Re: bearings and bouces

[Eddi Jew <jew@rysa.dtc.hp.com>]

 > Hi Dan....
 > 
 > The newer front wheel bearing/cv joint design can be identified by the fact
 > it is held together with a bolt at the center of the wheel hub instead of a
 > nut.  The new style bearing housing is similar to the Golf/Rabbit in that
 > is bolted to the strut housing, while the earlier version is one continuous
 > piece from the ball joint to the strut tower bearing.
 > 
 > The later version is a lot easier to disassemble & transport because the
 > strut can be left in place.

Are those bolts also for camber adjustment? They are on the Golfs, so it's
a good idea to mark the position before removal. BTW, if you want some
more camber adjustment, some places sell bolts with reduced shank diameters.
I'd seen some for Golfs, not Audis, though.

 > Most garages are going to use a portable screw type press to remove &
 > install the bearing right on the car...

Dan, if you want to buy one of these portable screw type tools, Scheley 
Products (in the archive) has them. I bought mine through Techtonics for 
about $130, but it's for the Golf. There's an add-on kit available that 
would fit my '86 5000S. The tool is just a big, long bolt with a steel 
"cup" at the bolt-head end, with large washers and a long-ist nut. One 
is supposed to screw the bearing out towards the front, into the cup. 
Install the new bearing by starting the "pressing" from the back. My 
only complaint about the tool is that the bolt/nut isn't made with beefy 
machine threading. Use lotsa grease!

Oh, the other option is to try renting the tool from Autotech (800-553-1055)
(VW parts place). But not sure if they have the Audi "washer" dies.

On my '86 Golf/GTI, my only difficulty was to pull the old inner bearing 
race section off the hub (lacking a decent puller).

 > takes about 20 min total (although
 > the bill will probably reflect an hour).  Might be money well spent on
 > labor, especially if you can bring your own parts.

I struggle with this kind of trade-off too many times (haven't found a
good mechanic yet). 

There's a formula for the "cost" of the tool, vs. the mechanic's labor 
(or competence), vs. my free time (or competence), vs. parts 
(via mechanic or my shopping around). This formula is a personal one, 
one that changes daily due to other variables, and one I usually don't 
bother to spend much time optimizing- I just feel like doing it one way. 
Most of the time, no regrets. I gain a sense of security knowing more
about my car and its current running condition. Of course, the more I
know, the more bummed-out I get knowing its not being taken care of.

 > Just my $00.02.
 > - ned bennett

Mine's worth $00.01 due to mostly VW GTI experience ...

-- Eddi