Front Wheel Bearing R&R
 

We took the X5 on a somewhat extended highway drive over the weekend, and I noticed some noise that sounds an awful lot like a front bearing going out. So I did some searching and didn't come up with any good writeups on replacing that bearing; mostly just people saying it's a bear and it's best to just hire it out. That seemed odd to me since it doesn't appear to be that much different than replacing a rear wheel bearing on other BMW vehicles, nor much different than other front-drive vehicles. The BMW TIS for this job lists a bunch of special tools, but I've seen several how-to videos on YouTube that show how universal kits can be used instead of the special tools... It just doesn't appear that it should be a terribly difficult job. Or is there something I'm missing in all this?

Also, the BMW TIS doesn't say much about removing the race from the hub, and there's mention of (some dealer shops) that the front hub is destroyed & needs to be replaced when replacing the bearing; is this normal, or is it just that the old bearing race ends up stuck on the hub and might damage it?

Thanks for any tips or pointers or links you can offer!

the wheel bearing is destroyed upon removal. the hub can be reused, however BMW states that the hub must be replaced. BMW sells all the tools necessary for this repair. The inner bearing race removal tool

83 30 0 493 416

current retail is $703.03+local sales tax.

it is much affordable to use a pry bar, and an air chizel to walk the bearing race out of the hub.

Thanks for the info. I'll probably pass on the $700 tool; yikes! This thread covers a similar bearing R&R on an e39; he used an angle grinder to cut a couple of slots in the old race so that a bearing splitter could be fitted on it, then used a gear puller to get the race off the hub.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...hmentid=291994

I had similar problems getting the inner race off the spindle when I changed out the front bearing on my e32; wish I'd known about that trick two years ago!

There are some good ideas in that thread for getting the job done with minimal hassle, but I know it's not going to be a walk in the park.

I'm going to go ahead & order parts for this job, and just do all four bearings. The maintenance records don't show that it's been done before (in 155,000 miles), and if one is rumbling now, it's probably just a matter of time before the others start in.

2 33411095238 Rear Wheel Bearing
8 33406765432 Torx Screw
2 31226783913 Front Wheel Bearing
2 31206751740 Dust Protection Cover
4 33411133785 Collar Nut
4 34211161806 Inner Hex Bolt

I'll do my best to photograph the ordeal & put together a thread on the job when I'm done.

what are the noises/symptoms of bad wheel bearings? anyone have a video?

I still need to get my car aligned and tires rebalanced, but once i get up to about 40 or so, I notice this humming noise that is like going over a metal bridge but quieter. It also varies with different speeds. I hope its not wheel bearings because this seems like a bitch of a job.

Sorry to say, but that sounds an awful lot like bearings to me. I could be wrong...

I did this job last January. Cut a groove in the bearing race and snap it with a drift. Not a big problem if you can handle a mechanics hammer. However I bought a press to get the assembly apart and back together. Maybe doable without a press but I would not want to try.

I never thought about change the hub carrier. It is very sturdy and I can't think of any good reason to swap unless damaged.

Good luck.

The TIS says the drive flange needs to be replaced. Can someone tell me the logic behind that???

I think it has to do with the way the bearing comes apart when the drive flange is removed from the axle; the inner race is stuck on it. I don't see any reason why you can't just remove the race as outlined above, clean it up & reuse it.

On other cars -- e28 and e32 come to mind -- the hub, bearing & ABS tone ring are all integrated; the bearing goes out and you replace the whole works as one part. They're pretty spendy to replace.

i'm pretty sure when driving above 40 last night and hearing the noise, i took a right handed turn and the noise went away temporarily, if it disappears while turning its most likely a wheel bearing right?

If so, here's a diagram:

http://realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/i/r/188.png

If I replace the bearing with the hub assembly and parts (5,6,7,8,9) would it be theoretically an easier job than removing the bearing from the old hub?

Looks like new hub and other pieces are about 100 bucks per side, might be worth it to replace those if it means I can do the job at home. Not too much money to pay the indy right now.

Getting the bearing race off of the hub flange isn't that big a deal; I've posted about this elsewhere, mentioning the fancy bearing splitter method I brought up above ^^^, and others say they usually just take a Dremel tool with a cutoff wheel to that inner bearing race. Cut most of the way through it, but not into the hub, then hit the crack with a chisel & hammer, and it splits the rest of the way open. Drive something in to wedge the crack open further, and it just falls off.

Once you've got the new bearing in place and the hub back in the bearing, I understand getting the axle back into the splines on the hub can be a chore, but you can make a tool for not a lot of money to help grab the threads on the axle and pull it back towards you; instructions are in that thread I linked to above.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/att...hmentid=292360

Or, I've made one of my own, and you can sure borrow it once I'm done with it, probably in the next couple of weeks.

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.

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.

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.

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 :)

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

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.

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.

http://www.tooltopia.com/_img/OTC/OTC6297.jpg

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. ;)

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.

While reading your last post I thought to check another DIY thread regarding front CV boot replacement; amacman was able to get full access to the boot by just removing the two M16 nuts & bolts from the strut (#2 & 3), which allows the wheel carrier (#4) to swing free. That might be the way to do it; saves a lot of trouble messing with the ball joints.

http://realoem.com/bmw/diagrams/i/r/188.png

In case you haven't seen this thread, it's got some useful info in it.

Looks like unbolting the strut gives a large amount of room and once you get the axle pushed inwards a bit to free it from the hub, you can swing the whole wheel carrier down and get the axle out of the way. Or alternatively, unbolting the control arms at the frame and leaving the strut attached.

From there I would replace one strut bolt just to keep the assembly rigid while pressing, and go at it to get the hub out and the bearing pressed out.

I may end up just renting a slide hammer instead of buying one, as well as the jaw pullers, but definitely buying the bearing press discs, and I also need to get myself a dremel with a wire wheel, I'm sure my hubs need some de-rusting action and it will do double duty to help cut off the inner races!

Just wanted to bump this post as I thought my information might help others along the way:

I started this job Sunday afternoon, and will be working on it over the next few nights and over this coming weekend hopefully to finish up.

I rented a Slide hammer from Advance Auto, bought bearing press disc kit from Harbor Freight and Circlip pliers, and am ready to go.

The axle nut was surprisingly easy to get off, I was spraying the nut with PB blaster each night for a week however. All I did was take my 2 foot breaker bar with my jack handle slipped over it, and she loosened with some force.

NOTE: you don't have to put the wheel back on the ground or put the wheel back on to loosen the axle nut! I put a chock on the rear wheel, put the car in gear, and slipped a socket extension rod in between the vanes of the rotor so it was "chocked" against the caliper, and when I went to loosen the axle nut with the wheel off and the corner in the air, nothing moved whatsoever. Hope that saves some people a step. I also chiseled out the detents of the axle nut with the wheel on the car before lifting and supporting frame with jack stand.

Caliper, rotor, and wheel sensor come out easily, clean wheel sensor with QD Electronic cleaner and regrease with dielectric.

I have not pushed the axle out of hub yet, since the original slide hammer I rented from Pep Boys came with the wrong flange, this flange:
http://www.oem-tools.com/upload/prod...ages/27037.jpg

DOES NOT fit over the hub, hub is too large in diameter. So I got slide hammer kit from Advance Auto, looks like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/catalog/pro...16a91f_300.jpg

Tested the fit over the hub last night, the shallower flange on the right just clears with room to thread 3 wheel lugs into their respective holes, so it can be used with the slide hammer to get the axle out, or the threaded pushing rod attachment to use for "pushing" the axle out of the hub.

However, since I rented 2 slide hammers, I may experiment with using BOTH 5 lb. slide hammer weights together as one, I'm thinking of using some redneck ingenuity tonight and if I can't get the hub hammered out easily with one hammer, I may double them up with zip ties and make it a 10 LB BRUTAL HAMMER!

Will update this posting as I go, oh and by the way if your outer CV boots haven't been tended to you may want to replace them when the axle is out of the hub, you can do that repair with the inner end still attached to the car. I bought $25 from Pelican Parts of 2 GKN Loebro OEM boot kits (which come with new axle nuts in them!), and 9 dollars from Advance Auto for Autocraft CV boot pliers for ear clamps. I heard they are cheap and break but Advance sells with lifetime warranty so if they break I'll get another set.

I am only disconnecting the strut for this repair to allow clearance to swing axle out of the way and get my bearing press kit behind the wheel carrier. All control arms are in place.

Bought this tool to press out the old bearing and press in the new:

http://pics.tdiclub.com/members/driv...ller%20kit.jpg

Make sure you get a deadblow hammer to hammer the rotor off, wire brushes to clean rust off of everything, a nice big bottle of antiseize, plenty of PB Blaster, all your right sockets, extensions, wrenches, and breaker bars, and the other must have, a Dremel! Need wire wheels for the bad rust on the hubs, and cutoff wheels for the inner race that will inevitably get stuck to the hub on removal, which you need to cut most of the way through then whack with a hammer/chisel to get the race off the hub.


And yes, I know there are other methods out there for my entire process but I don't currently have air tools and was trying to do this cost efficiently. If all goes well, I will reuse my hubs. I bought new bearings, retaining rings, axle nuts and dust caps for about 120 bucks. Like I said, the axle boot kits came with new axle nuts, so I actually have 4 new axle nuts now lol. If for some reason I destroy my hubs on removal or run into another problem I will get new ones from the dealer, wanted to try to reuse the hubs first, however.


Oh, and the only other casualty so far is one of my hub centric rings. I had the cheap plastic ones, it wouldn't come off the hub, so I had to cut it off. Got a set of metal ones coming in the mail from Ebay now, I'll replace on all 4 wheels when they come in.


Will update with progress...

You're my new hero! Go RICKY! :thumbup:

I did this job about 6 months ago and had a couple of casualties,(wheel bearings) :(. Make sure you press the new wheel bearing on the correct ring. I destroyed the new bearing when I pressed it in and didn't noticed it until everything was put together and my X5 front wheels started shaking. Good Luck :thumbup:

what do you mean press it on the correct ring? Not sure if I follow you..


Update from last night although I didn't do much, I know everyone hammers the axle out of the hub but I'm not a fan of that in case the punch slips and damages the axle threads or something else. But I used the axle flange for the slide hammer and the threaded rod in the kit which is used with a hub puller and "pushed" the axle inwards out of the hub, very easy to do.

Tonight I will have more time to play, need to disconnect the strut but waited to do that until I got the axle pushed inwards, and swing the hub carrier forward so I can get the axle out of the way, then I will hammer the hub out of the carrier tonight hopefully and press a new bearing in.

I made the mistake of pressing on the outer ring, :banghead: see picture. I know common sense, but it happen.

ok I got you, are you talking about when you press the new bearing in, or press the hub back into the new bearing?

I was under the impression that when you press the new bearing in the wheel carrier you should use a disc that covers most of the bearing, so that it doesn't separate, then when it is seated and time to drive the hub in, to use a smaller disc on the back of the bearing to drive the hub in, and only put pressure on the inner race (inner ring) then?

That is correct.

Got your PM thanks for the help! Hoping I can get it out tonight and my hubs aren't damaged/rusted too bad so I can reuse them.

I hope this help:

Pressing out old bearing, use small disc only touching the inner ring (so it can go thru the swivel)

Pressing in the new bearing, use the big disc on the back of the swivel (so it doesn't go thru) and the cup tool in front of the bearing pressing in and only touching the outside ring.

Pressing the hub into the new bearing, use the small disc only touching the inner ring. The bearing is not going anywhere because it is been held by the circlip.

Thanks for the tips, jeez one can get confused here I'm surprised the harbor freight tool didn't come with directions, but for the low prices it makes sense lol!

UPDATE:

So I disconnected the strut, ziptied the axle out of the way so the back of the carrier has access, then popped the 2 strut bolts back in place to the carrier was upright. I proceeded to do a whole lot of wire brushing on the axle/hub splines and went to work constructing my DOUBLE BRUTAL slide hammer. I have 2 rental slide hammers right now, put both 5 lb weights together on one rod with the flange attached to the hub with 3 lug nuts, and started BRUTAL HAMMERING.

I counted the whacks, at 34 the hub popped off. Probably would work just as well with the one 5 lb weight, just might take more whacks :)

Pic of my DOUBLE BRUTAL HAMMER, I have two of the below, I just put both weights on one rod (thats what she said) :)
http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/6585/slidez.gif

The circlip was being a pain, as one side was rusted pretty bad in place in the carrier, ended up getting one side out and put my vice grips on to pull the rest out, circlip pliers weren't working so well.


Took out the dremel and started wire wheeling the rust off, got most off, but for the heavier stuff i'll use a sanding attachment on. As expected the inner race comes out stuck to the hub. Used the cut-off wheel and drilled a nice slot in the race, took a few mins going slow and making sure not to nick the hub or go too deep too quick. Using my handy industrial chisel/punch set from harbor freight ($10!) I took a nice FAT chisel and whacked the slot, that cracked it loose enough to slide off the hub, no a single lick of damage whatsoever so I will reuse the hubs, just want to clean up the rust better, especially on the inside of the hub where the axle nut is, thats where I have to use a sander bit to get the heavy stuff off. Doesn't matter really since its cosmetic but I want to get them as clean as possible. Oh yeah, don't go cheap on this job and spend the extra 8 bucks to get 2 new dust covers, mine are rusted more than a car being dipped in salt every day. The old ones are pressed in place with the hub, just give a few whacks to the back and they pop off too.

Now I was all ready to pull out the old bearing using the harbor freight Bearing press kit, but I found out the huge honking nut for the kit is too bit for any of my wrenches/sockets. My wrenches go up to 1 1/8", sockets go up to 1". A return trip to harbor freight should rectify that, going to pick up a 3-4 lb mini sledge as well, never know when another BRUTAL HAMMER is needed, especially since after the bearings are in place, I'm going to do my outer CV boots before the axle gets driven back into the hub. I DO NOT want to go through this much disassembly again any time soon!

Making a hell of a mess in the garage but having fun so far, and learning a lot about my X!


So just so I have this correct, when I press the new bearing in, I use a disc that covers the ENTIRE WHOLE WIDTH of the bearing so the pressure is spread evenly? Then when the hub gets driven in I use a disc on the backside that only puts pressure on the INNER race? One chance to get this right! haha

:thumbup:

Great work; keep up the updates! (pics would be nice too. :thumbup: )

FYI: Pawn shops are also a great place to pick up oddball tools. I frequent a couple of shops near me and snag decent looking wrenches when I see them. They are usually just tossed in a bin marked $1 each. The e28 and e32 require a special tool to get at one of the nuts on the upper control arm; I bought a 1 1/8" combination wrench and modified it slightly with a grinder to fit the application. Best $1 spent ever.

Pawn shop = Dollar store for grownups :thumbup:

Planning on doing a pictorial step by step when I do the other side, I figure the first side is going to take me the longest and as I am finding the techniques that are working for me it will be much easier to take pictures then :)

Weekend update:

As expected, when pressing out the right side wheel bearing from the carrier, the cheap steel fine threaded 3/4" x 7" bolt that comes in the harbor freight kit stripped out. Yes I did grease the threads with heavy duty grease I use on my Scag.

A trip to Home Depot surprisingly fixed the problem, I picked up 2 spare zinc coated coarse thread 3/4" x 7" bolts, a pack of 3/4" lock washers, 3/4" nuts and 3/4" washers that were a bit wider that the gold ones in the harbor freight kit. I assembled and greased with a lock washer and regular washer on each side, and got to cranking with my 1 1/8" box wrench and same sized socket on the other side, the bearing is in there fairly stout but it came out with a few mins of turning the wrench, no issues there.

Cleaned the hub bore well and made sure it was spotless, pressed the new bearing in place, and pulled the hub in making sure my disc on the backside was in perfect position to only contact the inner race when drawing in the hub. Replaced dust shield before drawing in the hub as well. No issues with reinstall, spun the new hub/bearing assembly, quiet and tight as can be!


Now my last issue, replacing the outer axle boot. I don't know how guys pop that joint off against the C clip, its really on there. I tried the old DIY way, where you angle the joint and hammer against it with a mini sledge (i had a 3 lb drilling hammer), isn't coming off for shit.

Then I tried the vice grips on the shaft and prying against it, no dice.


I'm most likely going to get a few spare inner boot clamps from the dealer and just do the inner boot method, seems much easier as that joint is held with a circlip and not a pressure clip. I read on an earlier thread that there are usually issues with the total inner boot replacement so I will reuse inner boots as they have no wear anyway, and are a "stouter" rubber/plastic than the outer boot. Just need new clamps and some extra grease. I would have had the entire right side finished yesterday but the outer axle boot gave me trouble, and I wouldn't have touched them for replacement but there were cracks inside the folds, last thing I want to do is open this car up again for a while!

Welp, I finally got the right side done.

Amazing. Since I bought this car I never knew it could be this quiet. I got up to 40 mph and heard nothing, went on the highway and got up to 85, heard nothing.

The right side was my major problem, I'm going to do the left side too since I bought the parts anyway, but 90% of my problems are gone.

I still have a slight shimmy I can feel from under the car, but my steering wheel doesn't shake at all? Wheels are balanced perfect, just got roadforced. I am in need of an alignment but not sure if that would cause it. Its a shimmy you can feel, like if I'm on the highway and press my hand onto the passenger seat I can feel shaking, whereas before doing the right side wheel bearing you literally could see the passenger seat shaking, vibrating, etc, now you have to put your hand on the seat to feel it.

Maybe doing the left side will cure the rest of my problem?

Front suspension is entirely new, except for tie rods. Would those induce a shimmy? Otherwise, I'm at a loss except suspecting a worn caliper. I had a brake/clutch flush a year ago but not sure what the previous owners did, if it was ever flushed at all.

Feel free to chime in, like I said who knows, I only have 50% of my job done so by doing the other side I may cure it after all.

Do you feel the shimmy by your feet? Does it go away/get worse/remain constant (intensity) under braking. I'm skeptical it would be the corrosion on the caliper piston before say a sticking caliper causing uneven pad wear/transfer to the rotor. How are u suspension wise in the rear? If your shimmy is coming through the seat bottom not the wheel or pedals, I'd start looking into the rear.

That's great news! Congrats on finishing!

Does the shimmy change/come/go at different speeds? Just at highway speeds?

I'm skeptical of the caliper too now that I mention it, since the brakes were flushed, my rotor and wheel don't get excessively hot either. I guess I'll paint the calipers after all!

Braking doesn't affect the shimmy/vibrations at all, I had that before redoing the front end, but no more. You're right it does come more through the floor than anything, like I said I can feel the slight shakes in the passenger seat being transferred through if I'm putting my hand on it.

Unaffected by speed, maybe a tiny bit worse on highway but that just could be since I'm going faster.

Tie rods are the only thing left original on the front end (besides the left side wheel bearing), rear is original as far as I know, mechanic said when I did my front suspension parts that the rear parts looked good and tight but when I change my hub rings in the rear (aluminum instead of plastic) I'll give the wheel a tug. Could my need for an alignment cause the slight shakes? Or tie rods? Or the left bearing on the front which isn't making noises like the right but may have some wear anyway?

I'm hoping to put off redoing the rear suspension parts for another year or so if possible. Might do Dave's subframe bushing tool rental and get those out of the way first since those are easy and cheap.

I'm ok with the way it is, steering wheel doesn't shake so I'm happy with that, its just very slight, even my wife said its barely noticeable. I can live with it for a while until I start tackling the rear, just was wondering opinions on if it could be caused by the following outstanding items:

1) Left front wheel bearing (original and not making noise, but not fresh like the front right bearing)
2) Tie rods in front (last remaining original front suspension item)
3) Much needed 4 wheel alignment (could I be getting vibes from camber/toe being out of wack, I never got alignment after front suspension because I found out I needed to do my front bearings and didn't want to align twice)

I replaced both wheel bearings recently and took the hubs to the local machine shop to have the bearings pressed in. I even printed out and brought the instructions (from BMW) for the technician. An hour and $20 later, the new bearings are pressed in.

But I think he Brinneled one of the bearings, as it failed within about 100 miles (the steering went funky and the wheel itself had play in it. You could grab the tire and move the wheel from side to side by 1/2" or more).

This time around, I just bought an entire spindle assembly off a junked X5 and bolted it on. It took about a half-hour and was a lot easier (and cheaper) than replacing the bearing itself.

The bearings on these cars seem to last a good long time - 150,000 miles or more.

It is not easy to press the bearings in, as the housing has an odd shape, and working around the dust shield isn't easy either. I ended up cutting the thin part of the dust shield so it could be removed and reinstalled without taking the hub off the spindle (crazy design, but BMW must have had their reasons).


Wheel shimmy is a heartbreaking problem. I had the infamous E36 shimmy problem and I rebuilt the entire front end, even a new rack and pinion. It still came on, at about 60 mph.

Turns out the tires (Michelin MXV) were about 8 years old, and even though they had lots of tread, they had dry rotted and were hard as a rock. I swapped the tires with my other E36 (which were new) and the problem mysteriously transferred to the other car.

P.S. - I notice that the new X5s (E70) have integrated hub assemblies. The hub and bearing are one piece and it simply bolts onto the spindle with four bolts. Anyone can swap these out with your basic Craftsman socket set - no special tools needed, other than the axle socket. I used to make these types of assemblies at New-Departure Hyatt Bearings, back in the early 1980's, for the GM B and C cars. The E70 bearings look suspiciously similar. After finding Delphi struts on the front of my car, nothing would surprise me, though.

I would think that if your alignment was that off or tierods that worn, you would definitely notice some drivability issues --- wandering, in-precise steering and the need for constant correction; this on top of the usual tire wear that would be associated with alignment. I still can't believe at 66k your wheel bearing was toast....I'm at about 115k (187k km) and mine are still silent.

When you got your wheels RF balanced, did you get the results? I know with mine, while one was a marginal pass, it was still out enough that would have been felt on the roadster speed.

So to get to your list....
1) doubtful, wheel bearings generally make noise when worn.
2) again, doubtful, you would notice your x wandering around with loose tierods.
3) Maybe, but unlikely. The first sign of this causing any sort of issue would be evident on the tire (cupping or uneven tread wear). As with #2 though, if it was that far out, you would/should be able to discern something is out driving around.

I stand by my opinion that since the wheel is not translating any of the vibe, that your issue is not in the front but elsewhere...but I'm not expert! Lol.

Yes you are the expert Spencer since you just did your rear end suspension!

Thanks for the inputs, yes at my mileage I'm not feeling the looseness that loose tie rods would give, the X doesn't wander much or need constant correction either. I put on my 168s with Proxes STII's in July of last year and probably put about 2k on them max, shortly after I got my wheels I redid the front suspension, and since I needed to do my wheel bearing I didn't get aligned after that, and basically parked the car until I did my bearing so I wouldn't wear the still basically new tires unevenly.

And I know you have almost double the mileage I do, but you wouldn't believe it unless you drove this car a week ago and drove it last night with silence! The vibes and the wum-wum-wum sound as soon as I hit 40 mph and continued no matter how fast above I went, was ridiculous! Made the car undrivable.

I assume the right front bearing went bad before I bought the car, when the air struts were old (before I replaced with Arnotts) and the previous owner drove over a nasty pothole or something when the front was "slammed" and maybe gave excessive wear to that side and I really didn't notice when I first bought it but over the last year WOW did it get loud. Only reason I can tell for 100% certainty that 95% of my vibes/humming noises came from 1 wheel bearing, right front. And yes, still at 69k miles as of today!



I'm assuming some rear end suspension parts are showing signs of wear, bushings deteriorating, etc, as my whole front suspension parts replacement made the car completely different than it was when I bought in Dec. 2011. Worn subframe bushings transfer vibes at all?

EDIT: S, Sorry but after a highway drive this AM I will say that my vibrations also get transferred into the steering wheel, although not terrible, it is noticed. Since the vibes are noticeably reduced from replacing my right front wheel bearing, I am doing the left front for good measure, as I suspect the left one is not far behind, and these vibes I'm feeling from a bearing that has play in it will eventually turn into a roar like the right side had.

My buddy who balanced my wheels and is Master tech at Lexus said he would recheck the wheels for me if I wanted him too but they all checked out and balanced out fine. I will shake the tires tonight as I need to put the other 3 metal hub rings on my wheels anyway, just check for play in the rears, and look for play on left bearing in front.

He also told me vibes I'm feeling might be slight but if there is play in the existing original bearing in the front that its possible that would transfer the vibes in the drivetrain, and since the right front side is tight it is making the left side having slight looseness more apparent. He said bearings go over time so I might drive with slight vibrations now but in a few months it might end up making ridiculous noise like the right one did.


Thoughts?

Bummer! If you're gettin wheel shakes, that's definitive of something a miss in the front for sure! I suppose that the optimistic way to look at it is that hopefully it'll be one of those 2 birds, 1 stone deals--- Both wheel bearings will have been changed, and *hopefully* resolve all your vibration issues as well! Personally when it comes to things suspension/drive line related I like to do both sides; so I'd probably do the other bearing for 2 reasons...1) you already did the right side, 2) Given the state of the one you already did, this one may not be far behind....especially if the symptoms you remedied on the right are now present on the left. I know you're a busy man, but its a job that could be easily knocked off on a nice weekend...t'is the season :)

As far as the bushings for the rear....I was actually surprised at my rear subframe bushings (and LCA bushings as well actually) when we pulled them out. They weren't that bad -- still intact; no where near what some of the nightmare pics on this site show. That being said however, you could tell right away that while there wasn't any visible catastrophic failure, the rubber had become ROCK hard over the years. Within the first couple seconds of getting on the road you could immediately tell the difference. There was much less road vibration/noise transferred to the cabin than before....brought the 'luxury' back to the ride if you will.

Thanks for the words S, will definitely be doing the left side too, will be much quicker now that I know what I'm doing. Plus I took the time to dremel off the rust off the hub on the right side, replaced the dust cover, etc, and really cleaned it all off well. I'm also going to replace hub rings with aluminum on the other 3 wheels (already did on right front) and make sure lug nuts are set to 101 ft lbs.

Exactly what I am thinking as well about the subframe bushings, the rubber just dries out completely, and with 10 years on my X and seeing salty winters like you do, I believe mine could use changing as well :)

Tis the season is right, got my spark plugs changed over the weekend and noticeably smoother startups and idle were gained right away! Now I have to do lower intake boot for preventative maintenance of a leak, chase down my ABS/DSC/BRAKE trifecta (might be ABS module or wheel sensor I have to do testing), and then after that I can finally paint my calipers with G2 caliper paint and get my cluster pixels repaired.

I told you I had tons to do before my headlight project can begin, haha :wow:

Jesus, you weren' kidding! On a side note, where did you snag Aluminum hub rings from?

Hub Centric Rings 74 1mm to 72 56mm Metal Hubrings | eBay

Bought from this seller last week :)

Hey Ricky,

I also have the little vibration on the steering wheel after replacing all my front suspension parts. The only thing that I have not done is getting a 4 wheels alignment. I have been trying to figure it out where exactly it is coming from because it only happen when I am braking at a very slow speed. The vehicle don't vibrate, it is straight thru the steering wheel. Brake rotors and pad are almost new and they were working fine until I put my summer tire set on. I am taking to the dealer next week to see if a 4 wheel alignment will do the trick.

usually you get the vibrations when braking from the thrust arm bushings but i'm assuming you replaced those and torqued the bushing with the wheels on the ground? My vibes are slight as well and like I said I still have to do the other side wheel bearing, hoping when I complete that I will have 2 new "tight" bearings and get a 4 wheel alignment and that should cure it.

Other than that my buddy at Lexus is going to re-check my wheel balanace if I still get vibes after the alignment.

Bake pads and "warped rotors"
 

This was a common problem with the E36.

Sometimes, when braking, the wheel would shimmy, and it was very annoying. A lot of people complained about this.

Opinions differed as to the cause. Some claimed it was "warped" brake rotors and others went further to say they were warped by not torquing the lug bolts evenly or by using an air impact wrench instead of a torque wrench.

The problem would come and go, however, which is weird, as if it was a warped rotor, you'd think it would do it all the time.

Some folks pointed out that when braking very hard and then holding the brakes on, some types of pads would leave an "imprint" on the rotor surface. Their theory was that this imprint caused the rotor to "catch" slightly on subsequent braking, which would cause a shimmy since the rotors were no longer in sync, and each caliper would "grab" at a different part of the revolution.

Their solution was to run the car up to speed on an empty stretch of road, apply the brakes firmly to "burn off" this pad imprint, and then release the brakes so a new imprint didn't form. Oddly enough, this seemed to work on one of my cars that had this problem.

Changing pad types (and putting on new rotors) seemed to fix the problem permanently.

Check your wheel balance, too, as well as tire age. Like I said, those old Michelin's were about as hard as the wheels on Fred Flintstone's car.

Good Luck!

P.S. - bottom line, is, though, it is hard to get back that "new car feel" on a car that is 10 years old and has 150,000 miles. Drive the wheels off it and use it up. Move on to the next car.

Wheel balance is spot on as friend just did roadforce balancing, hub rings are intact and I make sure to torque all wheels in a star pattern at 101 ft lbs each time. Tires are less than a year old.

I will try re-bedding the pads as well one of these days, although I don't have a shimmy while braking I have heard that pad deposits on the rotors can cause a shimmy.

I'm also biding my time because the entire rear suspension is original at 10 years old, I'm sure that has to be attended to as well. Trying to get it as good as I can get it to be able to enjoy maybe a year before I start replacing rear suspension parts, I had my rear wheels off cleaning the hubs and putting my aluminum hub rings on last night, and those rear wishbone control arms just look absolutely atrocious, rusted to all hell, although they seem tight so I'm not complaining for now.

Ricky,

I need to go back and torque the bushing with the wheels on the ground to see if that will make a difference, thanks for the reminder. I am putting off the wheels alignment because I am also planning on doing my rear suspension as soon as I get some time off.

Hey man just sent you a PM, before I start on the left side bearing I want to be sure that my right side is still good. I get steering wheel shakes on the highway most prevalent between 60-70 mph, no bearing noise however like I had before. And not under braking whatsoever, my front suspension is all new.

I think I always had the shakes up front but the combination of the bad bearing noise/vibration on that right side washed it out. Now that its all quiet again I notice the shaking on the highway that is still present, albeit less than before I replaced the right side bearing. I'm thinking I need my wheel re-balanced but wanted to be sure the bearing I just installed isn't damaged, I supported the inner race on reinstall and hub was tight once I got the axle back on there.

As well, I want to point out that I haven't done the front left side as planned yet, and for all I know the shakes could be coming from the left side bearing that is "starting to go", from what I read on here bad wheel bearings will creep up over time, starting with vibrations and then making more and more noise as time goes on.

I put my aluminum hub rings on all 4 wheels the other night, cleaned the hubs and torqued all to 101 lb ft so that is good, but still getting noticeable steering wheel shake on the highway. I probably shouldn't be asking for advice before finishing the other side should I? LOL

I got your PM. I would take the wheel off and move the hub side to side. if you have play in the hub, then you messed up the bearing. If you don't have play, I would finish doing the other side, get a wheel alignment and balance. if that doesn't fix the problem, then I may replace the new bearing, just in case, but that will be my last result. Again, there are so many things that can be misaligned on the suspension that everyone have their own opinion on how to fix it. I fixed my vibration while braking by rotating my front tires. Now I know that must likely need a wheel alignment and balance.

This doesn't pertain to the front wheel bearing, but thought I'd stick it here anyway. My son & I tore into the right-rear corner of the X5 this weekend to replace the wheel bearing and several other parts. It took us a couple of hours on Friday night and most of the day yesterday to remove & replace the bearing, ball joint, integral link, forward susp. link, wishbone, and parking brake shoes. Heck of a job. The only glitch came in with the wheel bearing; we finally got the inner race off of the wheel hub around noon yesterday (woohoo!) then took a break. My son went back out to the garage a few minutes ahead of me, and when I got there he had the new bearing pressed onto the hub already, but had it on backwards. Doh.

We hoped that since it had just gone on we might get lucky and get it off without tearing it up, but no dice. We'll chalk that one up as a lesson in following diagrams and thinking harder about taking steps that can't be reversed. $60. Good thing that was the first side we did, so we had another bearing in the box ready to go; it just means I'll have to order a replacement and we won't be able to finish the job this weekend like we had hoped. He'll just have to come back next weekend to help with the other side, which doesn't bother his mom a bit. ;) After doing the one side, I'm confident the other side will go a lot faster.

Putting things back together went pretty smoothly. I can tell already that the rear wheel has lost it's negative camber and the fat-lady-in-heels look on that side. Haven't driven it enough to figure out if that was the bearing that was causing all the road howl or not.

I was kinda following in the steps of this guy's writeup for replacing a rear bearing the"Easy-Way!", but I sure didn't see a way to get at the bolts holding the wheel bearing without taking the wheel carrier off. But with all the other parts we were replacing, getting the wheel carrier free (almost) was not a big deal at all; the only thing we couldn't get loose was the parking brake cable, but that was easy to work around, so NBD. The fact that the rear wheel bearing bolts to the wheel carrier is the big difference between the procedures for the front & rear bearings; no need for a slide hammer or anything else to yank the hub loose.

Oh, and I decided to fab up a new tool to pull the splined axle into the hub (like this one except with a piece of iron pipe instead of a socket); I made one earlier and lent it to Ricky Bobby, but my welding job didn't hold up to the torque required to slide the axle through. My son has actually been trained on how to use a welder like the little MIG unit I have (I've only done stick welding, and that was many, many moons ago), so I had him do the welding. Well, this one didn't hold up either. It got the axle slid out a ways before giving up the ghost, but we ended up just using a slim dowel against the inside of the axle near the boot to tap it out far enough for the new nut to grab some threads. Before fitting the hub with the new bearing back on the carrier, we also spent some quality time with some penetrant and a wire brush cleaning up the splines on the axle and the hub, then applied some anti-sieze compound; I think that made a difference in getting the thing to slide into position easily. The axle sure didn't slide out of the hub easily.

Dave, glad to hear your son was able to help you out, I'm sure it wasn't an easy job on the rear of the car, and I'm glad you're tackling the rear while I am finishing the front!

I am due to finish my other front bearing job with the outer cv boot on the front next weekend, I still have your socket and adapter to send back to you as well.

Also interested in your rear suspension parts replacement, did you order all OEM parts for the most part for replacement? The guide link and wishbone look pretty self explanatory to replace for the most part, could even do those on the car. The wishbone has a bunch of wiring running up it though which I think needs to be moved. The only thing which looks tough is the integral link/ball joint assembly, although could be done on the car, wondering what you used for pressing the ball joint out and back in? I know BMW sells a special tool for it (or did you tell me you purchased the special tool)? With the special tool, I'm sure if one was to leave the wheel carrier in place (i.e. if you were not replacing the bearings) you could probably replace each part one by one leaving the wheel carrier in situ, correct?

I'm not planning on tackling anything in the rear for at least a year to buy myself some time after my repair rounds this past year, just wanted your thoughts on that (if you want to keep on topic you can PM me!). Only thing I may need to do is get your subframe bushing tool and do those bushings, as I won't need alignment afterwards and I can get one of the rear suspension "trouble areas" out of the way.


EDIT: Dave, I bought two impact sockets from Harbor freight and am going to get them MIG welded with two axle nuts ground down (I had two extras, my CV boot kits each came with a new nut) and I will try to go easier on the "tool" when I do my left side, I'm hoping to have both intact and ready to send back to you after I'm done! I probably wouldn't have broken it originally, I think I put a quarter turn too much torque on it on the right side, but you know what they say the first side is the toughest because I'm learning what works and what doesn't!

It was a bear of a job, and I know it would've taken me a lot longer to do on my own, so I was glad he was along for the ride too! No hurry on the socket & adapter (forgot I sent you that; we were looking for that adapter, but made do without it just fine! ;) )

I ordered Lemfoerder replacements for all the suspension bits, and FAG bearings from BluntTech.com. I've never had a problem with Lemfoerder on my other cars, so I'm sure these will last a good long while.

The wiring & stuff on the wishbone isn't much of an issue other than the skinny little bolt that holds the whole shebang onto the wishbone; it's about two inches long and about 1/8" around. Nicely corroded nut, so the thing twisted the hex socket in the plastic when we tried to undo it. It did come off intact after we soaked it with PB Blaster & Liquid Wrench.

I did buy the tool from another member here, and it works a treat on the ball joint. I'll be renting that out at some point also, and should have it available when you're ready for the job. Here's an excellent video from BavAuto explaining the job: BMW DIY Video – Rear Suspension Lower Ball-Joint Bushing Removal-Replace E39 E38 Others | Bavarian Autosport Blog
We ran into one little snag reinstalling the new bushing though, and I'm not sure if we used the wrong cup for pulling it in or what; the cup we used had a lip around the edge that braced against the aluminum wheel carrier, and the lip wasn't deep enough to allow the ball joint to seat completely. It took us a couple of minutes to figure out what was up, then we just switched to a different cup and it was done. It's a pretty easy job with the tool. And the integral link is pretty straightforward.

Let me know when you're ready! I may just rename this thread to cover front and rear bearings, as the jobs of replacing them are pretty similar in some respects.

You know, I was really surprised it took as much torque as it did to draw that axle back into the hub. We spent a little time cleaning up the splines on both sides and put some anti-sieze on it, but once I got it to a point where I thought I could thread on the new nut, it had pulled itself back into the hub when I removed the tool. The CV joint has a little "spring" to it and didn't seem to want to stay extended. It still doesn't make much sense that it took that much effort to draw it out, yet just the pull of the CV joint was enough to slide it back. :dunno:

Steering wheel vibration update
 

Hey Bobby, Don't forget to get that wheel alignment once you finish all your repairs. I decided to take the X5 to the dealer for a professional 4 wheels alignment and balance, and it was the best $129 investment in my truck, ever :rofl: The vibration is gone, and the rear wheels don't look like they are about to take a seat. I was so happy when the service tech told me that it was only $129 for the alignment, but it didn't last long. I love that they do a courtesy inspection every time I take the truck in for any minor adjustment so that I can work on anything they find. Today, I almost had a heart attack. They told me that my spark plugs needed to be change and they were charging me $275 to take out 6 spark plugs(screws) and put 6 new one in :wow::wow::wow::wow: I told him that I will pay for the spark plugs and put them in myself. I didn't realize that the damn spark plugs cost $23 each, still I saved $150 and it only took me 1/2 hour. Now I am ready for the long road trip to Cal and Washington St.

Oh yeah the spark plugs were so easy! I just did mine with fresh NGK's 2 weeks ago, car runs so much better!

I'm finishing up the left side tomorrow, going to get alignment and balance this week later on! $129 for alignment AND balance? From the dealer? That is so friggin cheap man! Or was that just for alignment?

I asked for the balance and alignment, but I just put new tire/rim and they were balanced not too long ago. They probably only charge me for the alignment. Either way, I am happy with the result.

I think this thread has gone dormant for too long. ;)

I finally got started on the front bearings last night. I got as far as bolting up the slide hammer to the hub, but backed off after a few whacks because it looked like it was tearing up the tapered part of the lug bolts I used. I dug through my bolt collection & found a few fine-thread 14mm bolts there, but all too long, and no nuts that I could use to shorten them, so I bopped over to the hardware store to get a few.

I started on the left side, as that's the one that seems to be making the most noise, and hope to finish it up tonight. We'll see. The wife has been out of town for a few days, and the teenage son has been feeling a bit needful for attention, so we may have to do a movie or something tonight too. If not tonight, tomorrow for sure. I'll keep y'all posted. :D

Keep us posted Dave, if you need any tips this job is still fresh in my memory!

See my reference to the "double brutal" slide hammer I used on mine, even with 10 total lbs of slide hammer weight, it still took a TON of whacks to get the hub out (probably about 50 or more)

I don't think you should have a problem using the stock lugs as they are hardened steel, just make sure to tighten all 3 of them down EVENLY, as if they are not evenly threaded I could see how it could stress the threads when whacking!


I actually contemplated getting 3 spare lug nuts for the job, but wanted to see if I could use my stock ones with no problems, worked for me, but I guess we all are a bit different :)

Well, I got the hub off with a few hundred whacks (only working with the 5 lb weight on the slide hammer) then got the race off the hub using a Dremel with a cutoff wheel. Now the holdup is the ABS sensor; so far it's refusing to budge. Grrrrrr. With it in the way there's no way to get a plate on the back side of the bearing. I gave it one more shot of penetrant and will give it the night to ponder its stubbornness. Anybody have any tricks to getting that bad boy out of there?

I just sprayed it with PB blaster, gave it a LIGHT wiggle and a few tiny taps to loosen it in the bore, then used a vice grip just clamped enough to stay on there, and pull it STRAIGHT out, if you pull at an angle you risk breaking something. Its in there pretty good, make sure to spray penetrant from inside the bore of the spindle hole too (you can always clean the bore with brake cleaner later before assembling the new bearing.

I sure wish mine were that easy; I've been fighting with it most of the morning and so far have only managed to bugger it up pretty badly. The eye for the hex screw broke off, and the outside is chewed up. I'm ready to drill it out. Grrr... A Google search shows that it's pretty common to have to drill these things out, so I guess it's par for the course. The only trouble is that I won't be able to get a replacement for a few days, and I'm sure the dash will light up like a Christmas tree. :rolleyes:

wow that sucks Dave, but with double the mileage on yours compared to mine I guess there is a level of seizure on those sensors that may be FUBAR.

for what its worth, i didn't pull from the "hex eye" portion i actually squeezed the outside of the sensor mounting from where it goes direct into the hole and pulled straight out.

Sorry to hear it's broken, you might want to get the sensor plug too as that looks pretty common to break when its taken apart.

Yeah, mine was totally fubared. I tried pulling on the thing & twisting just as you did, and nothing. The eye broke off when I resorted to trying to pry a little. Tapping from the inside didn't even help. I even tried whacking pretty good on it when I decided it was needing to be replaced, and nothing. Even when the center of it was drilled out it didn't want to let go of the metal; had to pry it out of there in pieces. The hole is good & clean now, so anybody coming after me will have no problem whatsoever, at least until it gets funked up again. ;) I'm ordering two sensors; I know if I don't the other side will be the same way. Also ordering a protection plate/dust shield for either side; mine was pretty crusty, and when I took a wire wheel to it to clean it up for a fresh coat of paint, it broke in two because of rust.

Funny you mentioned that sensor socket; it fell apart when I disconnected it, so it's on order too. :D Just a few $$ for that.

I just decided to wait until everything is here before reassembling; my wife wasn't real pleased with the downtime, but she'll get over it. ;) I wish I could tear into the other side as long as it's down, but unfortunately I parked it in the garage with the right side close to the wall to give me more room on the left, so the right side will have to wait. I did crawl under it last night and got rid of the clutch delay valve. Spent way more time than I should've trying to get the line threaded back into the slave cylinder, but it's done. Can't wait to try it out! :D

Awesome to hear, and yeah, I did the same thing too facing the side i was working on towards the center of the garage (2 car), so when I had my mishap with the original axle puller socket, it took a few extra days. That, and the parts store runs and such, more time than needed, I think it was about 2 weeks for me to get both sides done and complete.

I got lucky with the sensors but then again I'm at half the mileage (and half the road/winter miles for rust to accumulate), like you I spent a good amount of time with a wire wheel on that hub, cleaning rust off EVERYTHING, and anti-seize on as much as I could.

How did you do with the bearing retaining clips? I'm sure with a decent circlip plier set you'd be fine but I'm swearing to myself thinking about that crappy harbor freight set, I must have messed with the one side clip for an hour trying to get it back in its slot in the hub bore!


Trust me, once the one side is done, the other side is easy, comparatively, at least you know what you're in for now :) Don't underestimate those front bearings, definitely the toughest job I did on a vehicle, with all hand tools (no compressor/impact tools in my garage) no less, and combined with the cv boots, oh the memories.


Awesome on the CDV delete, you'll love it!

Ah, the bearing retainer clips... I had what I thought was a superior tool for that job, but that circlip just laughed at it. I ended up going to a local auto parts store & spending $40 )(about $10 too much) for a Lisle Heavy Duty unit. That clip was a monster; even with the HD tool, it was a struggle to get it out.

The one bright light in all this is that the outer boots are in great shape and don't need to be replaced (knocks on wood; still possible for them to get damaged somehow before I button up this job!)

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.

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.

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.

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.

Ughhhhh. Wish I saw your post before I pressed on the hub flange. It was loose and I couldn't put the sensor on as the bearing moved too far back.

Ended up seeing your post trying to figure out why the hub was so loose. Removed the flange which destroyed the new bearing. Removed the bearing and pressed in a new one, then used your tip to press only using the inner part of the bearing and it worked like a charm.

I had the same symptoms as the OP. Right curves made the vibration disappear.

Did a test drive and all is smooth. I had bought two bearings just in case it was the left one, but I am good still. First time doing a wheel bearing. What a bear on these X5's.

With press in bearings, when you go to press the hub back in you need to press with a support for the inner race. By not supporting the inner race you are pushing the inner race out of the bearing.

More Info Please
 

I get this. Makes total sense to support the inner race when pressing the hub back into the bearing. However, earlier in the thread it was noted not to press on the outer edge of the bearing when installing. Did I misread that? And a 2nd question...

Since you cannot see the neck of the hub following re-install, how are you to confirm when it is fully installed... is this fully installed?

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.

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/images/item...VE3700_a_b.jpg

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

https://www.topmaq.co.nz/images/item...VE3350_a_b.jpg

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...

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. :dunno:

This is the tool set I bought to do my front bearings.

FWD Front Wheel Bearing Adapters

Bearing Splitter & Large Bearing Separator

you'll also need this to pull the race out.

I didn't use a slide hammer. The bearing kit yes but someone had recommended threaded steel rods from hardware store and ditch the ones in the kit. That was sound advice.

^That was me and because I bought the Harbor Freight wheel bearing kit -

The slide hammer kit posted looks exactly like what I used, the shallow monkey paw looking flange fits on the front hubs and also works well to push the axle out of the hub - I did both of mine wpoll, even though only one was bad.

The wheel bearing kit posted on the last page also looks excellent if you are doing the job in situ, like myself and Dave did.

Well, I finally tracked down the bad bearing; turned out to be the right rear.

I did buy the two tools I indicated in my earlier post, despite knowing that the bearing press set won't work for removing and installing the front bearing - the receiver cups are all too small. The set (Platinum or Heshi brand) works well on the rear and should also work for for driving in the hub on the front. Very well in fact; this was the easiest part of the whole task!

I used the slide hammer base to drive out the axle (slow and steady) and then whacked out the hub and inner of the bearing - took less than 20 whacks to totally remove the assembly.

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f2...psp028fozf.jpg

I had to drop the exhaust system in order to pull the rear axle (half-shaft) and doing this gave me enough room to replace the bearing without undoing any suspension parts, so no wheel alignment! :thumbup:

All in all, I'm glad to have it done and have a quiet rolling chassis again. :D

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...

Any kit with sizes like this will work...

23Pc FWD Front Wheel Drive Bearing Removal Adapter Puller Pulley Tool Kit /W Box | eBay

Some folk have replaced the threaded rod with something a bit stronger.

I tried to get one of these from AliExpress but got screwed around by the seller and gave up. Got a local set that isn't large enough for the front but worked well on the rear. Will get a local engineering firm to make me a 102mm receiver if I ever need to change a front bearing.... ;)

Front Wheel Bearing R&R
 

I own a similar bearing press tool. The problem with the kit is it uses a 3/4 inch bolt which is only good for about 11 tons of force. I stripped three of these bolts changing two bearings before I upgraded to a 1" bolt (31T force).

The 3/4 rod would probably work for the rear bearing as it felt like overkill when I used the 1" upgrade on the rear bearing.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I've seen this quoted a number of times. Just curious where you're getting this figure.

Grade 8 3/4 SAE is good for a minimum of 50,000lb tensile strength. That's more than enough to yank a wheel bearing, IMO. In this application, I wouldn't use anything BUT a hardened grade 8 threaded rod/bolt (black oxide coated, not plated) from a reputable supplier (McMaster, Grainger, etc). Is your figure above for Gr5 or maybe Gr2?

I also grease the threads of the puller; helps tremendously.

Considering what I went thru putting the hub assembly in my 20 ton shop press and watching the press bow up some I am not surprised the 3/4 bolt snapped. When they stick, THEY STICK.

There is a formula to determine linear force from turning a nut. It worked out to about 30-35,000# to remove my front bearing from the carrier. It was maybe 22-25,000 # to install. (bearing was negative 10°F to reduce the size by about 0.003" diameter.

Greasing the threads is absolutely necessary.

The rod that came with and the proto tools replacement both looked very decent and based on when they failed were at least Gr5.

3/4 Gr2 has 15,380# force
3/4 Gr5 has 23,780# force
3/4 Gr8 has 33,570# force

It is possible based on my torque to force calculation the original rod was G8 since the math worked out to > 30,000# to remove the bearing. That being said the threads came off like corn coming off the cob. I ended up with almost smooth cylinders. So I'm pretty sure they were G5.

If you can find Gr 8 bolt in 3/4-20 that has 34,760# rated clamp force that should work without having to bore out the plates to 1".

It takes 325 ft·lb lubricated torque to achieve that level of force.

The 1" Gr8 I now have however can push 61,190# but takes 765 ft·lb of torque to get there. Even with my monster torque wrench it's only 700 ft·lb so I guess I can only push with 56,000# of force but 28T force and way below the limits of the bolt so I won't possibly strip it.

The smaller bearing from the back wheel probably took 15-20,000# to install and it went on like butter. No heating or cooling needed just assemble and into a stack around the bolt and turn the nut until things stopped moving.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...3362ac2da0.jpg

I need to replace my 3/4" rod to use with the smaller plates I didn't drill out to 1". I may just look for bolts rather than the official threaded push rods which seem to be Gr5.

I paid something stupid low for the 1" bolts maybe $6 each. I have to stack extra plates as shown because the bolt is not full thread but I figure that makes it stronger.

I also usually use an oil infused bronze thrust bushing not shown in this picture. It needs to be over 1/8" though, as when I used the 1/16" it just squirted out like it was made of clay! (What a surprise!)

I use a priceless app called iEngineer.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...131834eda6.jpg

Screen shot of grade 8 3/4 bolt specs.

The shaft of a 3/4 bolt might yield at 50k but I'm very confident in the data in the app that I use having reliable sources.

Tensile strength of Gr 8 is 150ksi. That puts a theoretical strength of about 120,000# but the problem is the nut to bolt threads are what's holding things together. The problem isn't the shaft breaking it's the threads folding over.

33,570# is the clamp force of 3/4" Gr8 bolt. That's 100% rated. There is surely some safety margin but not 17,000# worth.

I do think that a Gr8 bolt 3/4 has a very good chance of pulling out the front bearing of the X5 but I would definitely heat up the carrier!

When I applied on the order of 30-33,000# of force in my case it laughed at me. When I heated the carrier to 250° F while pre-loaded to 15T it suddenly moved with a literal BANG.

That bearing is no sh%# stuck in there tight! Be prepared with some muscle to push it out!

Even with my 28T press I might heat the carrier to ease things along.

Got it, thanks for the info.

This all seems a bit confusing. I see that I can purchase a new hub which bolts on through the rear of the front cradle. The axle slides through the hub and gets bolted tight. SO, where is this bearing pressed into the hub? Is it pressed into the rear of the hub? If so, when buying a new hub will it come with a new bearing already in place? I am getting a loud howl and vibration from left and right i think. I would prefer the easiest replacement. This X 5 has 232K miles and these hubs/bearings are original. Thanks for clarifying. OH, the front axles are replaced at 180K miles.

The bolt-on bearing is for the rear only - the front bearing is pressed into the steering knuckle. You are either going to pay some one to do this for you or you are about to buy a metric crap-tonne of new tools! :rofl:

http://static.bmwfans.info/images/epc/MTI4ODg4X3A=.png

https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/ZZYAA...Yw0/s-l300.jpg

Easiest replacement, bring it in and let a Real mechanic replace the bearing.

Second easiest method is trade the X in for a truck that has the hub and bearing bolted to the knuckle.

cn90 - I used the "FWD Wheel Bearing Adapters" kit from Harbor Freight to press the outer race out from the knuckle - I needed to replace the rod and nut in the kit though, for some heavier duty rod, wider washer, and lock washer from Home Depot, the threads were more coarse than the rod included in the Harbor Freight kit but it worked just fine as it was super strong and greased up -

I wish I remember the size I bought but it was a few years ago, I just took the rod from the Harbor Freight kit to Home Depot with me and got something of similar length that was a bit thicker and looked more heavy duty for the job -

Also, the handle of my jack was absolutely my friend as it gave me more leverage when turning the wrench to press it out -

The rod that comes with is 3/4-16. I went through three of them while replacing two bearings as 3/4" is not big enough to support the forces involved. I think the fine pitch rod with the kit and the better quality replacements I used may have only been grade 5. If you get a grade 8 bolt it can supply over 15T of force. That will still be on the edge of possible as I calculated close to 35,000# to remove the bearing with MAP gas to heat the carrier to 250°F.

I bought a 3rd replacement rod (3/4) but I only use that for the smaller sizes: I drilled out the biggest plates to 1" and bought a couple 1" grade 8 bolts, nuts, washers and an oil infused bronze thrust bushing. Combined with my big impact wrench it can press about 28T makes the job loud but almost effortless.

I bought my copy of the HF bearing press about half price because some idiot stripped the rod and returned it. I was already planning to ditch the rod and upgrade to 1" so that worked well for me!

Somebody may make a kit with just the right size needed for the x5 bearing so you don't need all the parts.

I had my brother drill out the large holes since he works at a machine shop so I don't know how difficult it would be to drill out the holes but the 3/4" rod is right at the edge of possible and a 1" rod is double the strength needed for the job and made the last bearing a breeze to change.

You need to remove the inner race from the hub which most people will cut a diagonal groove with a right angle grinder or Dremel and break it with a chisel.

The first time won't be "easy" but well worth the effort. I've replaced 3/4 of wife's and one of mine so far. Two with 3/4" bolts and long handled ratchet (I used 2" PVC pipe much more comfortable on my hands than steel) the last two I had my upgraded 1" bolt and what a difference. Bolt looks unused after pressing three bearings.

Based on my guess that the fine pitch rods were only grade 5, it does greatly increase the chance you can copy the previous poster success with a grade 8 3/4-10 bolt. It takes 300 ft·lb of torque to get the rated 30,100# of force so plan accordingly. Grease well buy a couple spare bolts and nuts if you stick with 3/4 size.

The kit pays for itself with one bearing since it will usually cost $40-60 to have a shop press out and in a replacement bearing and another $100 for a proper alignment if you remove the hub carrier to take to the shop. I'm very glad I bought mine. I borrowed a friend mechanic's press for the first bearing and had to buy him a replacement threaded rod as I was converting the threaded rod into cylinders each use. I was able to get the bearing out in spite by stacking plates to use a fresh part of the rod that wasn't stripped over and over.

If you know of a shop that can drill out the plates to 1" I highly recommend copying me and bump the bigger plates up to 1" holes.

It takes 700 ft·lb to maximize the force of a 1" lubricated fine pitch bolt but with any luck you will only need 400, something doable with hand power.

I couldn't remove my axle nut on the second bearing I did with a 4# hammer and 24" breaker bar so I bought the big Milwaukee impact wrench that can supply 700 ft·lb of torque and that is close to but less than the max torque spec for a 1" bolt so it can't strip the bolt but will supply about 56,000# of force quite reliably and with minimal effort (just holding the nut from turning while running the impact wrench)

7/10 difficulty with 3/4" bolt. 4/10 difficulty with 1" bolt. (doing the rear bearing was 2/10 difficulty I almost laughed when I watched the bearing get sucked onto the hub. )

Oh: to remove the hub I used some long 14-1.5 bolts and some metal angle, drive the bolts through the lug holes in the hub into the carrier knuckle (with the metal angle as a shim). This will destroy the dust cap so I usually cut that off in the process and buy a new one when I buy the bearing. For the rear I used a slide hammer kit that I rented from Auto part store. That would probably work on the front but I don't like to hammer on all the ball joints it is cheap insurance to spend $10 on a new dust cap.

Most people strip those HF bolts because they fail to lubricate the bolt. I use a punch hydraulic as shown in this Youtube video to remove and replace press in bearings. The bolt that comes with the HF wheel bearing kit is strong enough in tensile force which is what my punch press is applying to the bearing to remove it from the hub. I also put the bearing in the freezer over night to "Shrink it" enough so less force is required to push it back into the hub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3dgrgmMZw0

Here's a video of him using the punch to pop a press fit bearing out of a hub

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZDK4LyTkRg

I love the hydraulic press.

If it was 20T I would have copied you. With only 10T that would have not gotten my bearing out based on the fact in spite of lubrication I stripped the crap out of a 3/4-16 hardened rod (proto tools).

I found a web calculator you can put in the torque applied and the thread size to calculate tensile force, the math worked out to about 33,000# remove and about 20,000 to install.

I didn't bother to freeze parts since I upgraded to the 1" bolt but I did apply heat to the knuckle while removing though I don't think it was needed.

Anybody using a threaded rod especially a 3/4-16 definitely use heat and cold to assist!

That was awesome to watch the hydraulic press just silently push in that frozen bearing. Five stars!

When pressing in the hub I use a small press plate so it's only pushing on the inner race of the bearing so there is no significant force on the bearings just the hub and inner race.

I didn't need to chill the hub with my upgraded press (now good for 28 tons). Nor did I freeze the bearing this time around. It probably takes about 15T to press in and 20T to press out without heat and cold. I've seen posts where people could not press out the bearing with a 20T hydraulic press (but clearly not heat because I've removed two with on the order of 15T)

Op: how close are you to Tampa? I have a brother in Tampa I could work out a loaner situation for the bearing press. Do you have access to a high torque impact or high strength ratchet (ideally 3/4 drive)?

My 20 ton press was NOT happy pressing the hub out on mine. It did it and sounding like a gun going off when it finally let go and came out. So a 10 ton would not of removed mine either.

The freezer trick does wonders! My freezer has a minimum temp of -10°F and I usually keep it -2 but bumped it down to freeze the bearings pre 1" upgrade. I measured about 3mil shrink in the size of the bearing and it HALVED the effort of install vs removal! I also froze the hub with dry ice the first bearing I did but after I realized you are only pulling out one half of the inner race I didn't bother on the last times.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Front Wheel Bearing R&R
 

The gun sound I'm very familiar. I preloaded about 33,000# and nothing was happening. (other than slowly stripping the push rod). I then heated up the carrier knuckle up to about 240F and B A N G! Scared the shit out of me. Worse it was about 9pm working outside. I figured out it had to be the bearing finally slipping about 0.001". Just like an earthquake. Stress builds then releases. While hot I started to turn the bolt with a ratchet with about 30" handle and most of my body weight. Every 1-2" down on the handle another BANG BANG BANG. Knuckle cooled off and then it could hold my entire body weight (180) at 2.5' (450 ft·lb) way more than a 3/4-16 can handle (as evidenced by the smooth appearance after I rounded off all the threads).

Another round of heating back to 240F and I could turn the bolt again (i had to add some spacers to find a non smooth part of the bolt). The second round of heating the bearing was maybe 5/16 " out and taking less and less effort and the bangs happened every 1/2" or so of travel (30" away). A few minutes of bangbangbangbangbangbang and off it came.

The rod was TOAST. I had to buy a new rod to install. Fortunately with freezing the bearing and a touch of oil It goes in with half the force.

I was very glad even with self destructing the prime mover I was able to learn more than had it been too easy.

I did my wife's car first and it previously had cv replaced so not factory axle nuts and my baby torque took them off. My car with 16 yr old factory axle nuts: different story 4# hammer end of a breaker bar wasn't happening at all. I bought a decent hardened rod but 3/4-16 grade 8 is good for about 33,000# just about exactly what the math worked out to and I stripped yet another.

With 8 bearings between our two x5 and having 9 brothers and sisters I figured I'll beef up the thing and never have that problem again.

Now even with my 700 ft·lb impact wrench I can't over torque the 1" bolt designed for 750 ft·lb (at which 62,000). Means I can apply about 56,000# hundreds of times without wear as I'm operating well within design limits. After pushing out and in the last bearing the drive bolt looks new. Operates a little smoother even (nut will soon down the bolt by hand).

I've seen people make up a redneck bearing puller with stock cast plumbing parts (steel nipple, flanges) and if you could get enough layers of iron between the outside pipe and the bolt, you could make a puller for $20. If you have access to a lathe, copy upallnight with the beautiful aluminum slugs but use a 1" hole so you can get fierce pushing force. Even by hand I think 40,000# would be easy. Fine threads theoretically make it easier to turn but they add friction so you might do better with coarse.

7/8-14 grade 8 lubricated is 500 ft·lb and 46,000 # force. Numbers a little easier to achieve than the 1" bolt 765 ft·lb max torque. I just wanted something stronger than my impact wrench so I'd stop braking it twice per bearing.

Now if I was still having problems and if I could find one, a left thread 1-3/16 bolt I could turn to 1100 ft·lb (my impact wrench can hit harder lefter) I could achieve 74,000#.

I was suitably impressed how hard the tool had to work at 700 ft·lb to push off the last bearing. Chewed through most of a battery and I had to go get ear muffs it was too long too loud but other than having to hold the nut back from turning with seriously 8x the most I've ever had to do, I just watched and it did. A minute or two of 110-120 dB banging of the Impact and bearing dropped in my hand.

Going on was a cake walk. I didn't even freeze the bearing nor heat the knuckle. It might have taken 20-25T but it just eased right in. Maybe a minute. Pressing the hub in was very fast. Took longer to set up the machine (to make sure only pressing on the inner race) than actually push the hub into the bearing.

Anybody within a reasonable drive of SE Wis i would come visit with the press and the monster impact. I like to see it get some action.

I'm trying to invent a way to use it to push the hub off so i dont have to blow apart the dust shield every time. Maybe I can engineer a bracket that clamps around the inside of the knuckle once the axle is removed. That bracket has a fixed nut and I can push one of my smaller plates on the hub from the inside. That probably only takes 4-6000# I can probably use the 3/4" pusher and just a ratchet.

Hmm. My next bearing is a rear. Brain is spinning. I'll share if I figure out a clean solution wo having to rent a slide hammer.

Ricky or wheel bearing guru,

For the FRONT bearing, in order to press out the OUTER race (once the circlip is removed), what is the best removal kit?

On ebay/amazon, I see different kits such as 19-piece, 23-piece etc.

Can you post a photo or the exact kit for the FRONT bearing?

Thanks!

PS: Amazon has the "Orion Bearing Tool" for $65, does this work?



---

None of the inexpensive kits will work properly as they all have the same fault: too small of a threaded rod..

That said any of the ones with the bigger plates will likely be a good starting off point.

I bought the kit that harbor freight sells. I got it like 30% off because somebody stripped the bolt trying to remove the likes of an X5 bearing.

I drilled out the holes on the 5 biggest plates to 1" and bought a pair of 1" grade 8 fine pitch bolts for about $6 each off Amazon.

That boosted the capability 23,000# to 62,000# and it'll push the bearing out with no difficulty.

(It takes about 35,000# to remove about 25,009# to install)

Some other tips:

I use some long M14 bolts to push off the hub. Grind the end to a bit of a cone so you won't damage the threads.

Use a plate of steel behind the hub to push against.

This will self-destruct the dust cap behind the hub. I replace the cap whenever I do a bearing. It helps me keep track which bearings I've replaced (4 of 8 between me and wife).

Get a oil sintered bronze bushing 1/4" thick. Thinner it will squirt out like clay under 35,000# of force. I might have photos of that : it came out from under the bolt head in pizza wedge shapes.

Heat up the knuckle with a torch to about 250-300F it will help a bit but if you have enough power (my big impact is good for 750 ft·lb of torque) you won't need the heat.

On the issue of heat...

1. INNER Race and Hub:

- The Oxy-acetylene torch will take care of it!
- Problem is: most of us do not have Oxy-acetylene torch.
- I only have Propane torch, the stuff plumbers use for home plumbing.

Video of INNER race and Hub, the Oxy-acetylene torch
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hys-0NWDL1w


2. OUTER Race and Spindle:

- Has anyone tried heat? Some people put a bead on the OUTER Race!
https://app.aws.org/forum/topic_show.pl?tid=9540

- How about COLD stuff like CRC Freeze-Off can to shrink the Outer Race?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULXahcy0CO0

I've used dry ice (far far colder than -14 of typical feeeze liquid) but I will try the torch method to remove that sticky inner race I usually cut it off with a right angle grinder and chisel. I have MAP torch not as hot as oxy but should work great input!

Doing a bit of research before I replace the SAME bearing that failed less than two years ago (and ONLY ONE to ever fail), I found a bmw service bulletin that clued me in why they fail and it's not from age/miles. It's from impact. Rough pot hole or curb strike, especially if you hit a pot hole asymmetrically pushing the wheel sideways at the bottom.

I replaced 3 bearings on wife's car and figured it's just a matter of time before the fourth will need to be replaced but like my car one that has already been replaced actually needs replacing before the last of four. Seems wheel bearing not a periodic maintenance part.

Getting ready to replace my front bearings and hubs on the X5. I am preparing for the job by collecting the tools necessary to make this a fairly straight forward process.

From all my research, it seems the things that do not go well besides pressing the bearing in and out of the carriers are getting the axles in and out of the old hub/new hubs. There have been members that had to beat the hell out of the axle or resorting to dozens and dozens of whacks with a slide hammer to get it the hub off the axle. The same would apply for getting the axle back in the hub when reinstalling.

I hate beating anything if I don't have to so I bought these 2 tools. The first tool from ECS Tuning/Turner was the:

Bav Auto Wheel Hub Puller / Axle Press - 4 lug bolt - BMW & MINI #580367.

This is the deep housing for 5x120 lug pattern. I am hoping the splined axle presses right out or the hub pulls off with little effort. Fingers crossed.

The second tool I got from ECS Tuning/Turner was the:

CV Axle Shaft Puller / Wheel Bearing Hub Installer Kit - Bavarian Autosport
#3673940

Same hopes for the ease of pulling the splined axle back into the new hub.

Nice looking tools! :thumbup:

The axle removal tool is the same as I've used on my rear bearing replacement - it was part of my slide hammer kit. Perfect.

Re. installing the axle, Andrew reckons that it helps enormously to have lots of play in the knuckle when installing the axle. It helps to allow the axle to "self-align" rather than fighting to get it into a splined hole it's not quite lined up with.

I reckon he's right...

Indeed. I am planning on using the CV puller tool to pull the CV into the hub before attaching the upper carrier mounts to the strut so that is has enough play. So many stories of guys struggling to get them back in. :dunno:

Other than this axle alignment issue, the whole task can be completed with only removing one end of the lower rear arm - that gives you enough freedom to remove the CV/axle from the knuckle. Buy yeah, I suspect that the extra play you'll gain by loosening or removing the knuckle-to-strut connection is going to make all the difference.

Of course, if you are removing the knuckle to press the bearing on a bench press (rather than using the on-car bearing tools) then this is all rather academic! ;)

That was one of the other difficulties experienced by our members was the effort it took to use the pullers for removing the bearings in the car. Some even experienced extreme force even with a press so rather that fight that, I opted for a new 20 ton press. I still have to do all the rear control arm bushings too so decided to just go ahead and buy one.

This is the one I got and notice how this guy mounts his QuickJack right to the sides. Clever storage.

I've done this job about six times now. Easier every time.

Since my lower control arm is due for replacement I just used a slide hammer to remove the hub the last time.

Important: remove abs sensor before slide hammer I damaged one skipping that step on rear bearing.

That kit doesn't seem to have a big enough out sleeve for the from bearing. I'm not home to get a measurement but can check tomorrow.

Also, the main problem with the universal bearing tools is the threaded rod is too small. 3/4 (19mm) is about 5Ton too weak (I've turned three of them into bumpy cylinders trying).

7/8 (22mm) is the minimum requirement for removing the bearing.

I've never had a problem pushing the CV out and once I figured out to leave the strut bolts completely loose until insert the cv I've never had a problem putting them in either.

I use my 760 ft·lb impact for running the press but I've used just a long extension ratchet to install the last time. Probably less than 200 ft·lb torque.

It's probably worth the effort to put the front bearing in the freezer you gain about 0.003"( 0.08 mm) which will drop the force required by a couple thousand pounds. I don't think I froze mine the last time but my press is good for about 31T now: over double the requirement for install.

With a 1" threaded rod, it's a non issue to pull the bearings now.

Thanks Andrew. Since I'm working in the garage I don't mind a removing a couple more links and take the carrier off the car so I can work on it at eye level instead of ankle level. https://www.e46fanatics.com/forum/im...ilies/rofl.gif

I have not done this before and I am preparing for the worst. Waiting on the "gotcha moment". The condition of the working environment can ultimately affect the outcome so I am making my conditions the best I can within my control. :thumbup:

Nice tools, but to push the axle out of the hub and re-install the axle, no need for any special tool.
When I did my E39 5-series REAR bearing (similar principles for X5 Front and Rear bearings), I used regular 3-jaw puller and made my own tool to pull the axle back in...

DIY: 1998 528i REAR Bearing the Easy Way!
https://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sh....php?p=6305260

Here are the E39 5-series photos to show you the tools:


---

Yes, this post was one I read when I started reading on the rear ball joint replacement.

The biggest issue here is the front of the X5 has a dust ring around the front bearing that covers the edge of the hub where that puller attaches. It will damage the ring using that jaw grip. Others suggested pulling from the central hub lug holes was a better practice so it made sense so I am going to try it. It was only $30 from Turner but certainly may end up using alternative methods. ;)

To remove the front hub I usually use three 14mm bolts and a metal plate between the hub and knuckle. It will destroy the dust cap so I buy new one with the bearing.

I actually have the set (bearing plus dust cap) in my cart at fcpeuro right now.

The last one I just used a slide hammer because I already had rented to do a rear bearing and I wasn't worried about damaging the control arm.

I'll use the long bolt through hub method on my next one. (Oh: quite important; grind the end too a slight cone or you can't remove it later add it will mushroom out)

I bought the Genuine BMW Value Line Service Kit that has everything from FCP too. And I bought the Genuine BMW bearing with it. $230 for both of those but the original Genuine BMW parts went 175,000 miles so far, I'll replace them with the Genuine BMW parts again.

https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ne-31222311523

That's a nice kit. I reuse the bolts that aren't yield torqured. Since you have the dust cap, best way to remove the hub is a few long 14mm bolts tapered a bit to a cone at the tip.

As Overboost has a new hub too, why worry about tapering the 14mm bols? Just chuck the whole thing, bolts'n'all… ;)

I could discard the dust shield, the bearing and hub together for sure but I have to get to the snap ring to press out the old bearing on the press, so I have to remove the hub from the bearing first.

I can pull the carrier with hub on it, I can press the hub off the bearing on the press. I am just using the tool hopefully to shove the axle out of the hub without beating on it.

I'm gonna try the Turner puller first. If that gets sideways, I will try other methods. :dunno:

If you loosen the parts to remove the knuckle the CV will pop out with maybe a tap with a 1lb hammer.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Yes, in theory for sure. I have read many threads where the splined axle was plenty stuck. Crowz story was one that scared me.

https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...-job-hell.html

Maybe I'm just too paranoid but I just want to be ready and have whatever tools are available just in case of that moment it all goes sideways.

I've seen a couple axles that were a disaster but a quick preview when you pull the roundel if you don't see rust and the axle nut is crisp and clean you should have clear sailing.

There biggest help I came across was the bit where I loosen the strut bolts when putting CV in or out. I spent 90 minutes trying to get CV back in and it wouldn't. Out of desperation I losened the tower bolts and the rubber boot of the CV shot the axle completely through the hub! So now I always start the CV through and start the nut before I m reattach the tower bolts

Yes indeed. That advise was noted and I will be using that technique. Thanks for that tip. :thumbup:

If the CV doesn't pop out easily, spray some release agent, wait a while then put the axle nut on backwards and use a BFH to get it started

Yeah I bought a 4 lb hand sledge at Harbor Freight last Friday but the BFH is what I am trying to avoid on the end of my axles. :dunno:

Won't hurt them. The CV slides in and out on the inner joint. You won't need to hit too hard just a firm tap. 4# the perfect size

Wish I'd known about that axle shaft puller tool. It would have saved me hours beating the OE shaft back in. I'll be purchasing one if I have to replace an outer boot again.

Yes sir. It looks like it makes things a lot easier if they are stubborn.
https://youtu.be/nCDBp2jgCeE

I was going to buy the tool but replaced two more bearings since and by using my install the CV with the hub free on 3 axis trick (on the rear I lift the knuckle to level with a jack), the CV has never fought me going in again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

A large box from FCP Euro showed up today with lots of suspension bushings and bearings! :thumbup:

Wait for me to get mine we can race :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I am anxiously awaiting my QuickJack before starting the work. I got the 7000SLX with SUV adapters from Home Depot on the Black Friday sale. I'm off to Paris for the wife's birthday on Friday for a week so hopefully everything will be here when I return. :thumbup:

I've looked at similar to the quick jack. That will make suspension work a lot easier.

Wish I had a place for a Quick Jack or even an enclosed garage.

Tell your wife Happy Birthday and if you get the chance take the train to Vienna and hit the castle route tour(24hrs) but be careful as I'm pretty sure that's why I ended up with a tricycle motor again...

Sent from my SM-A730F using Tapatalk

How old are the tires? I had the same issues, humming, rumbling, etc. Turned out to be bad tires. Wore out fast. New tires, drives like a dream. No more hum, rumble or sway. Just saying.

Thank you, the rears are almost due for sure. Once I get all the bushings and ball joints replaced in the rear, I will be buying a new set of Contis. :thumbup:

I have done many bearings before, I will post some tricks later but it boils down to:

1. Understanding of the bearing setup anatomy for that particular vehicle.

2. Pressing what against what, i.e., let's say press the hub against the INNER race during installation, things like that.

3. Factory tool (expensive) vs Redneck/Harbor Freight/ Advance Auto rental tool etc.

4. The hub always come out with half of the INNER Race. So either score the sides with angle grinder for the bearing separator to grab. Or redneck way of cutting through the inner race SLOWLY so you don't damage the hub. Then chisel it out. All on youtube etc.

5. In the E53 X5 (or let's say Honda Odyssey Front Bearing etc.), the Outer race is the problem. Over the years, it got stuck in there. When pressing it out (after the circlip is out), you are basically pressing on the half of the INNER race ---> ball bearings ---> OUTER race, pushing it out. This takes a lot of force bc the OUTER race basically bonds to the knuckle.

A redneck way (if you don't have expensive bearing tool) is to tap the remaining INNER Race inward and knock it out, remove the remaining ball bearings. Now you have the OUTER Race. You can use a dremel to SLOWLY cut through the OUTER race, taking care not to damage the knuckle. You don't have to cut through, just 80% through which will weaken the race significantly. Then go from inside and chisel it out.

Another redneck way is to Tig Weld it (search youtube), it will come out easily.

Once it is out, clean the knuckle. Heat the knuckle with propane torch for a good 1-2 minutes. The bearing should be in the freezer overnight.
Figure out ahead of time which bearing adapters to use. Then once the knuckle is still hot and the bearing still frozen, press it in via the OUTER race ONLY! If you are lucky (hot knuckle expands and bearing shrinks with freezer), you can simply tap it in using old bearing outer race.
Youtube has videos on this (heat the knuckle and freeze the bearing trick).

Question: has anyone used the Rental Tool (23-piece Bushing Tool) from Advance Auto for the X5 bearing job? Please see photo...

That doesn't seem remotely close to big enough for the front bearings.

The HF kit is what I use and works perfectly once you drill the bigger plates out to 1" (7/8 would also work).

Simple math and physics: it takes about 35,000# to push out the bearing about 22-25,000 to push in the new one.

A 3/4" grade 5 bolt like the kit comes with is good for about 22,000# and will turn into a lumpy cylinder as you round off all the threads removing the front bearing (I know this from experience killing three separate push rods before I uogarded to a 1" grade 8 bolt).

With the bigger bolt and my high torque impact I have no problem at all pushing the bearings in and out and no longer require the freezer method on the bearing (which does probably reduce the force required by about 5000).

As described above it's very important to push on the correct race. Don't damage your new bearing during install.

Some research I did recently showed that the bearings go south not from use and age but impacts like potholes or curb strike. That helped make sense of the facts that at 180,000 both my rear bearings are going strong, but my right front was replaced twice in two years and my left front is due to be replaced this week.

I replaced all four on wife's car about 140-175,000 miles range from first to last. Her car was driven many more city miles so much more likely to hit potholes. (also went through more control arms and CV axles ). City miles don't only wear on the engine.

So what are signs of wear and need for replacement? I have 245,000 miles on my X and the bearings have never been changed. I haven't noticed anything that would seem like a bearing problem.

You only need to replace if they fail. The primary symptom is a loud Humm sounds a bit like the sound of a prop plane in the movies. Will get louder and louder as three initial defect propagates. Often not always the defect is deeper in one piece so you will get a wuh wuh wuh sound I refer to as UFO sounds. It's usually easy to tell a bearing has gone south but you may need to enlist the help of an indigenous tracker to figure out which corner because the sound travels into the frame of the car and goes literally everywhere.

Thanks. Nothing like that. Fortunately, with the exception of a 4 year stint in Boulder and Denver, this is a strictly California truck. Virtually no rust.

That's a bush tool, not a bearing tool. You need something much bigger for front wheel bearings on the E53 - the front requires a >100mm receiver cup for starters... ;)

Does anyone know if local auto parts stores (such as O'Reilly, Advance Auto, Autozone) has a rental tool for the E53 bearing?

Can't help with the rental question but you're looking for something like this... (although from your previous posts, I'm guessing you already know this. ;) )

https://shop.harborfreight.com/media...3/63728_W3.jpg

https://www.harborfreight.com/Front-...-Pc-63728.html

This is the one I ordered on advise from members. Less than $50 delivered :thumbup:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/23PC-Front-...53.m2749.l2648

Thanks for all the input.

Budget is not an issue, I can buy the bearing kit (HF or the kit in Blue Case as posted), I just don't want to hang on to a set of toll that sits on the shelf for the next 10 years.

This was why I asked about tool rental.

The video below is from an E46 3-series REAR bearing but it is exactly the same procedure as E53 X5 FRONT bearing.
Very nice video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX1Um9pmcQg

Heat + Freeze Trick
 

The video below is a bearing DIY for an ATV vehicle, but you can see Heat + Freeze trick
- Heat the knuckle with heat gun (or propane torch) really well.
- Bearing in Freezer overnight.

For this particular ATV vehicle, the bearing simply drops in with no effort! Unbelievable.

I guess if you use the same trick on X5, you probably need to tap it a bit using old bearing race. Probably no need for the bearing tool.

Can someone try this trick (Heat + Freeze) and let us know if you can get away without bearing tool?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raJL-BK9WwU

You cannot get enough heat differential to Easily install the bearings on the X5

There is only one bearing tool I've seen for purchase that can handle the front bearings without modification. It uses a 7/8" push rod. It could be the one above.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b.../67213/5632404

This looks promising. See if they let you take out insurance against breaking.

That looks like the usual 3/4" pusher. If so it will not reliably remove the front bearing.

Possibly if you get some 8" 3/4" grade 8 fine bolts. Else drill them out and get a bigger bolt and it will work great



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Astro Pneumatic Tool 78825 Master Front Wheel Bearing Adapter Puller Kit W/Grade 8 Drive Bolt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JBK2OJO..._sqz7DbDJG5T9D

That's the only one I recommend.

Good for 23T. The normal kits like ebY and HF sell are good for only 12T but if you get a Gr 8 bolt it will do about 17T and just about exactly what is required but will require heat to remove

I can confirm this works on motorcycle wheel bearing etc. (done it many times) but there's a bit more mass in the X5 parts! :rolleyes:

When I replaced the rear wheel bearing on my X5, I DID put hub in the freezer for a couple of hours, while I bolted up the new wheel bearing etc. The rear bearing bolts to the knuckle, so no press required.

As I only did one bearing I can't say if cooling it made much of a difference (lack on comparison) but I can say the hub slid into the new bearing without much fuss and I wondered why I had purchased the bearing press tool.

The answer to that question is of course - the front bearing. Except this tool isn't large enough for the front. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Just read in another car forum that Autozone in the USA has similar bearing tool for rent!

Same 23-piece set as mentioned above.

The name is PowerBuilt FWD Bearing Remover and Installer Set 648741T.


---

Good to know .thank you.
@cn90- btw can you give us an update on the Bave39 mod .325cilover over at fanatics just did the mod and is having pending lean codes after 50 miles on the mod.I just did mine today but have not driven enough so can you please post a feedback on that thread ?
Thank you.

Andrew,
I do not plan to use the threaded shaft for the removal or replacement. I bought the kit for the dies included for pressing in/out with a 20 ton press.

I think if people use the 23-piece set mentioned above with HEAT, it will be fine
Heat significantly reduces the force needed to remove/install the Outer race against the bore in the knuckle.

So before removing, heat the Outer race really well with propane torch.

Installation should be easier bc once you heat the bore and freeze the bearing, it should go in with minimal force.

My only worry with heating the knuckle is what that might do to the ball joints... :dunno:

I 'spose you could remove them first. And that sometime requires heat. :rolleyes:

Oh, and of course, all this work is done with the wheel speed sensor removed!! ;)

I'd not worry about ball joint bc it sits below knuckle.
Even if you heat the bore to 150C, the ball joint is probably at 50C (you can use an infrared temp gun to monitor). At 50C, it is slightly hotter than the hottest day in the summer, which can be at 38-42C.

Wrap the ball joint with a wet rag. That should help some prevent heat from building up.

The ball joint is far enough away. I use IR thermo gun to monitor knuckle up to about 250F (120C). That was the magic temp that realeased my stuck bearing when I already preloaded with about 17T of force but it still didn't move.

I heated to about 250F and it moved without additional turns on the tool. (with a very loud BANG) sounded like a large metal bolt snapped but was just the bearing moving .001".

I don't need to heat anymore because the improved press can push 31T nearly double the requirement .

I have been meaning to meausre the exact plate sizes I use to add to the DIY guide and will try to remember this time.

You could make a kit from water pipe material for maybe $20-30 that will be far superior to the generic HF kit.

Just stopped by local Autozone store.

They do carry the 23-piece set mentioned above for rent.

Now I wonder if you can use the adapters from the 23-piece set but use them with
the giant C-Clamp from the other set I mentioned earlier (the C-Clamp from the
Powerbuilt set). This way you have that massive bolt that comes with the massive
C-Clamp...

If anyone tries this trick, please post...

You need a very very large throat to do this. I use an 8" bolt with my press to remove the bearing. What is the opening gap on the giant C?

Heating to 250F entire knuckle and I still stripped out three 3/4" rods. If you heat enough it might be possible.

I forgot you did mention, that kit will work perfectly with the 20T press. It would be awesome if you had a force gauge to measure how much force it takes to remove.

In the video below, the youtuber used the 23-piece set but went slowly and lubricated the surface between the bore and outer race often...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2s8-8kH1AIU

That might do the trick plus maybe newer models may have slightly different knuckle size or I had more rust.

I didn't put in release agent around the outer race, I just know that with lubricated threads I stripped out three hardened push rods before I upgraded

Independent of the tools mentioned above, this youtuber was very clever when he replaced the rear bearing on his BMW 3-series...

This youtube video is a must see!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XSdylj343Q

I will highlight a few things:

1. Removing the hub using a bearing separator as a backing device, once the lug bolts are tightened, the hub comes out.
Alternatively, you can place some ? 2x4 wood and a wrench as backing material so the lug exerts the force on the wrench rather than the wood, just a thought...

2. PVC Coupler is no match, it broke...So don't use PVC Coupler.

3. No need for large receiver cup, a few pieces of 2x4 wood and piece of metal (from the internal spring compressor), and the bearing came out!

4. To install new bearing, he used the plumbing disc, but he should have used the OLD bearing as an adapter, just an option.

Here are the photos from the same youtube video...

---

You can easily 'roll your own' that's why i've said i'll take some measurements. If i did a 'roll your own' i would look into some plumbing parts; it's definitely better to have a full cylinder to push on vs a couple blocks of wood but as shown it's possible. The rear wheel probably needs less than 4-5T to remove the hub, it's not in the same league as the front wheel.

I use a backing plate and bolts through the hub to remove the hub on the front wheel, it self-destructs the dust cap so i buy a new one when i buy the bearing.

for the rear, a slide hammer is the best way to remove it; just remove the ABS sensor first (made that mistake on my last one).

Another very interesting video of FRONT bearing on a 2007 Honda Odyssey van, which has virtually identical setup as the E53 X5:
- Knuckle ---> Bearing ---> Circlip ---> Hub.

NOTE:
- No special tool, just angle grinder.
- Large hammer used as a cushion for another hammer to hit.
- Bearing in freezer.

PS: One thing they did not do was heat. Imagine if they heated the knuckle with propane torch during removal installation, it would be even easier for them. Ignore those youtube comments about doing it "wrong", these guys really knew where to hit it with hammer, placing the inner race at the correct place during hub installation. They really know what they were doing.

I am not saying this is great, all I am saying is if you are in the middle of nowhere with no special tool, you can get this (X5 Front Bearing) done with heat (cheap propane torch $15), freezer, and angle grinder used intelligently.

Take your time to watch the video!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrEjVfQQoZQ

Front Wheel Bearing R&R
 

You can no don't do it. 95% chance the guys using the hammer destroyed the new bearing going in though.

Consider: lateral impact; hit a pot hole while turning is almost always how the bearing is destroyed, one single hit on the inner race of a new bearing you just destroyed it.

I destroyed my wife's abs sensor with slide hammer by not removing it before knocking out the hub .

I've seen examples of people using a 10T ram to install and supposedly remove front bearings on an X3 which I think is very similar to X5 and there is no way that can reliably push out an X5 front bearing. I've done about 5 of them so far and another tomorrow.

I may try to use hand power and a torque adapter to see if adding Release agent can drop the forces enough you can use a 3/4" rod.

It's painfully simple for me to pull the bearing now with the 1" rod and 760 ft·lb impact wrench.

If you bought the right pipe coupler and flange, you should be able to do the same job on the cheap and way more reliably than the H F set with the under sized rod.

I've actually seen that exact video before I did my first bearing replacement, probably where I got the idea to cut the race off the hub with angle grinder; that's a very effective method.

I did notice that Honda bearing is quite small compared to the X5 bearing. Maybe less than three rear bearing on the X5. It probably took less than 5T of force to install the rear hub into the bearing on the back of the x5.

Since removal is the bear, you could likely use a trick like that video and a sledge for removal. If you used the old bearing for the press you might get away with sledge for install but you'll be subjecting the inner race to 1000s of G of impact there is no way I would recommend that. You need to make one dent 0.0002" deep and that bearing is toast. Definitely only install using slow force like a screw or hydraulic piston or you will be calling this install the "practice run"

In the youtube video, during installation, they hammered the OUTER race using the OLD bearing, so no damage to INNER race.

For removal, I have seen people use a dremel or grind stone and cut tge Outer race, thus weakening it. Or use heat.

Yes, but the inertia of the inner race will pound the ball bearings into the outer race with every hit. You risk damaging the bearing this way and I would not recommend it at all. It's just way too easy to use a big bolt or hydraulic jack. (Into do it without risk).

You could build a frame with some heavy lumber or some angle iron or just drill a hole through 4-6 sheets of plywood to get a strong enough plate to push the 8-10T. Use of some release agent like liquid wrench should help a bunch.

I'm not saying you can't roll your own, I'm coming from the experience of shredding three pricy 3/4" hardened push rods (well lubricated).pressing out three X5 front bearings with heat.

The math worked out to about 17T of force to remove and 12T to install (heated knuckle to 240f or 115 c).

The back bearing only needs the hub pushed in and out and is comically easier, the 3/4" rod has maybe twice the power needed and my 1" machine made me laugh when I used with the impact.

I'm hoping to get my new front bearing and install today. I'm going to try liquid wrench and measure the torque to remove it. If I can get it off with less than 200 ft·lb I can measure the torque and calculate the force.

I made a roller bearing to assist but only used for installing as it's not originally designed for axial loading.

I've also seen but knowing what I knows now it's just way way way easier to make a proper pusher with a 1" grade 8 bolt and some grease and an oilite bushing. It's not difficult to make and ∞ easier.

Andrew,

Glad you have the 1" threaded rod and you drilled the holes in the adapters bigger to accommodate the 1" threaded rod. Most people don't have access to 1" threaded rod, let alone drilling the holes bigger.

I am talking about the average Saturday mechanic with basic tools.

Re hammering the Outer race. I have replaced some AC Pulley bearings and other bearings by hammering on the Outer race (using the Old bearing as an "adapter"). Zero issues over the years.

Little bearings are much easier. No prob to use a hammer and a socket.

I bought my 8" bolts on Amazon for like $6, the nuts at Menards for like $1.50.

For the plates I already had them and I do have access to a brother that works at a machine shop so it was easier for me than the average Joe to get the plates opened up to an inch but you could do the same with a hand drill and a 1" bit and some patience.

Else, stack some washers and some thinner metal and some plywood you can get enough strength to push 15T or so and push out the big bearing.

I linked above a proper kit that will work as purchased. I wouldn't trust any kit with 3/4" rod because though you might get the stars to align and get it to work it is not a reliable solution.

I've pulled a bunch of hubs with bolts and with slide hammers. The slide hammer is the quick easy way and you can rent for free from most auto part stores.

I've not found a reliable rental tool so I would recommend buying the proper press tool it pays for itself the first use because it negates the need for a follow up alignment or hiring someone to press the bearing out/in.

I've got no problem with a good roll your own solution and I have 15 plate sizes I'll never use so one day I would like to measure the exact 3-5 parts used for X5, and share that so people could buy just what they need to push the bearings on X5.

I'm wondering if there is some combination of washers and plumbing parts you can just buy for $20 and have a near perfect solution.

One of the bigger problems is pulling the new bearing in because the inside of the knuckle is not a clean flat plane to mate nicely. I might slap a 2x6 across the opening to see if it can handle the forces involved.

I think somebody tried to use a large PVC coupler for removing and it shattered so I was thinking of galvanized pipe.

For a DIY slide hammer idea, I was going to use a few pieces of angle iron bolted to the lugs with a cross piece maybe 18" from the hub. That would work very well but I don't recommend slide hammer on the front too many ball joints to damage.

If I figure out some nice roll your own options I will post them on my bearing thread.

Funny you should say that. I've only replace one wheel bearing - right rear - and I used a slide hammer to remove the hub.

I now notice (20,000km later) that my right rear lower ball joint might have more play in it than the left.

Coincidence? :dunno:

That is exactly the concern. The ball joint fortunately doesn't move much and has 100s of times more surface area (than the wheel bearing) so can handle much more impact and why it's relatively safe to use impact to remove the rear hub.

I've been working on a lug bolt push method for the rear to avoid impact but it's just so convenient to use a slide hammer.

I won't use slide hammer on the front unless I'm already planning to replace ball joints in the front.

wpoll,

Your ball joint failure is a coincidence. The ball joint gets the beating daily with hundreds of lumps/bumps/potholes on the road.
The force from the slide hammer is not that much, nothing when compared against road potholes.

The bearing separator trick is in the video below.
If you don't have bearing separator, then place a piece of oak flooring wood + wrench so the wheel lugs can act on. With some creativity, you can remove the hub w/o the slide hammer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMt71Zr1NeE.

Front Wheel Bearing R&R
 

What I've used in the past is a hardened steel angle bracket to connect conduit hangers in place of a bearing separator.

It does destroy the dust cap so I buy a replacement. When I had to replace the same bearing I used a slide hammer so I didn't kill the dust cap.

I just did this job today - thanks for all the info and details in this thread.

Just a couple notes:

-I cannot imagine doing this with the hub in place. Much easier to do on a press. We had a 20 tons press and no issue. Take this opportunity to replace suspension components (I had done mine last year).

-I had two issues. One axle was hard to get out/in of the hub (easily pushed out with the proper puller shown) but was hard to get back in. I cleaned it up a lot but still had to bang it it in until I could get enough thread to put the nut on.

-The circlips were quite hard to get out. The one that came with the kit was lower quality, so I was not sure which one to put back on. I ended up putting the new ones.

-Price have come down a long way - I paid $55 (+ shipping) for the whole kit including the hubs from Rock Auto.

-Apparently book says 5.8 hours, it took me 4 hours with a car lift and the proper tools readily available. Many things can go wrong though, I got lucky.

-I went to this DIY place - Ron the owner is great guy. Home - Gearhead

-Car is definitively more quiet now and feels more tight, and I seem to have less vibration. The old bearings seemed okay (not destroyed) but I guess there were due. Car has 1800000 miles.

Thanks again for everyone who have posted and contributed before me, it really helped.

https://www.rockauto.com/info/635/295-96104_1__ra_p.jpg

With the right bearing tool it’s not a problem to change in place. My bearing press is good for about 61T.

How did you pull the hub (or should I say push)?

Sorry I am not sure right now what "right bearing tool" you are referring to but as far as I know you would still need to get the axle out before you can take the bearing out.

So you would need to unconnect the hub anyway - at least partially. You need to at least unbolt the strut and take one of the control arms out. At that point you are only two bolts away(tie rod and second control arm) from removing it all. So I think for most people it makes a lot more sense to just remove it entirely and take it on a press.

Check and replace/service your ball joints, control arms, brakes and such at the same time - these parts are all so cheap now.

We used this kit, and more specifically the 3 legs puller on the left to push the axle.

https://images.homedepot-static.com/...69-64_1000.jpg

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/i...odfdEHWrFOlc2S

What a great thread...Learned a ton..Thanks to all. I am gearing up to do this job. Given Andrew's experience with two X5's, I imagine I will need to do this a few times..I also have two X5's.

I think the first time I do this, I am going to remove the knuckle assembly all together and have the bearing pressed in by somebody else. I may then try a future bearing replacements using the knuckle-in-place methods described here...maybe modifying the HF bearing set with bigger holes and a 1 inch bolt.

I decided to buy a used knuckle on Ebay for $40 and practice. I placed the knuckle upside down on a couple of 4x4's and was able to tap out the hub from the back using an appropriately-sized impact socket and a 5lb hammer.

I then practiced cutting the inner race off the hub with a dremel. I actually cut the race about halfway depth with a single diagonal cut and then hit it with a cold chisel and 5lb hammer..sure enough it cracked and I was able to get it off. No damage to the hub from this dremel/chisel work.

I was able to get snap ring off without much drama - two skinny punches inserted and squeezed together with an adjustable plumber's pliers. I really need to buy a decent set of snap-ring pliers.

I then found my largest socket (1.75 or 2 inch) and was able to tap out what was left of the bearing from the back by tapping on the remaining inner race.

I wouldn't install the bearing using these cave man techniques, but at least I'll only be paying for a bearing and hub install, not a removal and an install.

The big surprise in the Ebay knuckle I bought for practice was that the bearing had been replaced before. The bearing said "China" on it. The hub had also been damaged when somebody used a chisel to try and pry a previous inner race off the hub. The hub surface where the inner race rests was not smooth as a result of the ham-fisted chisel attempt. I wouldn't re-use this hub...

By "right bearing tool" I'm meaning one with at least 7/8" threaded rod for pushing.

I only remove the two bolts for the strut tower to give me enough room to push out the axle