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Last weekend I did the lower balljoints on my 2005 Jeep Liberty, and since it was the first time I’ve ever had the front hubs off, I had a hub puller standing by. It worked like a charm on the passenger side, with the puller first separating the hub from the knuckle, and then pushing the axle shaft out of the hub splines.
On the driver side, though, the first thing the puller did was separate the shaft from the hub. When I tried tightening the screw to make it push the hub out of the knuckle, I could feel the shaft compressing – all I was doing was pushing it back towards the diff, so the puller wasn’t exerting force on the hub.
I didn’t want to go any further in case I damaged either the shaft or the diff, so I ended up having to use a hammer (carefully) on the hub flange to break it loose from the knuckle.
Bottom line – could I have kept cranking on the puller screw until the shaft stopped compressing and the hub started to come loose? Or was I actually in danger of causing damage to the shaft or diff by pushing the shaft too far back into the Jeep?
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I do not think that you would hurt the differential by doing that (I have not damaged one). What you can do is separate the hub assembly which would ruin your day.
Try getting some pressure on the puller and then hit the knuckle with a hammer in a non critical spot while trying to tighten the puller more. A lot of times the shock from the hammer strike will help loosen things, it is like using an impact gun. I have also used a torch to heat up the knuckle but do this as a last resort, or take the whole knuckle out and use a press to get the hub out. Just remember to clean all the rust/corrosion off and use anti-seize when putting things back together.[quote=”brokemechanic3000″ post=76452]
Try getting some pressure on the puller[/quote]That was really my issue, though. I couldn’t get pressure on the puller because the shaft had already been loosened from the hub splines, and when I tried tightening the screw, I could see (and hear) the shaft compressing.
I guess I should just have kept turning the screw until all the “compressability” in the axleshaft had been taken up and the puller started exerting force on the hub again? That wouldn’t damage the shaft or the diff?
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