Trying to remove the four wheel hub bolts at the rear is proving a nightmare. Any tips?

They require the female torx type socket, which I believe is an E14, however on a couple of them it feels more secure with E12. The new bolts are definitely E12.

Any tips or advice from someone who has carried out this work? Just access wise and getting the bolts off which seem rust welded on and the heads of the star bolt very shabby and mishapen, its proving a nightmare. 

Im considering taking the arm out which the rear spring sits on alongside the spring itself for better access, as im struggling to get the air gun inside. 

Alan makes it look easy if it's the same type (access from the front - if not, ignore)?:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13LLonMWiZw

If access from the rear and concern over destroying heads then, as you say, further dismantling likely needed to try to get them out or cut heads off an remove remaining stud OR ... (someone with specific experience is needed, not me, sorry)?

The rear hub bolts are definitely E12 size. I had similar issues initially with E12 socket not wanting to fit into head of new bolts but E14 being a loose fit. 
 

Needed a tap with a hammer to get socket on to the bolt head. 
 

As for the old bolts if they’re anything like mine were you’ll be lucky if there’s enough of the head left for the socket to grip, while some youtube videos show this be straightforward there are others detailing horror stories 😖

My 2010 Focus fell into the horror story pot. Access to the bolts from the rear is difficult without car on a lift, no joy  trying to grind just one bolt head away ate through lots of dremel discs without making much progress. No joy either getting in there and drilling the bolt enough to get a stud extractor in there. 

All of this with one of the upper bolts being easiest to access. 
 

Ruled out the option to remove the rear arm as I’d have found more rusted bolts to fight with. Took the nuclear option in the end grinding off the hun bolts from the outside using an angle grinder. Would have helped to grind a slice off the outer flange first to give better access or drill the bolts from the outside but I didn’t realise till had done it the hard way. 
 

Probably worth getting a new splash shield at same time as this gets in the way during grinding, and likely to be pretty rotten by now anyhow. 

I got some more access by removing the rear damper, did have thoughts of trying to pull out the spring but the compressor I bought didn’t fit very well into the space available and removing the lower arm again risked tackling yet more rusted nuts and bolts

 

Horrible job, hub still needed a good thumping to free it off once the bolts were removed and managed to slip the socket on one of the new bolts, luckily I was able to remove it and had spares. Tightening is 65Nm , with a specific sequence then loosen each 90 degrees and retighten in same sequence.

Did you use a thick grinding disk there? A 1mm slitting disk would likely have been quicker. 

At least with the rear caliper type the entire brake mechanism can be unbolted and put aside. That wouldn't be possible with rear drum brakes. 

For anyone reading this, the wheel studs from the old hubs are worth keeping as spares if they will knock out easily. It will save a lot of time if one ever gets broken. 

I have the ones from the old hubs in the boot with the spare wheel. 

I used a couple of discs, a general grinding disc and also a cutting disc but maybe 3-4mm thick. Was difficult getting a good cut into some of the bolts especially those close to the brake mounting flange.

Pretty much impossible to leave the splash shield in one piece. At that age though it was falling to bits in any case. On the other side I left the original splash shield in place despite having a new spare, it had cracked and I planned to tidy it up to stop the crack spreading but more and more bits fell off as I tried to do anything with it ☹️ just rust treated it best I could and put a layer of black paint on it

I often have to cut out seized or rusted bolts out at work. Disassembling parts you already know are heading for the scrap bin can be so much easier as you can destroy them in the process. 

The 1mm thick slitting disks cut much quicker. You could have easily chopped a slice off the old hub flange for access and saved the splash guard if it was worth saving.

I would have cut into the bolts and threaded flanges on the hub housing at a diagonal angle. A trick is to cut through the hub flange until it it almost through then hammer a cold chisel into the slot. This will hopefully separate the two parts without having to cut into the other part behind. 

As the replacement bolts are new, it seems that it would be easier to replace the rusted splash guard when you get chance. 

Hoping I don’t have to do the job again but would look at cutting the outer flange first if I do - I did cut into the bolts at an angle at first due to the limited access but the hub was still pretty solid so I then ground the bolts down further.

Was able to do it without damaging the rear hub but the splash shield definitely got in the way. It was pretty rotten in any case and I had new ones ready so wasn’t a concern to destroy it. 

Thanks for replies

Im gonna have another attempt at it tomorrow with a shorter breaker/drive bar as I can't seem to get enough ground clearance with my longer one. Will really try and hammer that hex socket onto the rusted bolts.

Failing that, what would be the recommended procedure for using the 1mm grinding disc? Where and what would I grind off first? 

I dont think the brake shield is an MOT required part anyway is it? 

It’s depend how big your disc is and size of the angle grinder, you’ll very likely need to cut away the splash shield to get access or a slice off the outer flange. 
 

You’ll then need to cut into the outer hub where the bolts thread into it, so you’re grinding away the thread of the bolt and the hub around it. One of my photos in earlier post shows what I had to do more or less

I added some red lines to troy45's photo to show where you will have to cut. 

If you want to save your splash shields, cut away a piece of the flange as shown for access. 

Knock the studs out first as they are worth keeping if in good condition. 

The cut into the bolt and hub body at a diagonal angle as shown by the lines. 

Knock out the remains of the hub bolts using a hammer and punch or chisel. 

 

 

Ahh thanks I see... so its not recommended to go straight downwards with the grinder on a horizontal, between where the hub touches the front of the brake splash panel? 

Are the brake splash panels on these worth saving? Are they MOT required?

11 minutes ago, dale_123 said:

Are the brake splash panels on these worth saving?

That depends on the condition they are in and if you want to buy replacements. 

If you’ve got the room you could cut sideways into the job/stud then grind towards the hub to remove enough of the bolt threads to allow the head to become loose/fall off. 
 

I picked up a pair of Ford splash shields for £40ish from Arnold Clark eBay and there’s cheaper alternatives too - I definitely needed to cut the splash shield away to get access and it was pretty rotted away in any case so was a no-brainer

Is the subframe threaded, where the bolts first go through the back and eventually into the wheel hub?

The holes on the subframe are non-threaded clearance holes. 

 

Thanks for replys again 👍

Got the hub off today, went down diagonal as advised and then horizontal between hub and subframe/brake dust shield...

With brute force with my chisel set I managed to get them out nicely, but did have to sacrifice the dust shield.

Is the dust shield MOT necessary and is it worth leaving off? If not, does anybody have a link for a cheap pair? (2010 MK2 TDCI)

Also along with following the pattern for refitting the new bolts, any extra advice in general on fitting and tightening them back up? 

5 minutes ago, dale_123 said:

Is the dust shield MOT necessary and is it worth leaving off?

If Ford thought for just one minute that the shield wasn't necessary, do you think they would have still fitted it ?

On 11/2/2025 at 6:43 PM, troy45 said:

I got some more access by removing the rear damper, did have thoughts of trying to pull out the spring but the compressor I bought didn’t fit very well into the space available and removing the lower arm again risked tackling yet more rusted nuts and bolts

 

Horrible job, hub still needed a good thumping to free it off once the bolts were removed and managed to slip the socket on one of the new bolts, luckily I was able to remove it and had spares. Tightening is 65Nm , with a specific sequence then loosen each 90 degrees and retighten in same sequence.

This diagram shows the required tightening sequence for the hub bolts. Tighten all 4 then loosen each 90 degrees and retighten. 
 

You’ll only get 1 opportunity to change the splash shields unless you want to go through the fun and games of removing the hub again. Got mine from Arnold Clark online as I wanted genuine Ford parts.

Aftermarket replacements available from Autodoc for example or here https://www.leadercomponents.com/product/lsc-1233491-pair-of-rear-brake-disc-back-plates-dust-shields-splash-panels-new/?