I got all excited and ordered four new hubs to replace my 150000 hubs. They arrived with new seals and I suddenly realized my little collection of tools isn't going to do the job. 360 ft/lbs?! Seriously?! And probably more than that to start it off?

I could get a 550 dollar torque wrench from amazon that goes that high. And a 40 inch breaker bar (with a pipe on the end).

I read elsewhere that someone used the harbor freight 300 ft/lb 3/4 inch torque wrench, hit the high click, and guesstimated another 60. Removal was with a 40 inch bar and 1 1/4 inch impact socket. Would this work? I have no access to a giant torque wrench unless I pay 550 to use it this one time.

Any great suggestions? Do auto parts places rent thousand dollar torque wrenches? Hahhahahaah. Poor planning on my part. Save me!

 

Forget the torque wrench. Just go with a .75 drive breaker bar and a cheater pipe that is heavy gauge and somewhere between 1.5 and 3 inches in diameter by... Oh say.... At least 4 feet long. A 5 footer plus will work even better. You can get enough leverage then to break the nut loose and then tighten back up until it won't go anymore. When the torque gets that high you know what you need to do and it's not all that specific. Tight enough to hold your **** together forever!

 

X2^^^

 

Hahaha that's language I understand! Why can't the RAVE just say that? My wife, my daughter and I, combined, don't weigh 360 pounds; really! That torque spec blows my mind. But I can do wonders with a really long cheater.

 

I keep said pipe on-hand in my grandpas garage. It works well. Now if I could use it underneath to break my diff plugs haha! I may try an impact drill but a single .75 break over would not do it. I was pissed. It's one of those bits that you don't want to smurf up or damage as then you will never get it unscrewed. I'm going to try to be careful. I wish I had a lift

 

The best way to brake the hub nut loose it to take the tire off, pop the center cap out of the rim, put the tire back on, lower the truck and have some put the parking brake on and hold the foot brake, put the socket through the the center cap opening and brake the nut loose. The grip from the tire and brakes should hold the hub in place while you brake it loose. Good luck

 

To torque it to 360 lbft you'd need 360lbs one foot from the nut.
You'd be crazy trying to use a one foot long bar.

You could just tighten as best you can, then go to a heavy truck garage and get them to torque them correctly.

 

Wow. My mind is mush. I own heavy trucks and have my own heavy truck garage... seems that my vast knowledge does not include any understanding of what tools we have. I just learned that I own TWO five foot torque wrenches (one brand new in the box!) and several sets of one inch sockets. And I employ a VERY strong mechanic who has good taste in torque wrenches. Situation solved! Thanks for triggering my brain, Tom!

 

Not being rude, but how much do you weigh. Why? Well as you know the torque quoted in RAVE is 360 lb/ft i.e. @ 12" from the centre of the nut you would have to apply a load of 360 lb, or 180 lb @ 24" out.

So lets just say you are 168 lb you could use your 24" breaker bar with a strong pipe extension and stand on it at a point 2'1" from the centre i.e. 360/168 = 2.14' and achieve the correct torque. But do not bounce it or you will exceed the limit, just step on it and let it turn under your weight. If you weigh more you won't need the extension e.g. 196 lb = 1'9" and so no and so forth.

 

5'11", 135 pounds. I just know that the head bolts, which are a lot LESS torque, take quite a bit out of me.

I'm slender, fo sho.

But the breaker bar (removal) isn't the worry. I've been told not to use an extension on a torque wrench, so putting it on is my issue. But I think it is solved. A five foot torque wrench should make it pretty easy.