AWR-fix: Front Wheel Bearing Remove & Replace
 

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3f5ae24008.jpg

UPDATE: Replaced another bearing, added dimensions of the press parts so somebody could DIY out of plumbing parts etc. I also learned a new trick to push the axle out if rust is making it impossible. This was my 7 th wheel bearing replacement I have one more that I'll do this coming week.


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Just replaced my right front bearing a second time. It's the only one ever replaced and I learned why they fail from a BMW service bulletin: harsh Impact with a road hazard not age or miles.

Anyhow I took a bunch of step by step photos and annotated the process and put them in a photo album. Make sure to enable captions to see what the steps were.

I started the photos after removing the hub. I used a slide hammer to remove the hub but I used a heavy weigh to help hold the knukle to reduce impact on the three ball joints attached.

https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0SJ8GySPGgKVNf

That's the album. You can post comments on individual photos if you have questions.

It took me a few hours to do the job but it always takes twice as long when documenting and it was stupendously warm the day I did this so I started exhausted.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...c5ca8f800d.jpg

The old bearing showing obvious signs of overheating

Great work and write-up Andrew. Very helpful to our members! :thumbup:

Now that is ingenuity.



Seriously we need a part list for that press you made. That is worth its weight in gold.

The press is the kit from harbor freight just drilled out to 1" and an 8" grade 8 fine thread bolt.

I've seen people hobble together what they need from some generic plumbing hardware like cast iron flange etc… the trick is the 1" bolt.. 3/4" bolt is worthless to get the old bearing out. I've stripped out 3 or 4, 3/4" threaded rods in the process of changing a few of these, but as you can see in the video it literally took 1 minute of impact with the right tool to push out the old bearing. Putting the new one in took maybe 4 or 5 because i did it by hand and it takes a good number of turns to get that turned in.

update: i found a kit on amazon that has a 7/8 grade 8 drive bolt.. that will be strong enough to push an x5 bearing:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JBK2OJO

The usual push rod is at best grade 5 and is good for 24,000#, the 7/8 grade 8 in this kit is good for 46,000# and is plenty to pull any x5 bearing…

I would replace the goofy nut that comes with the kit with some real grade 8 nuts.. they have a 'long nut' so you can get a wrench on when it's deep in a hole; better to use a long socket.

It took over 33,000# to remove some of my bearings and typically up to 20,000# to install. A frozen bearing on a hot day took about 12,000# to install. This is the upgrade that has been needed to make these kits not self-destruct.

This is a great write up. Have to do bearing on my X5 soon, thanks for taking the time to put this together Andrew.

The outer race/housing color is just typical corrosion/rust. I would be hard pressed to call that overheating--especially when the bearing lives within the knuckle as any of that heat would transfer directly to that.

Here would be an example of an overheated bearing:

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_WaSey8B1...0/Captura4.PNG

Normally whenever there is drastic temperature change on things, there would be an oxidation boundary layer. Some people note this as "bluing" or where you would see a rainbow color effect. I'd be curious to see what the inner races look like, but usually these get destroyed when the slide-hammer is used to pull out the hub. But looking at your pictures with the inner race on the hub, it did not look overheated either.

This was the second time you had to replace this bearing?? What brand is it?

The picture doesn’t show as well but yes I’m quite aware of what the change in metal from overhearing. One side got very overheated. To the point it lost harness and all the oil. It went from barely a hum to louder than wind noise within a couple days.

I use only OEM bearings. The name that gets flagged for being mean to “happy people”.

I’ve replaced six total x5 bearings. 7th is over due. I’ve had to replace the eight front on mine twice. They don’t usually wear out they get injured from a big pothole. They can probably last a million miles if you never hit a pothole but they could die after a mile if you hit just the wrong pothole just the wrong way.

Bump: updated the iCloud photo album to include more details of the bearing press so somebody could copy it. I still have to measure the sizes for the setup for pressing the hub back into the bearing.

Nice write up, thx a million. Still looks like a big job.

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