Wheel Bearing

[BahnE30]

well i'm quite positive i've got a bad wheel bearing in the front end of my car, i was just wondering if it's possible to take the dust cover off and pack that bitch full of some HD Axel grease to get me through till payday, whats the worst that can happen if i just let this go for say a week, it just started making noises and it's not really loud, just annoying, would it be safe to make say 250km trip this weekend?

[turnofftheradio]

I would avoid it. but I have heard of people driving for longer distances with a bad bearing. I bet bma could get you a hub before the weekend...

but you ask the worst that could happen? lose a wheel on the expressway.

[BahnE30]

oh i can get a bearing today, it's just i don't have the cash flow for it right now


are these bearings pressed on or do you just bolt them to the strut housing

[RobertK]

They come pre-pressed into a new hub. You have to pull the old hub assembly and press the new one on.

I'm in the same boat as you.. I gotta wait 2 weeks.

[BahnE30]

so say i had a good hub and bearing kicking around, does the new hub and bearing have to be pressed on the bottom of the strut or does it just bolt on?

i've heard you can press them on without a press thou

[RobertK]

You have to press it on as far as I know.. nothing a block of wood and a hammer can't take care of.

[BahnE30]

thats what i was thinking, cant be pressed on there all that hard

[turnofftheradio]

It must be pressed in from the inner race only. It is not the tightest press I have dealt with, but I would still only use the inner race to press it on a little, then use the nut to take it the rest of the way.

[BahnE30]

how do you get the hub / bearing assembly away from the bottom of the strut, pry bar? or do you need a special puller?

[turnofftheradio]

I used an old harmonic balancer puller. 50% chance you will have the inner race stuck on after that. if that happens you will need a puller with claws, or dremel, or heat and creative tools.

Be creative, you can make a puller with a threaded rod and nuts, and various wood metal scraps. just don't hack up the spindle.

[BahnE30]

can i just pull this entire assembly off a parts car, and swap mine out
it should just basically pull off after i take the dust cover and nut out right

[turnofftheradio]

I would assume that is a picture of a hub assy. real oem won't let you link anymore. If you pull a hub off of a parts car, chances are good it will be destroyed in the process. I would take the whole strut assy with the bearing if you have to use a used part. but, in this circumstance, I would not use a used part. rent a puller from autozone or somthing. it is not as hard as you think it is. Bentley describes this process well.

[BahnE30]

i just don't have the money right now to do this, and i'd rather not when there's 5 E30's in my yard

what kind of steps can be taken to help deminish the chances of dystroying the bearing?

[EtaSport]

I drove my car around for about 2 weeks before replacing my bad bearing. No ill effects. When you pull one off there is a 90 percent chance the inner race will stay on. I took a grinder and ground down two opposite sides flat so I could get a pipe wrench on it and work it off. Took all of 3 minutes. The new one can be tapped on easily with a rubber mallet and then seated with the hub bolt.

BMA has them for 75 bucks delivered, about as cheap as you get. (they used to be around 300)

[turnofftheradio]

I took a grinder and ground down two opposite sides flat so I could get a pipe wrench on it and work it off.

good idea!