Front wheel bearings?

[Umski]

Hello folks,

Sorry been a long time but in a quandary again with the old V40 I *think* the front wheel bearing(s) may need replacing but can’t find a guide or any reference here by anyone as to what it involves? I’m assuming it’s tricky and would need a suitable puller kit/press to do it - anyone have any experience of doing them? Also looking at parts, is a new hub needed too or can just the bearing be replaced? This may well be the end for this one as the parts/labour may well make keeping it unviable 😕

Thanks as always

[bimmer49]

Umski, the bearing cartridge can be replaced on its own without a press but a range of punches and hammers will help. The new bearing in the freezer for 24 hours prior to assembly will help into a well cleaned up and lubed hub.

[Umski]

Originally Posted by bimmer49

Umski, the bearing cartridge can be replaced on its own without a press but a range of punches and hammers will help. The new bearing in the freezer for 24 hours prior to assembly will help into a well cleaned up and lubed hub.

Thanks, yes this is what I thought gauging by the arrangement and seeing a YT vid on a similar procedure on-car...I'm not keen on the idea of ending up buying a slide hammer/puller/pusher just to to do this job (have done that before with tools never to be used again!)

To add some context (sorry was on mobile when I posted), I drove through some standing water a couple of weekends ago (not quite up to the doorline I believe, but a few inches at least) and didn't think anything of it other than clearing the brakes and getting home.

A week later I took the car out and could hear a cyclic drone at speed which wasn't related to engine speed or brakes it seems. I took the front wheels off and couldn't see anything lodged anywhere so with the front safely propped on axle stands ran the engine and went through the gears - I could feel and hear the resonance and drone again and initially thought lost wheel balance weight or gearbox oil as it kicked in over 30-40mph in 4th/5th. So I swapped front to back etc, no change in the drone but less resonance. Just to err on the side of caution I changed the 'box oil which I've never done and nothing untoward there but again no change in the resonant drone. One thing I had noticed however was that the driver's side brake was binding a tad so I loosened that off to make sure it wasn't the diff working overtime on the passenger side - no change. So I ran it by my local mechanic and he thought it was likely one the bearings which is also the conclusion I came to - I think it is the passenger side so I think the easiest (and cheapest) solution for the moment is to get a used replacement hub/carrier and replace the whole assembly to rule it out - whilst the bearings themselves are reasonable, the hub if it gets mashed isn't so I can do this myself.

Any other thoughts? CV joint possibly but can't think how that would react so quickly (I changed the wheel-end boots a couple of years back and they seem intact)

[bimmer49]

umski: Smart move, get a replacement hub. I did the same for some reason, cost me 30€ and it was from a 70k KM car, like new. Much easier than beating the crap out of it and your knuckles!

[Umski]

So it's been a couple of weeks and to close this one off (on axle stands!) - I attempted the whole hub replacement idea starting with the passenger side which I thought was the dodgy one - £18 delivered off fleabay but wasn't convinced the bearing was any better. Anyway on testing up in the air, the driver's side was even worse it turned out. Ordered another hub and the buyer decided he couldn't be arsed to send it - nice one!

So after a wasted week I decided that I'd bite the bullet and just replace the bearings (ordered new bearings for £25/pair - I think I mistaken listing for the Comline ones as they normally got for £20+ each) after watching numerous YT videos on how to do it. In the end since I had the passenger side off, I tried to prep as best as possible - firstly the snap ring retainer was rusted solidly into place and no pliers or levering were going to get it to separate In the end I ground down a piece of re-bar into a chisel shape and levered up and down between the snap ring and bearing (knackered anyway) and managed to loosen it enough to then jimmy it out with all my weight and the help of an assistant to jam the screwdriver in and not lose an eye when it pinged out Much easier on the other side Helps having a sturdy vice!

Then the hub - I tried bashing it out but only made it a few mm before I decided to head to the local mechanic and cross his palm with a tenner to push out the hub and bearings (plus a box of chocs) just to save my arm!

Next step - ordered a bearing puller/pusher which was £33 (the 23 pcs one) which seemed to have all the bits needed. Pushing the new bearings in with the kit was simple enough once I got the hang of which bits to use and getting it in square which took a couple of attempts. The hub was also simple (noting that the pusher needed to be sized to rest across the centre part of the bearing for this task) - again it took a little extra squeeze to ensure the hub cleared the brake carrier - both assembled within about 4 hours - back on the road and refunded for the duff hub I was sent

I can post a couple of pics I took of the hub and pusher being used to push the bearing and then the hub in if anyone's interested. The way I see it was that for the cost of the puller/pusher kit which also just arrived in the nick of time, I may have panicked to get it done over the weekend and chucked 20 quid at the mechanic to press the new ones in for me - if I use it again then it will have paid for itself, plus I have new bearings and the original hubs (albeit with no brake shields which had rusted off but can only be replaced when the hub is off ) If anyone is in the Cambs area and wants to borrow it let me know

Edit: I forgot to add that taking off the lower balljoints knackered the dust boots but thanks to Royal Mail being rubbish I now have 2 spare sets I also decided foolishly to remove the ABS sensor on the passenger side (the replacement hub didn't have one) and ended up destroying it as it had welded itself into the hub - that cost me an extra 12 quid to replace :/ so total parts outlay was about £40, new tools £33, prof labour £10 and time spent - far too long

[bimmer49]

What a learning curve! Good ole UK road salt taking it's toll!
Well done.