How much force to press out a wheel bearing?

DIYspanner · 18 Feb 2021

Bora TDI front bearing.

I made a spacer out of a bit of strong wood but using the car jack on the jacking point pushing down on the chock in behind the outer bearing race, its lifting the car front wheel of the deck rather than pushing the bearing out.

I suppose I have to get a proper puller set like this one.

Burnerman · 18 Feb 2021

If your car has a generation 1 bearing then you need a hydraulic press of minimum 10 tons to shift it.....can you give us a pic of the replacement one you have?
John

DIYspanner · 18 Feb 2021

I've order Febi brand which I part matched for the reg on the Bilstein website.

10t seems a lot.

Burnerman · 18 Feb 2021

The one you show is a generation 1 bearing and has to be pressed out from the hub.....you’ll need to shift the circlip to get an arbor in - you replace the circlip and force the new bearing in until it reaches the circlip.
I never attempt this replacement now, but I used to use a huge blacksmiths leg vice on occasion, with a scaffold pole on the tommy bar.
John

Andydevon · 18 Feb 2021

If you can't press it out how are you going to press in the new one? Main cause of new bearing failure is incorrect pressing leading to ABS problems even if noise free.

DIYspanner · 18 Feb 2021

Will just have to see how the puller set I've invested in performs.

Burnerman · 18 Feb 2021

There are now four generations of wheel bearing types - it’s worth investigating them for future work.
Some of your type 1 bearings are unbelievably tight.....on one occasion I was exerting massive pressure with my leg vice and mandrel and it still wouldn’t shift. I resorted to flashing around the hub with my MIG
and when it started to shift it went off like a rifle shot

John

DIYspanner · 18 Feb 2021

How does 1st generation differ to 4th generation type?

I part selected on the Bilstein website for Febi which is the sister brand of Blueprint and there was only the one bearing listing for the car.

These challenges are sent to test us. I watched season 11 IRT last night and the lass was stressed out trying to put snow chains on in sub zero.

Burnerman · 18 Feb 2021

Ok, this is from memory, so nowt guaranteed here....no Mr. Google!
Generation 0. The old favourite taper roller, adjustable and in two parts, separate grease seal. Beloved on older VW’s and RWD cars such as the Escort 1 and 2.
Generation 1. The one you have, pressed into place and tightened with the driveshaft nut. Often splits taking it out and needs savaging with an angle grinder to remove the bits.
Generation 2. Comes with a hub flange that the wheel bolts to but very similar to 1. May have the abs reluctor wheel on. Easy enough to replace with special tools and great care. The removal usually leaves the inner race on the stub axle, as per 1.
One of these bearings uses rollers instead of balls, but Ive only seen them on large vans.
They may also have a snap ring instead of a circlip - don’t ask me why!
Generation 3. Consists of the bearing plus a wheel hub flange and a flange that bolts onto the strut housing. Nice and easy to do but new bolts needed and strict torquing to prevent binding and damage.
No doubt there are other variations!
I hope this gives you some idea, but these are my explanations only!
John

Keithmac · 18 Feb 2021

10 tons isn't out of the way, our shop press is 20 ton iirc.

Burnerman · 18 Feb 2021

I pressed the flywheel halves together on a BSA DBD 34 Gold Star with one of those.....I’d be only 17 or 18.
Spinning it on a lathe, it balanced up really well!
John

Peter.N. · 19 Feb 2021

If you can remove the centre part of the bearing run a ring of weld around the inside of the outer, when it cools it will shrink and you can lever it out with a couple of screwdrivers - or at least on the Citroen XM you can.

Peter

DIYspanner · 19 Feb 2021

If I put the new bearing in the fridge for 24 hours and heat the hub with the paint stripper gun for half an hour, the should ease the tightness a bit when pulling the new one in. Of course, the old bearing has to come out first.

Harry Bloomfield · 19 Feb 2021

DIYspanner said:
Of course, the old bearing has to come out first.

If you can break the centre out, you might be able to get a tiny cutting disk in there, to the outer. Cut the outer through and it should then fall out.

As above - freeze new bearing and heat up the hub, to get the new bearing in.

mointainwalker · 19 Feb 2021

Burnerman said:
I pressed the flywheel halves together on a BSA DBD 34 Gold Star with one of those.....I’d be only 17 or 18.

John

Ah John, you forgot to add the usual "........and if I had kept it, it would be worth a lot of money now."

How much force to press out a wheel bearing?

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