Front Wheel Bearing Replacement

spannerrash · #1 3rd December 2019, 08:00 PM

I did the front wheel bearings on my old B6 A4 which is a very similar setup. The bearing housings were stuck well and truly to the aluminium uprights. IIRC they only seem to go into the upright 5mm or so but that's enough to make em a real pain to remove.

I managed to remove them whilst still on the car with the use of a fairly heavy and long (to get the momentum) slide hammer bolted to the hub. I did half expect at the time that the hub would come out first but they never did. They needed the use of my works 20t press to get them out. Not saying it needed all 20t but they certainly didn't come out without a fight.

Galvanic corrosion, ya gotta love it,...... Or maybe not.

MikkiJayne · #2 3rd December 2019, 08:30 PM

You know I never thought of a slide hammer. The first time I did one of these bearings I didn't have a slide hammer and so never changed my techique after I got one.

If it went through the centre of the hub and pulled on the back of the bearing, rather than pulling on the hub it would be sure to get the whole thing out, assuming its heavy enough. I might try that on the next one

snapdragon · #3 4th December 2019, 09:47 AM

Thanks for the info.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obtM__aJ9Yc
While a D4, it is similar and this is a slidehammer example.

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/mapco/13835694
It's £97 for a fully assembled hub/bearing but the brand is not SKF/FAG or similar, it is MAPCO.

They also do a the hub separately for £50 which could be pressed onto a top tier bearing by third party engineering services.