Freaking wheel bearing job #2

[Crowz]

Originally Posted by upallnight

Hope everyone is enjoying this extended summer weather. I know I am.

Roll Tide Roll.

Oh Im loving the weather right now. I may get a bit hot in the sun doing stuff but its been sunny and dry and that's just perfect !

[andrewwynn]

Originally Posted by Crowz

Now I can't get the c-clip out. Partly because my snap ring pliers are junk and partly because Im DEAD TIRED now.

The problem usually is the pins on the snap ring pliers are not parallel so they are pushing the pliers out of the snap ring as you squeeze.

The two fixes for this are:

➀ use right-angle pins so the ends stay parallel; this will not likely work because of the size of the rings you would need a huge snap ring pliers

➁ use a dremel/emery wheel to cut a small notch at the end of the pins, such that when the pliers are wide open the cut faces are parallel to each other.

I had the exact problem with my new, and very nice pliers but that are only designed for up to 3" snap ring, by cutting the little notches it holds the snap ring fine and they pop right out (or back in).

[Crowz]

Originally Posted by andrewwynn

The problem usually is the pins on the snap ring pliers are not parallel so they are pushing the pliers out of the snap ring as you squeeze.

The two fixes for this are:

➀ use right-angle pins so the ends stay parallel; this will not likely work because of the size of the rings you would need a huge snap ring pliers

➁ use a dremel/emery wheel to cut a small notch at the end of the pins, such that when the pliers are wide open the cut faces are parallel to each other.

I had the exact problem with my new, and very nice pliers but that are only designed for up to 3" snap ring, by cutting the little notches it holds the snap ring fine and they pop right out (or back in).

I ended up solving that by taking my dremel tool to a pair of right angle needle nose pliers I have. I ground the ends down so they fit into the c clips holes. I now have probably the most powerful bmw clip removal tools known to man

If I ever have to do them again that tool will make short work of it with no chance of breaking like all the real c clip pliers I bought did.

[andrewwynn]

You basically copied what I did with the pliers. Good solution. Dremel can fix a lot


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[Crowz]

Pretty much. I just didn't want to grind on the c clip itself any. The way my luck has been going with my x5 Id end up breaking the c clip itself trying to remove it.

[Crowz]

Originally Posted by Crowz

I ended up solving that by taking my dremel tool to a pair of right angle needle nose pliers I have. I ground the ends down so they fit into the c clips holes. I now have probably the most powerful bmw clip removal tools known to man

If I ever have to do them again that tool will make short work of it with no chance of breaking like all the real c clip pliers I bought did.

Wasn't going to revive this one since it was the other bearing that has gone bad again but I had forgot I made this tool

Need to keep this fresh for the up coming bearing job.

[andrewwynn]

which bearing? front? I just saw about a week ago a TSB from BMW about replace the bearing proactively when there is an accident involving a wheel; they had some specifics like if the wheel itself is dented (like from hitting another car or curb etc), then likely the bearing race will have been damaged where you won't be able to tell until the car has been driven a few months, but historically if you don't replace the bearing the customer will be back within a year with a bad bearing.

I just started to hear one of my bearings failing, not sure which one yet but it seems like the front right one which i think is the one i replaced on my car, but i used a cheap brand, so I can be a cautionary tale for the rest; add one more thing to the 'use an OEM brand' = wheel bearings.

My wife's car has a very loud wheel bearing but i couldn't tell which one until i switched her car from 255s to 235s and one wheel suddenly far louder than all the rest.

So in my near future: rear wheel bearing for wife, and i think front wheel bearing 'take two' for my car.

I may invent a better solution to pull the hub, as my current method (long 14-1.5 mm bolts through the hub destroys the dust cap which i just consider part of the job; helps me keep track of which bearings i've done also). For the back, slide hammer is great, but i don't like to use a slide hammer on the front lest i kill a ball joint removing the hub.

Anybody got a good way to remove the front hub with force not banging? the problem with gear pulling idea is nothing to push agains besides the axle so the force goes back to the differential through the CV unless there is a way to block the CV from moving at the knuckle.

What i've done on the 3 front bearings i've replaced is to put three long 14mm bolts through the hub back into the knuckle; (through the dust cap); than when the dust cap is bent out of the way i have these 1/4" thick pieces of steel that are shaped like an "L" that happen to fit in between the knuckle and the rotor to reach out to the bolts, stuff those and and tighten the bolts the hub pops right off; the only problem with this method is the destruction of the dust cap, else it's painfully simple so it's a good method.


PS: nice on the tool; I took my c-clip tool and cut little notches on the end so when the jaws are wide open the notch on the ends start parallel so it won't squirt the clip out like a watermelon seed. The first one i just used screws and vice grip pliers.

Now i have a very nice c-clip tool with right-angle bits; they stay parallel no matter what angle the jaw, they also flip from inside to outside with a flip of a lever. Bought specifically for the last bearing job; the right tool makes all the difference.

[Crowz]

Its the passenger side that is roaring this time I believe. Right turn makes it quit and that's what it did last time the right side was bad.

NOT wanting to do this.....