How do you disassemble a locking hub cap?

I took apart both of my locking hubs last night to clean them out and regrease and the dial on my passenger side will not rotate all the way back to free. It's like something has worked its way under the mechanism and will not let it all the way down. Is there anyway to take this apart and clean under there? I know how to take the hub assembly itself apart, but not the cap. The hubs I have are these right here if that helps any.

 

Pull the hub, clean out as much grease and crud as you can. Look for a snap ring, maybe, holding the internals together. (Mine is the "Automatic" version; slightly different, but...) Take digital pix if you need to. Make notes, whatever, it's really pretty simple in there. Once you gotten down to the back side of the brass dial, you should see a countersunk flathead allen screw holding it on. Undo, and watch for a small ball just under the face of the dial. Clean all that, and start to reassemble. Use a sharp punch and strike a dent at the edge of the screw you took out. This will help hold the screw in there. Don't want that falling out!! Back together with some grease, good to go again.

 

Yup what Stu Said

 

Yeah I saw that flathead screw in there, but I dunno if I can get it out. May have to soak it in some PB for awhile and try to unscrew it. Thanks guys.

 

Might take some persuasion. It needs to be pretty tight. Use a wee bit of force. Or more. You'll get it. When you do, watch for the little ball that's on the other side. That's what's keeping you from getting back to the "free" position. It's gunked up and can't get there. Use more force on the screw. You'll be all right. I was in your shoes not so long ago................

 

Thanks. I will try to 'persuade' it some more tonight after I replace my clutch pedal rod.

 

Oh, geez. There goes that mission. Now, you're gonna work on a JEEP. One thing leads to another, next thing you know, you're into a total frame up rebuild.........


What's wrong with the clutch rod? Little worn out is it? Do a search here, lots of very good help. If it's just worn and you're going to "fix" it, do it better. Heim joints are one solution that are infinitely better than stock, and not much more money. Some folks like the chain link conversion...


Finish the hubs first.

 

Yeah I spend most of my nights out in the garage wrenching on one thing or another on it. No, with the clutch linkage, somebody before me had rigged up some long threaded bolt with nuts on it and other things to connect it. Well my clutch pedal has had a ton of free travel in it for the longest time, so I decided to check it out and adjust it. When I started messing with it, it fell apart! I can't believe it never broke while I was driving it. I already picked up the replacement linkage from Kaiser Willys (I'm local to them), so I will see how that goes. If it doesn't work well I may go to a tie rod type setup. So I should be able to knock that out and get the hubs cleaned up and re-greased tonight. I look forward to working on something on my Jeep everyday! Eventually I probably will have it totally rebuilt.

 

And so it goes, then here we are!

Time for me to go to the job. The one that pays......... well, not that JEEP stuff isn't rewarding, but the IRS doesn't take warm fuzzies in credit. Yet.

 

Well I took both hubs apart to clean and regrease and I found my problem. The o-ring on the dial was broken and that was what was preventing it from moving all the way back to Free. I just need to pick one up and it should be good to go. The driver's side turns really easy now and that loud clunking, grinding sound I kept hearing from the wheel is gone now. Guess the rollers in there just needed some fresh lube. On another note, I got my clutch linkage fixed with the original piece. It is MUCH tighter now. Before my clutch didn't engage until the pedal was almost on the floor. Now it is close to the top and it shifts much smoother now and doesn't chatter as much as it used to. I had to let the cable out a little bit to get the 1 and a quarter inch free play in the pedal, but it is all good now. Feels good to have a nice solid clutch now. Maybe I will tackle that brake MC replacement tonight. I am getting addicted to working on it.

Edit...I am having trouble locating a new o-ring for the dial. Anyone know where I could get one? Could I possibly match one up from a hardware store or something? I really need it because the dial won't turn at all without it.