Wheel bearing removal tips

I've just done both my front hubs. I just hammered them out. A lot of hammering for about 20 to 30 minutes, but they came out. Now that your core is out, you'll have a harder time of that. If you could find a large flat plate of metal, like a large washer, that was just the right size for the sleeve, you could hammer on that.

If you have an air chisel, chisel around the edges of the sleeve, then shoot your preferred penetrating oil down in there, and just keep hammering. I think that's the only way to do it.

 

Yeah, lots of repeated shocks from a hammer can eventually shock it loose when even 12 steady tons from a press won't.

An air hammer can deliver those knocks a lot faster than an arm-powered one.

 

Heat...and mechanical agitation

 

I used a propane torch a little bit on my second hub, but I don't know if it helped. Someone on another forum said you would need an oxy-acetylene torch to provide enough heat for the amount of mass.

 

If you have a project that is beyond the capability of the 'standard' propane/map gas head unit, Turbo-torch makes some trigger heads for those size propane/map gas bottles. They're as badass as they come. If that can't put enough heat into a project, then that project needs to go to a pro shop.

I've accidently melted a few things with mine while I was getting used to it.

 

you need to find a socket or something slightly smaller than the hole in the knuckle so you can push the outer bearing race out. clean all the crud off it first and hose it down with penetrating oil. if it still won't come out then you need to heat it up. if you just can't get it, find a shop with a bigger press and a mechanic that isn't a butcher moron and they will be able to get it out without ruining the knuckles.

 

Be careful with using a socket too, especially if you're hammering on it. We broke a socket on my first hub by hammering it against the race.

 

Here is a cheap and easy solution that I did to avoid these headaches. I bought two used knuckles online for about $50 each which included hubs. Easy bolt on in 30 min each. However, if I would do it again I would buy just the empty used knuckles and install new hubs. A little more expensive but it would also last much more. Still you will not have to deal with torches, presses, air chisels and hours of unnecessary labor and frustration.

 

I did mine by leaving the knuckles installed and using a slide hammer rented from AutoZone. Took quite a few hits, about 30 minutes on each side, but they both eventually came out.

 

Did that once. Arms got tired.

 

Just remember that you need to install the wheel speed sensor, wheel speed sensor protector, ball joint, and brake shield into empty knuckle besides the new bearing. To remove the brake shield you would need to remove the old wheel bearing so to avoid all that you will have to get at least a new (or used) brake shield.

 

I agree. New brake shields (just a few bucks) and new hubs. Everything else would be off anyway when you take the knuckle off. I used the same ball joints but maybe new ball joints would be be better after so many years.

 

Anybody care to venture an opinion: assuming at the factory no lube is applied when installing wheel bearings, if they changed that, applied a durable lube, would subsequent removal of the bearings be a cakewalk?

 

I don't know. That's what I'm hoping. I applied silver anti-seize compound to my entire knuckle sleeve and flange face to make it easier to get out next time.

 

Maybe anti-seize or high temp grease would help. However, there is a design flaw here. Mistake 1: The steel hub and aluminum knuckle are different metals creating a very strong bonding as years pass especially when there is some salt spray in snow season. Mistake 2: if the hub had two or three holes where a bolt could force the hub out of the knuckle similar to the holes on the rear drum, things would be much easier.

 

Totally agree. Turn the screws till they really resist, give the bearing a few taps, repeat.

That plus the aforementioned liberal coat of anti-seize at the factory.

Probably never going to happen, not a great selling point in the sales brochures, but who knows.

 

Another thing I found was that my strut-to-knuckle bolts had thread lock on them. Why? There are torque specs for a reason! You don't need thread lock besides. It cost us a wrench and two sockets.