Forged 8.5-ton puller that drives off seized wheel hubs, rusted brake drums and stuck rotors with an impact wrench instead of a slide hammer.
If you are pulling a front axle shaft, a transfer case output or a rear axle and the wheel hub will not come off the knuckle, or a brake drum has rusted itself to the axle flange, this is the tool that ends the fight. This 8.5-ton forged puller (Astro Pneumatic 78830) removes seized wheel hubs, brake drums and rotors on cars, SUVs, light trucks and vans, and it does it with steady screw pressure instead of a slide hammer and a lot of swinging.
The kit is two pullers in one frame. The hub side uses a forged T-bar, hub puller arms and a set of small, medium and large hub adapters that seat on the hub face, so the load goes straight down the axle centerline. The drum and rotor side swaps in long forged arms that reach behind the lip of a drum or rotor up to a 14 inch spread, roughly a 355mm rotor. Both sides are driven by a 1-1/4 inch (32mm) Grade 8 drive bolt on a long 7/8 inch threaded rod, so you can run it with an impact wrench and hold the body with a 1-1/4 inch or 32mm wrench. The forgings are the same alloy Astro uses on its ball joint press line.
The drum and rotor arms have a raised lip machined into them. On a drum that is really welded on, you run a ratchet strap around the arms at that lip so they cannot spread and walk off while the screw is loaded. That one detail is what keeps a stubborn job from turning into a flying arm.
Before you load any puller, make sure nothing is still holding the part. Remove the axle nut or spindle nut and any retaining clips, take out every hub-to-knuckle bolt, and on drums back the parking brake shoes off through the adjuster slot. A drum that rocks but will not slide is usually caught on a lip worn into the inside of the drum, not rust. Pulling against a bolt you missed is how knuckles crack. If you are about to pull a hub to get at a driveline component, our guide on 2WD versus 4WD tailhousing differences helps confirm which parts you are actually dealing with before teardown.
This is a universal tool for passenger cars, SUVs, light trucks and vans. The three hub adapters cover the common hub face sizes, and the arms open to 14 inches. Some hub jobs on vehicles with a caliper bracket in the way need a separate caliper bridge brace bar (Astro 78830CBA, sold separately) so the screw has something solid to push against. If you are not sure the adapters suit your hub, measure the hub face and the arm clearance first. Browse the rest of our transmission and driveline tools for the presses and sockets that pair with it.
Once the hub is out, you usually need the next tool in line: a spindle nut socket set for the locknuts on 4x4 spindles, and a ball joint and U-joint press kit if the knuckle is coming apart anyway. For bearings that stay in the hub, a FWD wheel bearing press adapter kit handles pressing them out and back in without damaging the new race. Building a full bench setup? See our list of tools needed for a bench rebuild.
| Load rating | |
| Material | |
| Arm spread | |
| Forcing screw drive | |
| Wrench flats | |
| Hub adapters | |
| Fits |
Yes, that is its main job. Remove every hub-to-knuckle bolt and the axle nut first, choose the hub adapter that sits flat on the hub face, and run the drive bolt with an impact in short bursts. On some trucks the caliper bracket blocks a straight push and Astro's separate bridge brace bar (78830CBA) is needed.
The drum and rotor arms spread to 14 inches, which is about a 355mm rotor. That covers most car, SUV and half-ton to one-ton light truck drums and rotors.
A 1-1/4 inch or 32mm impact socket on the Grade 8 drive bolt, and a 1-1/4 inch or 32mm wrench on the body to keep it from spinning. A half-inch impact is enough for most hubs; very rusty truck hubs go easier with a 3/4 inch drive gun.
A forged T-bar, forged hub puller arms, forged drum and rotor arms, a long 7/8 inch threaded rod, the 1-1/4 inch Grade 8 drive bolt, long and short hex nuts, small, medium and large hub adapters, and hardened washers.
For a seized hub, usually yes. A slide hammer shocks the hub through the bolt flange and can bend it or damage the bearing; this puller applies steady straight-line force down the axle centerline, which is safer on a bearing or knuckle you intend to keep.
