QuestionHi John,
In an earlier response about brakes you said you need a big 2 1/16th sockect for removing the hub nut on a disco when replacing the rotors this is the first time i am attempting it and i bought the socket from british pacific and have no idea how to use it, one end looks like a socket and the other end just looks like a pipe with two holes in it. Also any other tips with the brakes would be much appreciated. I love my disco but cant afford to pay 98$ an hour for labor on it.
Thanks alot
eric distel
AnswerHi Eric,
the 2 1/16 inch socket is to remove the lock nuts on half-axle in the rear and to open up the hub to remove the bearings, hub axle case and rotor.
The depth of the socket should be at least 3 inches and since it is 2 1/16 inches large, you'll need at least a 1/2 inch ratchet set to use it.
So... IF you are changing all the rotors, you'll need the following:
ratchet set: 1/2 is best, 3/8 is ok...with 13mm, 15mm, 11mm sockets or their british equivalent. A 2 1/16 socket (as mentioned earlier). Axle grease, circlip spreader, ballpeen hammer (to separate axle hub from rotor), disc brake spreader, needle-nose pliers, brake fluid and brake cleaner. A new washer and paper gasket for each wheel hub you are working on. This can only be found at your local LR dealer: part numbers FTC3179 and FTC3646. Talk to your LR parts department to make sure these are correct for your Disco model and year. Should be ok.
Do one wheel at a time. If you get confused for whatever reason, you'll have the other wheel as a good example to help back you out of any situations. The front axle hub is different than the rear and the order of the nuts, washers and bearings are extremely important.
My preference is to leave the caliper on and loosen the axle hubs first. The rear is a half-axle so you can carefully remove this before removing the rotor. The front is unique and requires careful preparation and some room to lay out the pieces and lay them down in order of removal.
The only problem I had was separating the rotor from the hub case. Take you time and using the ballpeen hammer, carefully tap around the edges to loose the two metal surfaces. The key is equal pressure and careful strokes with the hammer. Make sure no rust gets into the axle grease SO cover this with a clean rag. You'll have to repack the bearing areas with new grease anyway but you don't want to ruin those bearing with a stray rust fragment!
IF you've done brakes before, this rest is easy. The calipers have just 2 bolts for removal. Ensure the socket you select is the same type as the bolt head otherwise you'll strip the bold head and then you're in trouble! Some sockets have only 6 'faces' or sides and the caliper bolts require 12...I've seen these bolts stripped because the wrong internals of the socket were selected. I believe its a 15mm.
As for the actual socket you got from LR...use the matching rachet set. Some sockets have two wholes for which a bar is pass through and the turned to remove the nut. Too much work for me...I'd stick with a ratchet (pardon the pun). If the only way to use the socket is by the bar method...you'll have you work cut out for you. The locknuts hold the axle bearings in check and should be easy to turn. There are two, the outside one is probably wrist tight, the inside one is hand tight. Just depends on who accessed it last and how long ago that was.
If you have any other questions, send me a note.
Regards,
JohnMc
