Front Wheel Bearing R&R

[davintosh]

I got the left side finished up last night; the parts I ordered all came in, and it only took a couple of hours to put it all back together. The new ABS sensor didn't want to fit in the hole though. I had it cleaned out as well enough to see shiny metal all around, but the new sensor would go in just so far before binding hard. I opted for the non-oem part, which was priced about $100 less than oem. That's was probably the case with the one I had to drill out too; whoever put it in probably found the same problem but just went ahead & pushed it in. Throw in a little corrosion, and that thing wasn't going anywhere. This time though I whittled & filed the plastic housing down enough for it to slide in & out easily, then put some anti-seize on for good measure.

With the new bearing it's a little quieter on the road, but not much. The rest of the noise might be from the other bearing, but after looking things over I wonder if it's the front differential; there seems to a lot of play or lash in the driveline. With the front end in the air, I turn one wheel one direction until the driveshaft turns, then I turn it in the other direction; I didn't measure how far it turned, but it felt like a long ways. I've heard that changing fluids in the transmission and diffs can make a difference, so I'll probably start there. I may post another thread on that topic sometime soon.

[nyum96]

Would using a "freeze" process on the bearing/hub/knuckle work?

Maybe: (1) Freeze the hub and heat the bearing. Slide the 2 together. (2) freeze the hub and bearing as a solid unit then slid into the heated knuckle.

I tried this on my old Porsche and had the bearing in in 5 seconds. Slid right on the hub with a little Vaseline. Refroze and into the knuckle it went.

Just a thought but not sure on a X5.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by nyum96

Would using a "freeze" process on the bearing/hub/knuckle work?

Maybe: (1) Freeze the hub and heat the bearing. Slide the 2 together. (2) freeze the hub and bearing as a solid unit then slid into the heated knuckle.

I tried this on my old Porsche and had the bearing in in 5 seconds. Slid right on the hub with a little Vaseline. Refroze and into the knuckle it went.

Just a thought but not sure on a X5.

Wouldn't work unless maybe on the rear, the front bearings actually need to be pressed in the knuckle first, then the retaining circlip fitted in the knuckle's groove, then the hub pressed back in. you couldn't install the front ones as an assembly bc of the circlip.

and I don't know about Dave's experience but the rear bearings might actually be easier than the fronts on our E53.

[davintosh]

It might make a little bit of difference, but not much. Getting the new bearing in is the easiest part of the process, and is almost a non-event after the drama of getting it out.

[upallnight]

When you install the bearing into the upright you press the bearing by the outer race. When you install the hub onto the bearing you support the inner race. If the back of the hub is flush with the inner race of the bearing, it is pushed in far enough.

[JAXX5]

Originally Posted by upallnight

When you install the bearing into the upright you press the bearing by the outer race. When you install the hub onto the bearing you support the inner race. If the back of the hub is flush with the inner race of the bearing, it is pushed in far enough.

... thanks makes perfect sense.

[wpoll]

Old-ish thread but there's a wealth of experience here...

Can anyone who has done their front and/or rear wheel bearings and got the tools (RB?) let me know if these tools will do the job?

https://www.topmaq.co.nz/item/view/H...t?sku=AUVE3700



https://www.topmaq.co.nz/item/view/H...t?sku=AUVE3350



They look right but given the cost, I don't want to waste the $$ and find they aren't correct or up to the task.

TIA...

[davintosh]

Wayne:

Those kits look very much like what I used when I did the bearing R&R on my old X5. I remember having to get a bit creative with the slide hammer on the front bearings, but don't recall exactly what I did, and didn't take photos. It's not rocket surgery though; you basically just need a firm attachment of the spider that gets the central shaft of the slide as close as possible to the center of the hub, then hammer away. It takes a quite a bit of hammering to get it out though.

All the best as you tackle this job; post up pics if you can to help those who come after!
--
Dave

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by davintosh

Wayne:

Those kits look very much like what I used when I did the bearing R&R on my old X5. I remember having to get a bit creative with the slide hammer on the front bearings, but don't recall exactly what I did, and didn't take photos. It's not rocket surgery though; you basically just need a firm attachment of the spider that gets the central shaft of the slide as close as possible to the center of the hub, then hammer away. It takes a quite a bit of hammering to get it out though.

All the best as you tackle this job; post up pics if you can to help those who come after!
--
Dave

Thanks Dave. I'll be sure to take and post pics when I do this. Still haven't figured which bearing it the noisy one - it's only a faint noise but getting worse - so it may be a few weeks before I tackle it.

I guess my main worry with the bearing tools is are the sizes going to work? The bearing is 90 x 49 x 45 so a 91mm drift will be too large to fit the knuckle bore and the 86mm may be too small to seat on the bearing outer.

Just gonna have to try it and see.

[cn90]

Hi guys,

Just curious what Adapter Kit you need to press the OUTER bearing race from the Knuckle (once the Hub +INNER race is removed).

Can someone link with pics to ebay or amazon or whatever website regrading the proper Bearing Adapter Kit?

I wonder if the "Standard FWD Bearing Adapter Kit" sold on ebay for $55 works...