PatHenry

I would replace the hub - new ones range from $70-100.. you can get a new Moog from Autozone for $100 with a 3 year warranty.

When you put it back together, use antiseize on the hub rim so you'll never deal with it stuck like that again and make sure to tighten the axle nut to 180 ft/lbs. If you don't the hub will fail pre-maturely.

HighOnLift

What about that rust cover *cough* I mean dust cover? Doesn't look like it comes with one. I edited my previous post on you. My apologies.

fb97xj1

Dust shields dont come with the hubs. The part # for the left is 52005477, and 52005476 for the right. Ebay, Rockauto, Quadratec, Morris4x4... they all sell them. Give the forums vendor directory a shot. I keep forgetting thats even a thing, so i dont know what youll find.

SirCyber

I would definitely replace. From the sounds of it you were wailing on that hub, and could have dislodged the seal. I, surprisingly, didn't have as much problem with the hub as I did those $&#-(&(# hub bolts! I think beating on the hub weakens it, that's my take.

PatHenry

I just re-used my old dust shields. On my TJ I didn't pit them back on and never had a problem.
Replace them if you are particular or toss them if you don't care.
If you do replace them, make sure they are on correctly (if you didn't separate the hubs from the axle it's a pain to put the axle in and then realize you forgot the dust shield.. ) - the key is to line the little windo up with the tie rod and visualize the rotor being on.

​​​​​​​It's surprisingly hard to remember how it went on when you're tired and putting things back together... lolol

SirCyber

Too true PatHenry! Those dust Shields are easy enough to mush back together, or a yank apart will have them super cheap, or just leave them off... Completely at your discretion. I bent the crap outta my passenger one, while hub was off, I used my old hub as an anvil and my trusty mini sledge to shape it back enough to get the holes slotted up with the bolts again. Make sure you don't pull a me... Get the hub on and THEN realize you put the dust shield on backwards! Tried putting the tire on and then realized it. Doh!

jordan96xj

One of my first big Jeep work mistakes was putting the dust shields on backwards after replacing my hubs. That is a truly sucky thing. Because EVERYTHING was back on, the hubs, the axles, the axle nuts. Then you go to slide a rotor on and....wait...no...seriously? Got to take everything back apart just for that tiny mistake.

OldTires

Seriously, they are pain in the !@#$%. When I replaced everything in the front drive, I bent an edge on one of the dust shields and didn't realize it. When driving around, the shield would make different whining noises and sounds that I could not figure out and find. It went on for a couple of weeks until I took it to my mechanic to look at. He put it on the lift and found right away. They could have designed them to attach around the knuckle from the outside, allowing for removal without taking everything apart.

HighOnLift

AFTER ALL THIS^^^^^^^^^

I forgot to put it back on

But it sounds like a better mistake than putting it on backwards! I at least have the option to say f it and just leave it off (exactly what I'm going to do).

If'n I'm ever down there again to mess with anything, I'll put it back on. But I'm tempted to really not put too much more work into this jeep due to the amount of rusting. I'll just keep it going as long as I can, and work on finding another XJ that has less rust.