blaster1232
Member
- Posts
- 30
- Location
- Latvia
Not really looking for advice, I will just share my experience with replacing front bearing hub. Before doing the job myself, I tried searching for instructions, but couldn't find any - it seems like in UK you change the whole assembly. And that could be the best option to be honest.
Long story short - ABS failure, replaced the ABS sensor, didn't solve the issue, went forward with bearing replacement. The whole assembly was 380 EUR, the hub itself - 50 EUR (I know you can get the whole thing for around 170 pounds in UK. No the case in mainland Europe, at least not where I live), so of course I will only change the hub.
So after you remove the caliper and brake disc, you have two options : A) remove the whole steering knuckle and then replace the bearing B) Remove the bearing while the steering knuckle is still on the car. You you need a special tool for option B.
1) Not to complicate things, I went for the option where I only remove the bearing. I didn't have the pulling (?) tool, but I gathered some scrap metal and welded one myself. It attaches on 3 bolts on the hub, then you hammer the ***** out of it. Didn't move a milimeter even after hammering for 10 minutes with the biggest piece of steel I could find.
2) Decided that I would then rather go with option A - removing the whole thing. Nothing too complex, you remove the tie rod by releasing the nut and giving it a good hit with hammer. Next thing you release the control arm ball joint with the same technique. Remove the shaft from the hub. Then you release the bolt on shock absorber, and remove the steering knuckle. All was good, but I just couldn't remove the ball joint of control arm. Tried the special removing tool - broke it into pieces. Tried to hammer the steering knuckle - no luck. Some heat, more hammering - didn't get it out. So i ended up just cutting it. And no wonder, when I got the whole thing off and tried to press the ball joint with hydraulic press - it needed 9 tons of pressure.
3) Removing the hub from steering knuckle - quite straight forward, just put it in the press, and press it out. Mine needed 16 tons of pressure, so it was rust welded quite well.
4) Pressing the new hub in the steering knuckle. You could try doing it just like so, BUT the instruction told me to use a special tool (again) so you would not push the hub, but the bearing itself. I don't know if this was necessary, but I again welded this tool from some scrap metal. Very important - before pressing in the new hub/bearing, be sure that you clean the steering knuckle with p 800-1000 sandpaper, put a tiny bit of lubrication in it. I also kept the new hub in freezer overnight, which I assume helped in some way. With all this done I didn't even use the hydraulic press - a few light taps with a regular hammer and the beering was in.
After that, do everything in reverse order and you should be all - good. ABS problem solved, and the whining (that I suspected to be the rear differential) gone. And of course, while waiting for new ball joint that I previously cut, you can repaint the whole steering knuckle like I did.
Long story short - ABS failure, replaced the ABS sensor, didn't solve the issue, went forward with bearing replacement. The whole assembly was 380 EUR, the hub itself - 50 EUR (I know you can get the whole thing for around 170 pounds in UK. No the case in mainland Europe, at least not where I live), so of course I will only change the hub.
So after you remove the caliper and brake disc, you have two options : A) remove the whole steering knuckle and then replace the bearing B) Remove the bearing while the steering knuckle is still on the car. You you need a special tool for option B.
1) Not to complicate things, I went for the option where I only remove the bearing. I didn't have the pulling (?) tool, but I gathered some scrap metal and welded one myself. It attaches on 3 bolts on the hub, then you hammer the ***** out of it. Didn't move a milimeter even after hammering for 10 minutes with the biggest piece of steel I could find.
2) Decided that I would then rather go with option A - removing the whole thing. Nothing too complex, you remove the tie rod by releasing the nut and giving it a good hit with hammer. Next thing you release the control arm ball joint with the same technique. Remove the shaft from the hub. Then you release the bolt on shock absorber, and remove the steering knuckle. All was good, but I just couldn't remove the ball joint of control arm. Tried the special removing tool - broke it into pieces. Tried to hammer the steering knuckle - no luck. Some heat, more hammering - didn't get it out. So i ended up just cutting it. And no wonder, when I got the whole thing off and tried to press the ball joint with hydraulic press - it needed 9 tons of pressure.
3) Removing the hub from steering knuckle - quite straight forward, just put it in the press, and press it out. Mine needed 16 tons of pressure, so it was rust welded quite well.
4) Pressing the new hub in the steering knuckle. You could try doing it just like so, BUT the instruction told me to use a special tool (again) so you would not push the hub, but the bearing itself. I don't know if this was necessary, but I again welded this tool from some scrap metal. Very important - before pressing in the new hub/bearing, be sure that you clean the steering knuckle with p 800-1000 sandpaper, put a tiny bit of lubrication in it. I also kept the new hub in freezer overnight, which I assume helped in some way. With all this done I didn't even use the hydraulic press - a few light taps with a regular hammer and the beering was in.
After that, do everything in reverse order and you should be all - good. ABS problem solved, and the whining (that I suspected to be the rear differential) gone. And of course, while waiting for new ball joint that I previously cut, you can repaint the whole steering knuckle like I did.
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