Replacing Wheel Bearings, Will I Need A Press?

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

I need to change a rear wheel bearing, but I havent done one before, will I need a press to get the old one out/new one in or is it possible with hand tools?

Is it best to do wheel bearings in pairs, or can I just do one?

 

On the same subject I've got some spare drums (thanks to dave richards for those!) that are from an auto, are the drums the same as I have on my GT? as if so I could minimise down time.

 

And lastly, what about front wheel bearings? are they do-able with hand tools? as I have a spare set with siezed bearings that i'd like to make use of at somepoint.

 

 

Cheers

[farmer 328 1 Cars]

I sent my front hubs to my agri engineer as they needed pressed out and heated up to remove was a pain of a job even for them.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Drums or discs? Drums you'll need a press, disk you can do it with a hammer and a suitable drift.

Wheel bearings don't need to be changed in pairs.

 

Fronts, again you'll need a press. I've found the biggest ball ache recently with fronts is getting the circlips out, they really corrode into the upright and can be an utter twat to get out.

 

 

 

 

Que people piping up how they've changed front wheel bearings with a hammer, a nicotine patch and a Christmas cracker screwdriver.........

[welshpug 1,677]

agreed with the circlips, they can be buggers!

 

Rear drum bearings can however be changed with the right drift and large hammer, however I would not advise it.

 

drums are all the same 30mm with apart from a 1.6 gti, and of course the proper euro rallye which sits on 1.6 running gear.

 

 

One thing to note with sourcing bearings, avoid the generic ECP and GSF brands, go for something like SNR, SKF INA, Orbis etc, the likes of Vetech do not last.

[johnnyboy666 195 1 Cars]

sounds like a ballache then with my distinct lack of press (an excuse to kit out my garage perhaps!)

 

yeah the circlips on the fronts look pretty comfy where they are, guess I'll have to have a go and see where I get.

 

Regarding the drums, is there a good way of checking bearings before fitting them? As the spare drums I;ve got have bearings in still, is it just a case of fit them then give them a good grab and yank to see if there's any play?

[chipstick 382 1 Cars]

What press capacity would people recommend for changing front wheel bearings and possible beam shafts? Would a 6 tonne press be up to the job for your typical bearing with the odd one it may not shift - or would a 6 tonne press struggle with the majority?

 

 

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

Mines a 10 ton from memory and it often goes off the scale on wheel bearings.

[Tom Fenton 1,561]

Pressing the new bearing in is reasonably straightforward, it is removing the old one that is more tricky as there is no flat area to sit the upright on to press the outer race out.

The way I do it is to put a big dirty weld round the inner race, leave it to cool and it shrinks in and then allows you to just knock the inner race out with a hammer and chisel.

[Tandoh 17]

I hate changing bearings. Did both fronts a few weeks back. The inner part of the bearings tend to get stuck on the hub, had to grind mine off. Tbh, if I didn't already have a press, I would just take the hub somewhere and have them do it for me.

[allanallen 528 2 Cars]

I hate changing bearings. Did both fronts a few weeks back. The inner part of the bearings tend to get stuck on the hub, had to grind mine off. Tbh, if I didn't already have a press, I would just take the hub somewhere and have them do it for me.

That's how I tend to do them for ease anyway. Send a thin slitting disc almost through the inner race then a quick smack with a chisel will split the race and off it pops ????

[Grez28 0]

I've done quite a few of these at work and found that the bearings shift with a lot less weight when they are set up dead level, never had to heat one yet. Normally go with less than 5 tonne. Also I just use a bearing separator to pull the inner race of

Graham.

Edited June 9, 2013 by Grez28

[ArthurH 8]

On 6/3/2013 at 10:00 AM, Tom Fenton said:

Pressing the new bearing in is reasonably straightforward, it is removing the old one that is more tricky as there is no flat area to sit the upright on to press the outer race out.

The way I do it is to put a big dirty weld round the inner race, leave it to cool and it shrinks in and then allows you to just knock the inner race out with a hammer and chisel.

Tom, I think I am in this same position - With some help from Mei, I finally got a very stubborn circlip out, but both inner races are stuck in the drums and I have no access to a press.  I have tried making up a 'puller' from a spring compressor - see photo - but it won't budge.  I want to try what you suggest - but am confused over the references to welding the inner race (which fell out in pieces).

 

 

Edited November 3, 2021 by ArthurH
Typo

[Tom Fenton 1,561]

Take it to someone with a press, its as easy as that.

[Deek 1]

Something to look out for when having a bearing changed:

 

I had a usually reliable garage replace a bearing in a base model front wheel bearing. Months later I noticed one brake pad was nearly worn to the the metal.  The other pad was fine. Replaced the pads and the same thing happened. On stripping and checking everything I found the Bendix caliper through (slider) bolts were not parallel and the caliper was sticking on the bolts. Substituted the bolts and checked these were not bent.

 

Finally realised one of the threaded holes in the hub for the caliper bolts was out of alignment. The only possible cause must have been pressing the bearing in or out, probably out. Replaced the hub and the other components work fine.

 

Since then I always check the caliper slides freely before a hub goes near a press, tell the garage of my experience and that I'll  be checking the caliper still slides when I get the hub back.