General wheel removal tips and advice?

[Nawkoutt]

I don’t think I’ve seen any threads about removing the wheels. I think I have an axle seal leak. The backing plate is appears to be wet, so I want to inspect it and then replace if it is leaking.

So, I was wondering what tools I need to take off the wheel and to put them back, and any advice on how to do it? I have jack stands and floor jack, but I was wondering if I need a breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts, and impact wrench with torque sticks to retighten the lug nuts? I haven’t done this before, so I know it may seem like a dumb question, but don’t want the wheels falling off when I’m driving down the highway, so I thought I would ask for some advice.

Thank you!

 

[KingCarGuyZ]

well removing the wheels like you would change a tire is super easy, get yourself a lug wrench there should be one in the jeep for when you get a flat (they also make these things called Spyders that I like, look like a + sign with a different socket on the end). break the lug nuts loose, jack up the jeep and support it with a jack stand then loosen the lug nuts the rest of the way and take the wheel off.

if you actually want to get all the way to the axle seals, thats going to involve pulling the Diff cover (and dealing with the Diff oil) as well as pulling rotors, calipars and unit bearings (to let you pull the shafts) on the Front axle or on the back Dana 35, pull the C-clips, Break drums and I think the axels get pulled out after that, but it's been a while.

Youtube is your friend for axle seals, job can be a bit annoying and requiers a seal installer (you can borrow one at your local parts store) as far as just getting the tires off, its fairly self explanatory and I imagine well within your grasp. do make sure to brick at least one of the tires, thats a fun lesson to learn the hard way.

Torque wrench is a "nice to have" for re-rightening the lug-nuts, but you can get by with a coupla grunts. Impacts and Torque sticks arn't necessary unless your are doing this all the time or just want to make your life really easy.

 

[roverhi]

You may need a breaker bar depending on how rusty, overtorqued the wheel nuts are. Jack stands are super safe but I usually do one wheel at a time with a trolley jack near the wheel. A 3/4" socket either impact or regular depending on the tool you are using to remove the nuts. I torque the nuts to 105 foot pounds to make sure they won't come off or be overtightened. Of course that will take a torque wrench for final tightening. If you have a heavy duty impact wrench a breaker bar shouldn't be needed. Don't have large torque wrench so no experience with torque sticks I'd probably stick with a torque wrench. It is best to break the wheel nuts loose before jacking up the wheel.

 

[LONGJP2]

don’t want the wheels falling off when I’m driving down the highway,

Remember, the factory lug wrench was deemed sufficient to mount a tire by a person of ordinary strength; and not fall off.
Getting the lug nuts off after being installed with an impact is another story.

One thing I've always done is tighten in a star pattern, from snugging them down to final torque.

 

[JMT]

I don’t think I’ve seen any threads about removing the wheels. I think I have an axle seal leak. The backing plate is appears to be wet, so I want to inspect it and then replace if it is leaking.

So, I was wondering what tools I need to take off the wheel and to put them back, and any advice on how to do it? I have jack stands and floor jack, but I was wondering if I need a breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts, and impact wrench with torque sticks to retighten the lug nuts? I haven’t done this before, so I know it may seem like a dumb question, but don’t want the wheels falling off when I’m driving down the highway, so I thought I would ask for some advice.

Thank you!

1) You need a jack to raise the axle near the tire you are removing. Then put a jack stand under that axle to hold it securely. Don't trust the jack to hold it.
2) You need either the factory supplied lug wrench or a deep socket and a breaker bar (15" will suffice) or an impact gun that will remove the lug nuts.
3) Once you remove all five lug nuts you can remove the wheel. Behind that you will find the brake rotors (where your brake pads rub for stopping)
4) To remove the brake rotor you need to remove the brake caliper. It's two bolts. They have a six point head. Use a 13mm6 point wrench to loosen them. They should come off pretty easy.
5) After removing them you can slide the caliper off the brake rotor. Hang the caliper by a rope or something so it's not putting all the weight on the brake line.
6) now just remove the brake rotor. Easy peasy.
7) At this point I don't know what rear axle you have. If you have a Dana 44 there's an axle seal on the rear axle just inside the backing plate. The backing plate can be removed by unscrewing 4 bolts (I think it's 4. It may be 3, 4 or 5) There's a hole that you can slip a socket into. Just look inside the hole and rotate the plate till you see a nut. I can't remember the size, but find out and then remove each one. Then you can get to the axle itself.
8) If you've gotten this far you should be able to see your seal. You will need to find a way to remove the seal from the axle and press another seal on.

Sometimes the backing plate just isn't tight enough, so if you get that far you can tighten those nuts down and solve the problem.

I think this is basically correct. If I've got something wrong, I'm sure someone will correct me.