Front Wheel Bearing

[Faheem]

Quick question, as part of the rear end rebuild, I'm fitting new discs and pads so will also be changing the fronts, as I have the discs out I may as well change the dust shield as that's a job that I've been meaning to do but putting off for the past year.

This means either cutting the dust shield or removing the hub, after breaking the hub nut loose and pressing the bearing out.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with my current bearing and it'd be a shame to replace it (and expensive for an OE quality with the hub pre pressed).

After watching videos I can see that the inner race separates itself from the rear of the bearing during removal - does this mean that the bearing cannot be reused?

Essentially all I want to know is whether a wheel bearing can be reused once it has been pressed out?

 

[t-tony]

Front ?? I guess you're talking rear wheel bearings here Faheem. Once the bearings are pressed apart then it's best to replace them as a new unit. The outer part of the bearing will likely leave the inner race on the drive flange. Best way to remove this is to use an angle grinder to grind the race thin enough to drive it off with a hammer and chisel.
The front hubs will usually tap off the spindle without splitting the bearings and the splash guards are fastened on to the hub by 3 screws IIRC.

Tony.

 

[Faheem]

Nope, it is the front I'm on with at the moment @t-tony, lots to do and it's never ending.

I was able to get the 3 10mm bolts off that hold the splash guard but without cutting it out and cutting a slot in the new one (which I want to avoid) there's no way of fitting the new guard without removing the front hub.

I bit the bullet and bought a dewalt impact wrench, 950nm of breakaway torque, my front shock bolts that hadn't been off for 20 years came off with ease. It also did the rear driveshaft nuts, fingers crossed it works the same for the front 46mm hub nut!

So I won't buy a replacement bearing just yet, will see if the front hub/bearing comes out easily and if so it can go back on after the splash guard is swapped

Thanks for the help Tony.

 

[t-tony]

Nope, it is the front I'm on with at the moment @t-tony, lots to do and it's never ending.

I was able to get the 3 10mm bolts off that hold the splash guard but without cutting it out and cutting a slot in the new one (which I want to avoid) there's no way of fitting the new guard without removing the front hub.

I bit the bullet and bought a dewalt impact wrench, 950nm of breakaway torque, my front shock bolts that hadn't been off for 20 years came off with ease. It also did the rear driveshaft nuts, fingers crossed it works the same for the front 46mm hub nut!

So I won't buy a replacement bearing just yet, will see if the front hub/bearing comes out easily and if so it can go back on after the splash guard is swapped

Thanks for the help Tony.

My pleasure mate. As I said, usually these type of bearings which don't have a driveshaft through the centre of them come off relatively easily.
Just tap at one side while pulling on the opposite side, then turn the hub 180 deg. and do the same.

Tony.

 

[Faheem]

Thats good to know, would I be okay to gently hammer it back on, once I've replaced the dust shield? Or do I need to look at replacing the bearing/hub. I'm conscious that the inner race *might* get stuck and didnt know if that would cause an issue if I wanted to reuse the hub.

There are plenty of cheap front hub/bearing assemblies on eBay but I want an OE quality one (which are a little more expensive) - if I were to replace as I dont want to be taking everything apart again in a year if a cheapie aftermarket one fails. Hence why I'm trying to reuse mine which I know is good.

 

[t-tony]

Before refitting gently every the stub axle, wipe it clean and apply a thin coating of oil. When putting the bearing back on again gently tap it to start it then use the hub nut socket on the large washer to tap the bearing NOT the hub until you can start the hub nut.

Tony.

 

[Jack Ratt]

Try not to put any pressure on the outer bearing race. As Tony says, use the hub nut to press the bearing into position

 

[Faheem]

Thank you both!

 

[the Nefyn cat]

And I think you'll find that where @t-tony says "every" he means "emery". Just guessing, mind, but getting the stub super clean and shiny will help. Will you have any original parts left on your car by the time you finish?

 

[t-tony]

Dead right mate. Don't you just love spell check?

Tony.

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Shame it can't spell. And when I type "tyres", that is how I want it, not in American. Goddamnit.

 

[Faheem]

@the Nefyn cat I've now sworn to complete the project with the parts I have as it's turning out to be rather expensive and also never ending. Missing out on all this great top down driving weather too!! I still need to buy some clips from BMW though (clips that hold the brake pipes in place as mine broke when trying to remove the pipe). I bet that will cost £50 a clip!!

@t-tony on a slightly unrelated note I received the brake pipe unions today, thanks very much for sending those out to me. Will I need to create a female flare on one end and a male on the piece of pipe I'm joining to?

Cheers.

 

[t-tony]

I would make the male flare or operation 1 on the steel pipe.

Tony.

 

[DrWong]

hi Faheem, good effort mate

out of interest, how much are OEM quality bearing/hub assemblies?

and got a link for your impact wrench? definitely on my shopping list but I've been looking at £60 cheapy ones from Amazon/Machine Mart, which only have about half the torque of the one you've got

 

[Faheem]

@DrWong Here's the one I went for...

https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/dewalt-dcf899p2-xr-18v-impact-wrench/

Definitely not the cheapest but its the one I've had my eye on for the past year or so. I've only used it a couple of times but it is excellent (and for that price I should hope that it is!)

I think re the OEM quality front hub/bearing assembly, they were going for £60-70 each. And as I've already bought M wheels, Bilstein B12 kit as well as a handful of other bits along with the impact wrench in the past month I think I'll cut down a little for now...

 

[DrWong]

Jeez, that thing looks like a proper weapon. 950Nm is pretty bonkers Yours is a bit beyond my price range(!) but I'll definitely be getting a more budget model at some point.