Front Wheel Bearing R&R

[Ricky Bobby]

my symptoms sound like it though right? let me know how your job goes, if you could post up a thread with pics that would probably be most helpful

Any thoughts on what I posted above, if its an easier job to do if you replace the whole bearing/hub assembly at once? is that possibly to just undo the hub and extract the assembly as one and reinstall as one assembly? does that make sense or am I confusing myself?


The only thing I'm thinking could be a problem would be worn subframe bushings, but you just replaced yours and I don't think the subframe bushings were causing you any vibrations or humming types of noises at speed were they?

[davintosh]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

my symptoms sound like it though right? let me know how your job goes, if you could post up a thread with pics that would probably be most helpful

Any thoughts on what I posted above, if its an easier job to do if you replace the whole bearing/hub assembly at once? is that possibly to just undo the hub and extract the assembly as one and reinstall as one assembly? does that make sense or am I confusing myself?


The only thing I'm thinking could be a problem would be worn subframe bushings, but you just replaced yours and I don't think the subframe bushings were causing you any vibrations or humming types of noises at speed were they?

The symptoms you described a couple of posts back sure sound like wheel bearings. My subframe bushings were shot, and I really didn't notice the wheel bearing hum until after I replaced the bushings; no correlation there at all.

Replacing the whole hub assembly might be slightly easier, but only a little. The big chore in the front wheel bearing is getting the bearing out of the wheel carrier, and I don't think you want to replace that. Here's a YouTube video that shows how to remove bearings like those on the front of the X5. The video is on an e36 3-series, but the bearing & wheel carriers are similar. Also, with the e53 it may be easier to just remove the wheel carrier to get access to the back of the bearing to press it out rather than removing the axle as was done in the video on the e36. The wheel bearing press kit can usually be borrowed from an auto parts store too.

[Ricky Bobby]

hey davin,

getting the cajones to tackle this myself, so from what I gather, I need a slide hammer set, a bearing press kit from harbor freight, and a 3 jaw puller for the bearings?

The bearing press kit from HF looks like it works great to get the bearing out of the hub carrier and the new bearing on, leaving the hub carrier on the car. The slide hammer is to get the hub/bearing assembly out of the carrier, and the 3 jaw puller can be used to "push" the axle inward to get it disconnected from the hub before using the slide hammer to hammer out the hub assembly?

Do i have the order of operations correct here? And theoretically, if I disconnect the lower control arm and/or strut, I should have enough room to leave the axle hanging, and can do the outer boots on it while its off right?

Thanks for any input, been doing a lot of research here and if I can do this myself with 150 worth of tools (which I would probably sell or rent out afterwards) and buy my parts, its much better than paying an indy 750 or so.

[davintosh]

Ricky: Thus far I only know what I've read about the job, and what I know from other jobs that I think are similar. I know the slide hammer is the BMW-recommended tool for getting the bearing separated and the hub off, but I've read that other people have had trouble with that method. The video I linked above used a bearing separator and three wheel lug bolts to pull the hub off a little at a time; that seems to me to be a great idea.

I hadn't really given the CV boots much thought because the previous owner had replaced them a couple of years back... I guess I ought to have a look at them & see if I need to order some boots before I dive into this.

I'm hoping to get at least one of the front bearings done on Christmas Eve (day off & wife is working, so I know I'll have several uninterrupted hours to work on it.) I'll let you know how it goes for me.

[Ricky Bobby]

When my truck was in the air getting my exhaust tips welded last night I gave a look under the car and the CV boots are supple, and very minor cracks in the folds, really nothing to worry about and i'm sure they have some life in them. definitely just going to reboot when the time comes, when and if i do my bearings.

i'll be waiting to hear how it goes with you before I tackle this project, other than that I was very impressed under my car, all items in the rear suspension look good, rear airbags have been replaced in the last few years so they are newer, no oil leaks, coolant leaks, etc.

I'll brush up on that video and see what bearing puller tool he used, I know slide hammers are like 70 at harbor freight and the bearing press tool he uses for install is 100, good thing i'm on harbor freight's coupon list

[Ricky Bobby]

hey davin you get a chance to tackle those bearings yet?

my buddy who is a tech at lexus balanced my wheels for me yesterday and he confirmed my right front wheel bearing is loose and failing, as I suspected.

Just any input from someone who did these fronts themselves so I can get my truck aligned in one shot. Can I rent a bearing press kit/bearing separator kit from any of the auto parts stores? I know buying the tools from harbor freight its doable and the vids of the guy on the 325 doing the rear its inspiring. didnt know if these tools are available for rent though, if so thats great.

it looks like the slide hammer is the bmw recommended tool to get the hub out, but yet in the youtube vids it looks easier with the guy using the lug bolts and the bearing separator as a backing plate?

Also whats the best way to pop the axle inwards to get it off the knuckle so i can use the bearing press kit, and subsequently replace my outer cv boots at the same time? 3 jaw puller?

[davintosh]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

hey davin you get a chance to tackle those bearings yet?

my buddy who is a tech at lexus balanced my wheels for me yesterday and he confirmed my right front wheel bearing is loose and failing, as I suspected.

Just any input from someone who did these fronts themselves so I can get my truck aligned in one shot. Can I rent a bearing press kit/bearing separator kit from any of the auto parts stores? I know buying the tools from harbor freight its doable and the vids of the guy on the 325 doing the rear its inspiring. didnt know if these tools are available for rent though, if so thats great.

it looks like the slide hammer is the bmw recommended tool to get the hub out, but yet in the youtube vids it looks easier with the guy using the lug bolts and the bearing separator as a backing plate?

Also whats the best way to pop the axle inwards to get it off the knuckle so i can use the bearing press kit, and subsequently replace my outer cv boots at the same time? 3 jaw puller?

Sorry; haven't done this yet. I've been dealing with a bulging disk in my lower back, and have been avoiding crawling around on cold garage floors.

I have been spending some time trying to scrounge up the tools for the job though. I've found that the auto parts stores around here don't have the wheel bearing adapter kits that I've seen used in these jobs. I'm thinking of just pulling the wheel carriers out entirely and using my 12 ton press for the job, but the adapter kit might still be nice to have if only for the cups and plates for pushing the old bearings out and the new ones in. Same goes for the bearing separators; none available on the local loaner programs, so I may end up buying one. $150 or so for the bearing kit and the separator.

And then I'm thinking a new set of shocks might be in order, as long as I'm in there... rears might be original from the looks of them, and the fronts as well. There goes another few hundred $$$. Then the parking brake is weak, so might as well replace the shoes... Project creep is creeping.
--
Dave

[Ricky Bobby]

Hey Davin you are welcome to purchase my tools from my when I am done with this job, since I don't suspect I will be doing the rear bearings for quite some time at my mileage, I think the front got beat up on city roads though.

I would try to rent the bearing press kits from the auto parts stores, but if they don't have it I will pony up the 80 bucks for the HF kit, obviously you are welcome to buy it from me to keep after my job is done.

I literally am just at odds coming up with a definitive list of tools I need, as well as the definitive list of things that need to come apart.

I for one hate to take apart more than I have to, and if I look at that "rear wheel DIY the easy way" post he basically does the wheel bearings with the whole suspension connected, save for the rotor and caliper.

What do I need to take apart besides rotor and caliper to be able to get the bearing press cups enough room to use for the removal/reinstall?

The guy in the 528i post says he just pushes the axle inward out of the hub with the 3 jaw puller, OK I get that, then I can go the youtube way and use the bearing separator as a backing plate w/lug bolts to pop the hub out of there. If its good I would just replace the dust shield, separate inner race off hub and press out outer race from the knuckle.

Use press tools to press new bearing in, lock in with circlip, and use press tool to reinstall hub. Then draw in axle. I get the order of events but am I missing something here?

Basically I think the HF press kit, 3 jaw puller, large bearing separator and then whatever tool I need to get the race apart from the hub is all I need? Oh btw if using the backing plate/lug bolt method we may want to get 3 longer bolts, our stock ones are only like 3/4" long and i dont think long enough to drive the hub out.



I just got a quote from an indy for 860 for both front bearings so I am most definitely tackling myself.

[davintosh]

One thing you might be overlooking is the axle; the splined end of it will be in the way of the bearing removal tool once the hub is out of the way. In the video of the rear axle being done, the guy just removed the half-shaft to get it out of the way. I'm not sure what all is involved in removing the front half-shafts on the e53, but I don't think it's quite as easy as the rear. I remember reading somewhere that you can just remove one of the mounting points of the lower control arm so the steering knuckle can swing a little more freely; can't find that reference right now though. But the steering knuckle has just five fasteners holding it to the car; two bolts on the strut, the ball joint on the tie rod, the ball joint on the tension strut, and the ball joint on the wishbone. Using the right tool*, you can get the ball joints off without damaging the boots, and provided you don't change the length of the tie rod, the alignment should still be really close when it's all put back together. FWIW, the instructions in the Bentley manual go the same route, pulling the entire steering knuckle off to replace the bearings.

As for getting the race off of the hub, I'm just planning to use a Dremel cutoff tool to get most of the way through it, then a cold chisel in the cut and a few hammer taps to get it to split the rest of the way. Far easier than mucking around with cutting a couple of slots in it and using a puller and bearing splitter to pull it off.

Your steps look like they're in the right order, but I might have to read through them again later with a fresher set of eyes (tired right now.) Do you have a Bentley manual? It's not always the end-all authority on the best way to do a job, but it helps a lot.

* I've had great results using the lever type ball joint tool that comes in the loaner kit from Advance Auto.



Later!
--
Dave

also, would be very interested in buying your tool kit when you're done with it. I don't want to pay the dealer or the indy whatever they'd want for doing this job either.

[Ricky Bobby]

Yeah I definitely am thinking about how to get enough clearance to get the half shaft out of the way, but still leave it attached to the car in a couple points so that its easier to press in and out.

If those are the 5 mounting points, I did read the CV boot thread and according to a BMW tech if you want a lot of clearance without messing with ball joints, disconnect the wishbone control arm at the engine side, and leave connected to the knuckle. I think I'll disconnect that, and the 2 bolts on the strut, and just support the weight with a jack stand.

I'm hoping disconnecting those 3 bolts will give me the clearance I need to keep the half shaft in the differential, like I said I will most likely replace the outer boots if its all out anyway ya know.