Changing wheel bearings, Press required?

[pt102]

Thank you for your reply 37. I put it back together w/ no changes- had to go to work. Glad to hear about your vacation. How was it?

From what I read subsequently, the hub must be pulled 1st with a special remover. Will try my slide hammer or break down and get a puller. Kinda like a harmonic balancer/ steering wheel 3 bolt puller with elongated fingers. You can't knock it out reverse. Then the bearing will come out. New bearing then goes on the hub and reinstall.

I hope I'm on the right track. There are no books available around here- chiltons or otherwise. Where are the good old days of separate bearings and races

TIA for your help.

[lakersfan1]

I've never needed a puller to pull any hub on any car.

Just bring your thinking cap and patience with a rubber mallet and a pry bar. Then, if you get the point you're about to go on a homicidal binge you add booze and a heavy hammer. Always works out in the end.

[pt102]

LOL Lakersfan. The booze is why the BFH was brought out I had the knuckle off and even brought to A-zone- no help, said needed to be pressed out. I've done rear ends before and the pinion is "press fit", but careful tapping seats it fine... figure same here. If too snug the old freeze, heat trick works good too.

Oh, and yes the nut was removed (other than this one typing) and the 3 bolts loosened.

[notadodge]

Hey I am not trying to start any fights but acording to advance auto parts the hub and bearing are sold seperatly and at a hell of alot better price than the assembly at the dealer. $69 for the premuim bearing..

[fastmdpt]

Originally Posted by pt102

LOL Lakersfan. The booze is why the BFH was brought out I had the knuckle off and even brought to A-zone- no help, said needed to be pressed out. I've done rear ends before and the pinion is "press fit", but careful tapping seats it fine... figure same here. If too snug the old freeze, heat trick works good too.

Oh, and yes the nut was removed (other than this one typing) and the 3 bolts loosened.

By pinion what are you talking about??? I have removed axles from many different PTs,, all I do is loosen the axle nut, but not all the way,, just to the end of the threads, so you don't bugger up the axle threads, whack it with a hammer. remove the bolt from the ball joint, 15mm and 18mm, remove the ball joint from the knuckle (pry down with large bar, I have a five foot bar for this) swing the knuckle and strut out of the way. This is for pulling the axle only,, as it doesn't change where the strut is bolted to the knuckle. A lot of the cars have after market struts with slotted holes so the camber would be changed by removing the knuckle. In your case you are removing the knuckle anyway.

Tom

[lakersfan1]

Originally Posted by notadodge

Hey I am not trying to start any fights but acording to advance auto parts the hub and bearing are sold seperatly and at a hell of alot better price than the assembly at the dealer. $69 for the premuim bearing..

The front is available bearing only at every parts store I can find. Rear looks like it's an assembly though.

[lakersfan1]

Originally Posted by fastmdpt

all I do is loosen the axle nut, but not all the way,, just to the end of the threads, so you don't bugger up the axle threads, whack it with a hammer. remove the bolt from the ball joint,

This is what I do, and this is usually the difficult part the first time you remove a hub. Even the my first time without doing this, all I had to do is grind a bevel back into the leading edge of the axle threads where I jacked them up. But a hammer on the axle end is usually needed the first time round. Before you reassemble, lay a bead of grease down on the mating surface so if you have to do it again, it will slide right out next time with no effort at all.

[onedivinehammer]

[quote=lakersfan1;224407]All the wheel bearings I've ever done, I've just 1) ordered the bearing 2) took the hub out myself 3) took the hub down to the local machine shop with the bearing 4) pay $20 for thier 5 minutes to press the old bearing out and the new one in ... no need to get jacked for $250 QUOTE]

That's what I did. It made the project real easy. At first I tried to press the bearing myself but realized it was impossible without the proper tool. Took it down to the local shop and paid the guy $20 to do it. Took him about 10 minutes. He was happy to oblige.

[pt102]

I think ya'll might have misunderstood. When I refered to pinion I meant solid axles- ie. 12bolt gm. I was able to get the axle out no prob- I had the knuckle off of the car- took to A-zone. Where I have the problem is removing the hub (part that has 5 bolts that holds tire on) from the knuckle.

This should be a good DIY thread

From what I've been able to research, ya need a hub puller, such as "OTC Hub Tamer", to pull it out. Then loosen 3 bolts behind hub plate to gain access to bearing. Press new bearing onto hub and reinstall. Am I on the right track here? If so I'll see if kragen or someone has a puller. My slide hammer didn't come with part I thought and a harmonic balancer puller is too narrow. Darn... have to buy more tools lol great excuse for the Mrs.

On second note- I get different recommendations for axle nut torque. Is is 135lbs or 185lbs?

Thanks again everyone for your help- for you are helping all PT DIY people.

[37plymouth]

Hey, pt102! The vacation was great! As far as the puller/press issues go, 95% of the time, someone is paying me to do the job. Since I don't know if they've hit a curb or the like hard enough to bend the hub, or had someone down at the local tire shop overtighten the lug nuts enough to stretch and weaken them etc., I won't even mess around with just trying to replace the bearing. It comes down to the customer's safety, bringbacks, my time, and reputation. Also, for the DIY'er, a hub/bearing assembly will usually come with a warranty where a bearing alone will not.
All of this comes down to personal preference, time, and money.
Someone else mentioned removing the lower ball joint-to-knuckle pinch bolt. That works out really well if you also take the swaybar links loose (much easier to pry the lower control arm down), and, as you pull out on the lower portion of the knuckle, you tap on the end of the axle with a deadblow or other soft face hammer. The reason for this is twofold, first is to avoid pulling apart the c.v. joints, and second is to make sure that the axle stays seated properly in the transmission as you pull the axle out of the splined portion of the hub/bearing. Hope this helps.