Front wheel bearing replacement advice needed ?

[Bernie Benz]

What, after all these years on this list you¹ve never replaced a wheel
bearing? I would remove the strut, inasmuch as there are other PM jobs
easily done with the strut out. I¹ll fwd my old  Wheel Bearing Postmortem
post FYI.

Bernie

> From: "Steve Scalmanini" <sscalmanini at yahoo.com>
> Date: Mon, 30 Oct 2006 02:08:28 -0800
> To: "200Q20V" <200q20v at audifans.com>
> Subject: Front wheel bearing replacement advice needed ?
> 
> I have to replace a front wheel bearing ASAP.  Is the best way to remove the
> entire strut, leaving all the alignment nuts at the top in place and tight,
> and bring it to a shop for removal and replacement?  (I don't have easy access
> to a press.)  Or is there a tool I should buy/rent/borrow to do it on the car?
> If the former, do shops typically have the correct plates (with partial
> circular cutouts to fit around the bearing) to press against or are any
> special plates required (that should be gotten from VW/Audi) so as to not
> damage the strut housing?
> 
> Are the removal and replacement procedures opposite?  I.e., remove bearing
> first from strut housing by pushing on outer race, then from hub by pulling on
> outer race; install into strut housing first by pressing on outer race, then
> press the hub into the inner race (which would have to be directly supported
> from the back side of the strut housing so as to not damage the bearing.)
> Bentley indicates the opposite installation process but it doesn't make sense
> to me to press the bearing onto the hub first; how would you avoid damaging
> the bearing when pressing the hub (with the bearing already on it) into the
> strut housing?  (Unless the bearing presses onto the hub until it hits the
> back of the wheel-bolt flange, so you could press on the flange which directly
> contacts the inner race when pressing them together into the housing.  Is this
> the case?)  
> 
> Any advice appreciated.
> 
> TIA, 
> 
> Steve Scalmanini 
> Ukiah, CA 
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