Wheel Bearing and Hub Replacement DIY

[chromeBuddha]

Great writeup.

I did mine with the Harbor Freight tool. I had to use an air hammer to get the race started off the hub, then finished with a puller.

Nice and quiet now.

[bigwoode]

I am just interested as to what tools can actually be used, and what was/was not successful for everyone.

The Harbor Freight Tool (ABS front wheel bearing adapter?) is acceptable?

I cannot find the VW puller tool for rent in my area

[kaitisland]

Quote, originally posted by bigwoode »

I am just interested as to what tools can actually be used, and what was/was not successful for everyone. The Harbor Freight Tool (ABS front wheel bearing adapter?) is acceptable? I cannot find the VW puller tool for rent in my area

you may be able to borrow the tool from autohaus/northtown vw/schmidts depending on your relationship with the dealer. autohaus will probably be your best bet.

[bigwoode]

Thanks, Northtown said no because all of their mechanics supply their own tools, I have not talked to Schmitts/Autohaus, that sounds like a good idea, thanks!

[crazeehorse]

i replaced the right front wheel bearing, on a 2000 beetle today. the most helpful tip i got here, was to use the peice of flat stock, c-clamped to the back of the knuckle, then use a deep well scoket, & a puller to remove the hub. i bought the harbor freight wheel bearing adapter kit for the rest of the job. it worked like a charm! i also used a diamond cuttoff wheel, on my dremel tool to notch the race pressed onto hub, then whacked it with a cold chisel, & slid it right off. so i was able to reuse the hub. total cost $130.00 & 1.25 hrs. labor. thanks guys, for the great posts. i could'nt have done it without your helpful info.

[,',','VR6,',',']

first off i wanna thank everyone for their input on this thread. great write up
i had to replace my hub because of a broken lug bolt.
i found this diy and i ordered the hub bearing snap ring and axle nut from ecs tuning.
i didnt want to spend $300 for a specialty tool. and i couldnt find a place to rent it from.
so i created my own way. i purchased the fwd front wheelbearing puller kit ($89.99) and a 8in 3 jaw puller ($10.99) from harbor Frieght and the 30mm 12pt deep socket ($10.99) from advanced auto. i had the rest of the tools.
the hardest part i had was removing the axle from the hub. it broke the first 3 jaw puller but i just took it back and got it replaced.
after i removed the axle i swung the knuckle out and placed the old axle nut on the back of the hub and used the 3 jaw puller to push the hub out. it worked perfectly. pm me if you need more explaining.
everything else went wonderful.
if your looking to save some money check out this way. you dont need an alignment after this either.
i wish i took pictures but no digital camera.
good luck to everyone that tries this on their own.

[weaselwhy7]

Great writeup I'm getting ready to replace both my front bearings and this will be helpful!

[dredward]

Quote, originally posted by dimon »

#2 (pusher) is not necessary, it's possible to use old bearing instead. Keep in mind that you still need something like slide hammer to remove wheel hub Modified by VgRt6 at 9:57 PM 2-24-2007

The tool i got from sp tools yrs ago came with bolts that screwed through the hub and to the knuckle and pushed the hub away from the knuckle as it screwed toward the knuckle. Hope this makes since. It also came with a plate to aid tis.

[dredward]

ttt. Can someone send me specs for abs mod to tool?

[dredward]

Will this work to remove my hub with out damageing the wheel speed sensor attached to the hub?
http://www.toolsource.com/pull....html


Modified by dredward at 6:01 PM 3-8-2009

[dirtydumpd18t]

great write-up. my left bearing is getting replaced soon.. glad i found this for a bit of help

[UpNorthJetta]

Need to do this after making press tools. Do I still need the the ABS adapter that is mentioned in the 1st page of the original post?

UpNorthJetta

'05 TDI Wagon

[singh073]

My 2003 Jetta's Passenger side bearing was so bad that I could actually shake the wheel! I finally started this DIY and I am picking up the Bearing Tool Kit from Harbor Freight tonight.

Thanks for all the info.

[FaelinGL]

Quote, originally posted by singh073 »

My 2003 Jetta's Passenger side bearing was so bad that I could actually shake the wheel! I finally started this DIY and I am picking up the Bearing Tool Kit from Harbor Freight tonight. Thanks for all the info.

Glad to help...let us know if you have problems.

Mike

[sigmund79]

Whew 12 hours later I finally have this bad boy complete. This DIY was awesome. I took this a step further and replaced my front and rear rotors and pads. Cracking my ice cold beer right now. I have just a few hints that made my pain points go away.

I am in the upper midwest and the winters as you all know are hell on cars. I tried in vein to bust that 30mm axle nut with my breaker bar. Just would not move. I ended up renting a air compressor and 3/4" impact gun to get them off. Which took a minute each of solid impact.

The one thing I would do totally different from the DIY is to go out and buy a nice gear puller to get the axle out of the hub. Banging on it really did nothing to get it out except frustrate me more and more. The gear puller just pushed that axle out like butter.

This DIY is very well done thanks a million for putting this up. Oh yeah circlips are a serious PITA.

Have fun with this!

[formerly vr6 karl]

what a pain in the butt!!! i was going to do both sides, but forget it. if the other side goes bad, ill pay someone

[Steve40th]

Do you have the harbor freight part number for the tool/s needed?

[FaelinGL]

Quote, originally posted by Steve40th »

Do you have the harbor freight part number for the tool/s needed?

It's not from harbor freight. They don't have the proper tool to do the job.

Mike

[Steve40th]

I am just taking the hub off and taking it to work. Our machinist can pull the hub/bearing etc. I was just trying to do it at home. Now I need to fin an appropriate tie rod puller.

[Steve40th]

I have a 99 Golf GL, there are many torque values for the spindle nut, 12 point 30mm. Is it 175nm, 195 nm or is it 175 ft/lbs etc.

[y5740]

Parts Place sells a complete Front Wheel Bearing Assembly for $199

"Our front wheel bearing assemblies are ready to bolt on, with the hub and bearing already pressed into the spindle. No special tools required!"

http://www.partsplaceinc.com/c...shtml

[Steve40th]

Pressed it in/out at work and used a SKF bearing, 30 bucks. Simple job.
Tool is discontinued.

[mkrell03]

Just wanted to say that I did this job this week in under 4 hours with just tools from harbor freight.

I used wheel bearing adapters here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/c...45210

and the slide hammer here:
http://www.harborfreight.com/c...45210

The slide hammer works great getting the hub out. The bearing tool set works excellent for getting the bearing out and in.

Getting the inner race of the hub is not difficult at all if you use the slide hammer. What i did was bolted the hub back into the wheel and turned it upside down. I used the slide hammer with the puller attachment on it to just yank the inner race off.

If i had my camera with me i would have taken pictures, because i was quite proud of it.

[caracal]

In Canada/Toronto you can rent the slide hammer and FWD Bearing set at Partsource. The brand is Powerbuilt, about $220 each to buy them, $508 together including tax.

You will also want to pick up the 6" Gear Puller to get the drive axle out and the sleeve off the hub.

I also picked up the Spring Compressor which turned out to be useful since the bearing tool doesn't come with a long enough bolt to push the bearing back in. The Spring compressor's bolt is long enough however.

You only need the slide hammer to get the hub out of the bearing.. you can probably do that with a socket/hammer as well. The Bearing Set is crucial.. you don't stand a chance without it.

I used the method mentioned by someone here to get the remaining sleeve off the hub..

Bolted the hub into the wheel with the lug nuts, turn the wheel upside down.. you don't really need to do this, it was just a way to get it more secure.. maybe you can put it in a big vice. The other guy used this since he was able to do it with the slide hammer.. I used the gear puller.

I put two of the hooks the slide hammer came with into the 6" gear puller..

Then I wrapped some string/rope around the hooks since they barely grab onto the remaining part of the bearing. Screw in the gear puller's bolt.

Place one of it's hooks across the hole (which the axle goes through) so it has something to push against. Screwing in the bolt should pull the sleeve right out.. unless the hooks come off. Worked the first time for me.. didn't work with the slide hammer, the hooks kept sliding off.

If you have a smaller gear puller it might work instead of using the slide hammer's hooks into the 6" puller.. the 6" was just too big and the hooks were not catching.

Modified by caracal at 7:53 PM 8-23-2009


Modified by caracal at 7:56 PM 8-23-2009

[LegalRod]

Yes,
The '02 Beetle is the same. I just did both sides this weekend and this brief was great help. I used the tool at Harbor Freight and rented a slide hammer from AutoZone. If you get the one at Harbor Freight it may be better (they were out of stock).
My Only recommendation with this and that he did not point out is to ensure you use the proper pusher washer when putting back the hub. I used the same for pushing the bearing and pushed the inner race out while pushing the hub. Otherwise, this was of great help. I spent about $200 dollars in parts, tools and that is including front brakes for the car. It took me about 8 hours of labor and that is with my mother in law over my shoulder.

[BrianPfeifer]

Just did this with a friend last weekend. The beauty of buying the new hub is avoiding the heartache of trying to remove the old inner race. On the left side it took me half an hour with a dremmel tool and a chisel. Also, I had to hack saw-off the left ball joint that was seized to ****. For one novice (me) and one hobbist (my friend) it took us about 11 hours to complete the front end.

[Shamrock]

Quote, originally posted by BrianPfeifer »

Just did this with a friend last weekend. The beauty of buying the new hub is avoiding the heartache of trying to remove the old inner race. On the left side it took me half an hour with a dremmel tool and a chisel. Also, I had to hack saw-off the left ball joint that was seized to ****. For one novice (me) and one hobbist (my friend) it took us about 11 hours to complete the front end.

Well Ive done alot of these DIYS, front wheel bearings, Axle installation, clutch installation.

and all of these I think Air tools, impact, and hammer absolutely neccessary.

GREAT DIYs, he has answered my questions too

[BrianPfeifer]

Quote, originally posted by Shamrock »

Well Ive done alot of these DIYS, front wheel bearings, Axle installation, clutch installation. and all of these I think Air tools, impact, and hammer absolutely neccessary. GREAT DIYs, he has answered my questions too

We used air tools for the majority of the repair but since we had to work so late into the night, we didn't want to piss off everyone in the house with the gun noise or the compressor refilling. The air chisel would have been really nice for getting that inner race off the hub.

[budlame]

I just did my wheel bearings this weekend.

I couldn't find anyone local to rent me the Schley Products 63500 tool or even anything similar to that. There was no way I was going to be able to afford a ~$400 hub tamer set either.

So I had to look around for something different to use. I came across this thread on TDI Club.

I rented #27033 - Slide Hammer and #27037 - Axle Flange Puller / OEM/FWD Hub Puller from Autozone.

I already had a borrowed slide hammer to use but the thread pitch was different, so I ended up having to go back to Autozone and rent their slide hammer to use with the axle flange tool. The thread pitch on the Puller is fine. The slide hammer I had was coarse.

A few pops with the slide hammer and puller and the hubs came off.

I used the front wheel bearing adapter set from Harbor Freight, #66829. #66829 supersedes #45210. So if you order #45210, you get #66829 for ~$10 less. I had a $5 off coupon so even with shipping it was less than the cost of ordering #66829 on it's own. I had to order this online since it wasn't stocked my local store. I used 060-917-436 (Exp May/01/2010) - Free attache and $5 off, 288-385-127 (Exp Jul/01/2010) - should work for $5 off as well.

If it gets really hard to turn be careful something could be binding. In my case the box end of my wrench was binding sideways and was making it difficult to turn the bolt to pull the bearing out. Quick tap to free the wrench and the bolt was turning way easier. Take your time and go slow. Work smarter not harder, etc. I didn't have any problem with the bolt like I'd heard elsewhere. Maybe because I wasn't using an impact gun. Mine was not welded, it had a good size pin. As long as you grease it well it should go fine. You may want to have a replacement 3/4" Bolt and coupling nut on hand if possible. If you have it readily available you won't need it.

You're going to want to use two half inch drive breaker bars, a 27mm 1/2 drive socket and a 32mm 1/2 drive socket. You don't necessarily need them, I used a wrench to do the first one since I didn't have the sockets. I went out and got the sockets before I did the second one. The breaker bar and sockets makes it that much easier. 5mins versus 25... and very sore arms.

You can also apparently get away with out the flange tool, if you use a hardened washer from the kit and a nut on the slide hammer to pull the hub. See this post. That may work, but it could bend the washer as well. I didn't try it.

I got the axle flange tool anyway since it will push stubborn axle stubs out of the hub as well and I had a huge problem with that before. I was able to use just my thumbs this time, even on the side I never had apart.


Modified by budlame at 1:27 PM 4-19-2010

[Spindle]

Another satisfied customer here !

About 3 mo's ago my wife said her car (the Jetta w/106K mi) was 'making a noise'. I rode w/ her and heard the familiar growling/humming, but it was faint so I told her to let me know if it got worse. I kinda forgot about it until a few days ago when she said she couldn't hear what our daughter said because the car was so loud. So...I took it for a drive. Holy hell! It was like driving a Cessna. A deafening roaring buzzing vibrating noise. Rowwwwuuhhrowwuuh...Yikes.

Dealer wanted $390 labor + $160 for parts.....$550.

A few notes / thoughts:

- Impact gun is mandatory IMO. You that have done it with hand tools are truly he-men.

- Axle nut is a mutha. I used a 1/2" ratchet with a 3 ft peice of pipe. I thought the wrench was going to snap, but the nut finally gave way.

- Axles pushed in with little effort. I put the ball of a ballpeen hammer on the tip and tapped it w/ a mallet. A couple of taps moved it and after that I could push it out by hand.

- I didn't use the puller for the spindle. I used my hillbilly improv slide hammer method. Bolted a 4+ ft piece of engine chain to hub using 2 of the lug bolts. Took a 4lb hand sledge and wrapped the chain around it. On both sides 3 good yanks moved it slightly (watch the ABS sensor ring/sensor clearance), 3 more and it popped out.

- Get snap-ring pliers. Big enough ones. Worth every penny to not have to fight w/ needlenose/screwdrivers. 5 sec vs. minutes of wrangling...

- I used the

Quote, originally posted by budlame »

... wheel bearing adapter set from Harbor Freight, #66829.

...worked great. (I also picked up a clearance brake caliper toolset for $8 !)

- Pulling the old bearing out & pushing the new one in are the 2 hardest parts. When previous posters say "it'll fight you all the way", they are right. I kept expecting something to break / shatter / explode because of the stress. I have a decent 1/2" air impact and it took prolly 4 solid minutes of gunning to get one out.

-

Quote, originally posted by y5740 »

Parts Place sells a complete Front Wheel Bearing Assembly for $199...with the hub and bearing already pressed into the spindle. ..

This doesn't seem good. You'd be pressing the bearing into the hub with pressure on the outboard inner race.

- On the drivers side, the pusher disc I used previously to pull the bearing out on the pass. side would hang up on some hub casting. I had to use a smaller disc that didn't cover the outer race. I though this might cause trouble, but it worked fine.

- To get the old race off the spindle, I dremel'd it for a few mins & then hit it lightly w/ a small chisel. Both slid right off after that.

- Pushing the spindle into the new bearing is cake compared to removing/installing the bearing itself. Just make sure you're pulling on the inboard inner race. Also, pull it so the ABS sensor ring is a few mm from the sensor. When you fully tighten the axle nut it moves a bit closer.

- First side took me 4+ hours (not counting parts /tool chasing). Other side took ~ 1.5.

Sooo...$100 in tools + $60 for 2 bearings. $160 over $550...Now its smooth as silk and quiet as a mouse ! AND, I know its done right.....Yay!

A huge thanks to all of the previous posters !

[wav3form]

Does anyone sell an entire replacement hub/bearing assembly for the VR6? The partsplaceinc.com assemblies are only for the 2.0 and TDI. I'd prefer to just swap out the entire assemblies even if it is more expensive.

[staydubbin]

if i dont want to replace the wheel bearing and just do the hub do i stull need the press?

[ornithology]

Yay one of the FAQ DIY's work now!

[eurolicious]

Does anyone know how or if there is a thread on replacing the rear hub on a mkiv jetta?
I had the threads stripped and the lug bolt will not go in now

[pgoutsos]

Trying to replace both of my bearings on mkiii vr.

Problem I am having is when putting the brakes back on the car - the carrier is rubbing against the disk even after tightening down the axle nut. Anyone have any ideas?