If only we had a similar chain in switzerland/france... All of the "harware shops" have given up on real tools and are fully commited to decoration and home improvement.

I plan on picking one of those up in the future after I make some room for it in the garage. Where did you pick up the discs/plates to go with it, or did it come with an assortment?

It came with two large plates which are handy but I had to start collecting things to add to it. So when I work on something I save my left over parts (brake pads, backing plates, etc) to use with the press.

I think they have a kit for it but I didn't see it when I bought the press (actually didn't even think about it till I went to use it the first time).

I plan on buying some kind of plates to add to what I have one day if I run across them.

I have the full front wheel bearing press kit from HF, the problem is the kit is woefully inadequate with the included push rod good for 23,000# but the bearing needing 35,000#. I swapped the 3/4" rod for 1"and now the tool can push 56,000# makes on Vehicle bearing swap a relative breeze.

I only use maybe 4-6 of the plates and 1-2 of the rings for both front and back bearings. I will see if I can figure out fun the wear marks which I actually use and post the result.

I will be replacing one more rear bearing on wife's x5 soon and expect to post details. I have a trick that makes it a lot easier: I cut a slot at the end of the bolts so I can turn them from sitting outside the wheel well rather than under the car.

The shop press which I've considered getting requires removing the bearing carrier from the car and follow-up m alignment vs using the push rod type bearing press does not.

I stripped 3 push rods changing two bearings before I upgraded to the 1" push rod. I've replaced two more bearings since (front and rear) and it's laughable how much different: I literally laughed when I watched the impact tool effortlessly squeeze the rear bearing into place.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...6a090fdfa9.jpg
My kit with the upgraded bolt: in the pic shows the 3/4" bolt I still use for the smaller discs, I only drilled out the biggest 4-5 plates since the smaller plates never need more than half the force the 3/4" rod can provide.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...365a1d1e1d.jpg
Here is the actual setup I used to press the hub into the new rear bearing. The top plate is simply a spacer since the bolt I use is not threaded fully. It by chance has the size code so I can use as reference to figure out which plates I used.

I was wondering if those kits were strong enough... Turns out they are not but if your mod holds, it might be a nice option.

What did you do to / for your E53 today??
 

After several uses the 1" bolt looks and works exactly as new. Makes sense as the 1" bolt has a torque spec of 760 ft·lb and my impact is rated at 700. (intentionally designed by me that I can not over torque the bolt). At spec a lubricated 1" bolt is rated at about 31T of force but at 700 ft·lb I can achieve about 26T. It's enough to press the front bearing out without heat. And press in the new without freezing. The 1" upgrade is a permanent fix. Also the bolts were stupid cheap! Like $6 for two. I also added an oil infused thrust bushing which helps a lot no more steel on steel grinding.

Its really nice of you to share solutions before problems happen. Now i just need to get the toolset and 2 bolts when the time comes.

I've seen people make a press from a bolt and plumbing parts like 4" pipe and flanges but ideally obtaining some actual round steel plate is a much better idea. Before I got my kit I was going to have my machinest brother cut me some blanks. I may still have him modify the one for the front hub press: the inside opening is not symertrical round so it's a bit tedious to get the plate centered when pressing in the new bearing.


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The only bearing press kit I could get locally (or shipped) isn't large enough for the front bearing but it worked great on the rear. When/if I need to replace a front, I'll have to get a local engineering firm to make me up two plates and a receiver - shouldn't be a major problem, just annoying.

https://www.topmaq.co.nz/wp-content/...-1024x1024.jpg

https://www.topmaq.co.nz/shop/automo...ng-puller-kit/

I'll measure the size of the plates.


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