I have my front tire, and rotor off and I need to replace a wheel bolt but I cannot get it out because there is a circular finned looking thing blocking my way.

1990 740 GLE with Girling Rotors

Please help.

Thanks,

Erick

Erick,

The thing you describe sounds like the reluctance wheel for the ABS system. When the bearing/hub assembly is installed on the car, the fins on this wheel almost touch the magnetic pick-up for the ABS. I recently had to replace the bearings in my '89 turbo, and I have this wheel on my (one piece) hubs. This finned wheel rests on the hub assembly with friction -- no bolts -- so it's easy to remove.

Place a cloth on your garage floor and put the hub assembly on the cloth with the bolts pointing upward. Tap the bolts with a hammer to get the bolts to drop down so that they are resting on the finned wheel. As you have found out, they can't be removed with the finned wheel in place. Start tapping each bolt gently while they are resting on the wheel (tap one...go to the opposite side and tap it...go to the next bolt...etc), you will slowly drive the finned wheel off the hub assembly. When you want to re-install the wheel, put it in place and gently tap it onto the hub assembly.

Erick: a thorough rotor job includes removing that castle nut, so that you can install a new cotter pin...muy importante. Removing the dust cover, taking ouff that cotter pin and castle nut are the BEGINNING of the rotor change-out job. If you have the 2-piece rotors (rotor w/ with seperate bearings), make sure that you use ALL of the grease that you are supposed to pack those small-and-large bearings with. There is actually a type of press made for just such a purpose: helps to prevent your bearings from burning out. When all else is done, and new castle nut and cotter are in place, pack the center hub full of hi-temp grease, then stick on the new dust cover. Keep us posted, amigo. Hang in there, too.

>When all else is done, and new castle nut and cotter are in place, pack the center hub full of hi-temp grease,

If the bearings are properly "packed" there is no further need to pack the hub full of grease, if you do that you'll have grease leaking out onto your rotor the first time the hub gets hot.

You don't need any tools to pack the bearings, place a lump of grease in the palm of one hand and nibble at that grease with the "large side" of the bearing being pressed down. Continue until the grease is gone and in the bearing.

Erick: if this 'finned thing' is under the dust cover, at the very center of the hub, it is a 'castle nut', and is held in place (= keeps the nut from spinning off while yer rollin' down the hiway) with a bent cotter pin. You have to do a little fussing, but a bent pick, something that won't snap off under heavy force, should enable you to get out the cotter pin, then unscrew the castle nut, and you can proceed w/ yer work. Ok?--PD. (there may be a bunch of grease in there [it belongs there] that hides the pin, but the ends of the pin are down in between the crenellations of the castle nut)

Seen those nuts before, this is directly behind the the wheel bolts and keeps them from going straight (or even sideways) out the back of the hub hole. It is about 6-9 inches in diameter.

Thanks anyway

Call me a plonker but i'll ask ('cos it's 4.45am and i'm at work, tired and bored)...it's not an ABS rotor or somesuch is it?

Richard ... you forgot "Cats declawed"

"Virgins deflowered, criminals captured, crocodiles castrated...all at no extra cost".

Don't have anything this fancy, but I was just reading a procedure to remove and replace the ABS wheel index (on a ford), not paying much attention to the detail, but wondering why such a sturdy thing would need to be replaced. Maybe this is one reason.

Sorry if htis is no help.

Erickk

The thing you described that is blocking your way sounds like the dirt shield mounted behind the rotor, yet you say that you have removed the wheel and the rotor. I am am very puzzled how you could have this problem with the rotor removed. ??????????????