal application of KROIL, plus a little heat, should free up a sticky thread.

www.kanolabs.com

Jerry

Hy Guys, right hand thread on both hubs.

Excellent, I read to the end with trepidation about that thread direction once that seemed most likely. The octagon is not easy to grab as it tapers a bit and is radiused at the root. If I had socket it would be simple enough to push inward to keep engaged but I would have to make one by padding four sides of a larger or bending and welding an octoganal loop with drive square in crosspiece. I'll go out and try it now. Report back in a bit boys!

Listen up folks! We have a winner! That's right folks, winna! winna! Chicken dinna!!!
Hold onto your tickets folks, watch the monkey climb the pole!
Where he stops nobody knows!
Buy your tickets and watch the shows!
A winner every time!
Hold onto your tickets folks!

Yessiree folks! RIGHT HAND THREAD BOTH SIDES!!

I want to thank you gentlemen for your timely assistance, and I now feel somewhat ashamed of half the brass mallet taps round the circumference trying to see if it would visibly rock a little. Never did, but it moved enough to break the paint seal
and let the oil in. I will swap the nut I used for one the same size as the lugnuts and pretty it up before external powder coat.

I've always used a big pair of Channel lock pliers on those threaded dust caps, or a pipe wrench on the stubborn ones. Adjusting the brake shoes to lock the drum helps if it's necessary to apply a bit of persuasion.
Jerry