Affordable axle insertion pulling tool for M27 axles
 

Thought I would post this for general reference. I have noticed a couple of people invent various "hacks" to help pull axles back into the hubs. The official BMW tool is crazy expensive. I started making drawings for what I wanted a tool to look like and came across this piece in the process. The company makes a set of these tools to fit many cars, but also sells them individually.

The one that fits the E53 axles is $36.50 (don't know if this is list or discounted).
The female part has a thread size of 27mm and pitch of 1.5mm. That same size is used on axles for E53, E70 and F15 X5's as well as a long list of other BMW. I checked and it is narrow enough to fit through the spline part of the hub.

Mechanic Tools | Body Shop Supplies - Handsontools®
KLAKL-0177-2056
Klann Tools KL-0177-2056
Pull Spindle M27x1.5mm (female thread)

The male thread is a little weird - 18mm x 2.5mm pitch. I ordered a 5-pack of those nuts and will pass 4 of those along to anyone that buys the tool and wants one ($3 with shipping...my cost). It came pre-coated with some sort of anti-sieze. nice!

Like the rear bushing tool that some people brought and are now renting out, perhaps you could rent out the tools to members. You could ask for a deposit that cover the cost of the tool and return the deposit less the cost of the rental and shipping once the tool is returned and inspected.

Thats a pretty cool tool - It would be nice if they just hacked the threaded rod section off the end and had it as a 1/2" drive as a socket extension - that was basically what my tool was, a socket with an axle nut ground down and welded to the end so the threads would engage and pull the axle in the hub the rest of the way

I'm with you though, I don't like hammering on the hub in order to seat the axle

I'd not invest on a tool that I may or may not need every 10y/150K miles.

However, in my E39 (1998 528i), I made the tool using the axle nut and welded it to a socket, see the detail in this thread that I wrote up a few years ago...


DIY: 1998 528i REAR Bearing the Easy Way! - Bimmerfest - BMW Forums



I will repost the photo below:

https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/at...hmentid=292626

^I used cn90's writeup to a T when I made my axle puller, worked great! And even sold it to a friend when I was done with the job

Amazon has this kit that will work with our X.

http://www.amazon.com/Generic-Pullin.../dp/B00W76LCQG

I was getting ready to try and make something like you described (that is what got me started) but for $35 I am willing to just buy this one. Since it fits decades of BMW, I suspect I will get several uses out of it. If the only choice was the $100 generic import set, or the $200-$300 BMW version, I would be out in the shop with my grinder and an old axle nut...

Glad you liked it.
I think my tool (old axle nut ground down) is better than the BMW factory tool, simply b/c the axle nut has a flange (the "washer part") that allows the tool to bottom against the outer part of the hub. Then the axle splines is pulled through smooth like butter.

For the record, the $300 BMW factory looks like this...


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for #37, not bad. Way better than the BMW one. I did the job without it. Used a rubber mallet on the hug, and was lucky as all can be when I was able to grab it with an inverted nut.