V50 FWD Real Wheel Hub Install Issues

[benpineapple]

Hello! I replaced the DS rear wheel hub on my '06 FWD V50 this week, and encountered a few issues. Thought I would see if there is something I'm missing before doing the wheel hub on the other side (DS was damaged and noisy, PS is okay but I want both to be new, due to known failure issues).

My main issue was with getting the 4 T50 bolts out. I sprayed PB blast all over the bolts the night before, but that didn't seem to help. 1 of the bolts snapped, and the heads stripped instantly on all other 3. Due to the heavy corrosion, the T50 bit wasn't able to go as far into the head as it should, which is why I think I stripped the heads so easily. I ended up getting my angle grinder out, and cutting the old wheel hub off. I basically cut in at the sides of the bolts (at the outside, where the bolts thread into the hub mounts), and then punched the bolts out once I had removed enough material. The dust shield acted sacrificially, and helped prevent me from cutting into the control arm, which was nice. All in all it took me 4 hours, which wasn't bad. But I'd rather not have to cut the other one off.

I'm wondering if there is some sort of trick to making this go better? I had used a knife and a wire brush to clean out the bolt heads before attempting removal, but I guess not enough rust was removed from the bolt heads?

Also, if you're reading this and considering doing the repair, make sure you have replacement brake dust shields (also called brake drip shields) on hand, as the old ones are most certainly going to be completely rusted onto the hub.