13-Piece Spindle Nut Socket Set, 22-83.5mm 4-Tooth

Thirteen four-tooth spindle nut sockets covering 22mm, 26mm, 30mm, 33mm, 37mm, 43.5mm, 50mm, 57mm, 63mm, 69mm, 76mm, 81mm and 83.5mm outer diameters, all on a 1/2-inch square drive. These are the sockets for KM-style groove nuts and castellated axle locknuts - the four notches cut into the face of the nut that a normal six-point socket cannot touch.

You need this set any time the hub has to come off: replacing a front wheel bearing, pulling a CV axle to get at a transaxle output seal, resealing an axle tube, or servicing a 4WD locking hub. The nut on those assemblies is torqued high and is usually staked or peened into a groove on the spindle. Pick the socket that matches the nut's outside diameter, seat it fully so all four teeth engage, and break the nut loose with a breaker bar. On reassembly the same socket lets you put the nut back to spec with a torque wrench instead of guessing with a punch and hammer, which is how spindle threads and bearing preload get ruined.

Fitment covers most GM, Ford, GMC and Dodge cars and light trucks along with a lot of import applications, including Dana 44 and Dana 60 front hubs. Measure the outside diameter of your nut before you order - fitment here is by nut OD, not by vehicle year. Check thread direction too, since some axle nuts are reverse cut and will strip the teeth off the nut if you lean on them the wrong way.

Sockets are forged alloy steel with an anti-rust coating and ship in a molded plastic case with a slot for each size, so the one you need is not buried in the bottom of a drawer.